Leslie Hunsicker is very nostalgic, and it was this nostalgia that inspired her to fulfill a dream in the fall of 2022. She bought her childhood home.
In the years before that, she would often drive by the house and wonder what the inside now looked like. Fortunately, a friend of a friend had a connection with the owner and Leslie had first right of refusal when it went up for sale.
“I cannot verify this, but I think there's only been two owners between when my parents sold in 1974 and when I bought it in 2022.”
When her parents sold the home, which they bought in 1971, Leslie was only 10. “I live and breathe nostalgia, but this house was special and so unusual,” she says. “It’s mid-century modern, but more Frank Lloyd Wright. It's set in a very nature-inspired neighborhood in Knollwood, which is known for its great trees and landscaping.”
Another interesting aspect of the home is the poured rock and concrete floors throughout the whole great room from the entryway back through the dining room. “I was very happy to see that those were untouched,” says Leslie.
The most dramatic changes were the paint color (purple) found throughout the house, the larger kitchen which took nine feet off the courtyard, the addition of a sunroom, and the renovation to what used to be her sister Kim’s bedroom.
Leslie was very happy to see that what was her father’s office was kept the same. “I actually put his old credenza back in there, so it is literally exactly the way it was,” she says.
Her memories are even more meaningful since her mom and dad are no longer living, but she did get to share the memories of the house with her sibling. “My sister came with me on the very first visit so that was special,” she says. “We spent a lot of time just looking over everything and deciding what used to be where. It was a lot of fun.”
Another memory that is very dear to Leslie is playing in the back lot behind the house. “There's a building right behind the house - a real estate office - but that building was not there when I lived here before,” she says. “I remember going back there and there were so many trees - it was like a little forest. Several of the huge trees created a lot of leaves, and I remember my dad raking the leaves into great big piles and then my friends and I would jump into those piles.”
Over the years, Leslie, who is an interior designer in Topeka, would buy a home, fix it up and then eventually sell it. Not this house. She plans to stay here permanently.
For anyone wanting to buy their childhood home, she recommends letting the owners know that if they ever want to sell to please call. “It's not true that you can never go home again,” she says.
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How Leslie put her own stamp on her childhood home:
Painted over the purple walls.
Took eight feet from the primary bedroom to add a larger closet and a washer/dryer.
Took out the wall that divided the kitchen from the dining room.
Changed her sister’s room back into a bedroom.
