Breuer designed a home for the Snowers and it was completed in 1954. The Snowers lived in the home for the rest of their lives, the house being sold by Mr Snower's estate in 2013. The home was bought by a local couple intent on preserving it and not allowing the home to be torn down and replaced by an ugly McMansion. Robert Barnes and Karen Bisset are passionate about mid-century architecture. Not only did they purchase the home to preserve and protect it, they hired Hufft projects to perform a complete restoration of the home and bring it back to it's original state.
I believe Hufft did a wonderful job in restoring the home! They endeavored to bring the home back to it's original condition while updating things as minimally as possible. The exterior siding was restored and repaired as necessary. The original colors were used as prescribed by Breuer. Luckily Mr Snower had kept all of his correspondence with Breuer including the original paint color chips. The original walnut floors were refinished and the kitchen updated to accommodate today's needs.
The home sits on a corner lot at 6701 Belinder Ave, Mission Hills, KS. It totals just under 1800 sq ft on the main floor with a smaller basement beneath due to the cantilevered upper floor. On the main floor it has 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, kitchen, dining, living and entry.
Breuer was one of the best known modernist architects in the world at the time the home was designed. Breuer was born in Hungary, was a student and faculty member at the Bauhaus school in Germany during the 20's and 30's. He emigrated to the US eventually teaching at the Harvard school of Design. Marcel Breuer designs include furniture, houses and commercial buildings.
Now restored, the home is on the market for $925,000. The Snower home is a cool piece of local architecture. If they ever open it for tours, you should take the opportunity to see a classic design by a master architect.
