Building Character

When Bob and Karen Braun transformed their Bloomfield Township ranch home, the result was a sophisticated and inviting reflection of the highs and lows of their shared life experiences

By Rebecca Powers

By Justin Maconochie

Houses tell stories about their owners.
Bob and Karen Braun are travelers, or so their bookshelves say, with volumes that include Road Food, Leading Hotels of the World, Hip Hotels, and New Guinea Ceremonies.
Their art collection tells the same tale of exotic vacations.
And the 1950s Bloomfield Township ranch drops other personal clues about its occupants. Their selection of walnut flooring — common No. 1 — says they understand the appeal of imperfection.
Even small scraps here and there hint at the interior life. On the butcher-block kitchen island, a Chinese cookie fortune rests in a small dish. It reads: “Good news will be coming to you soon.” The message, saved from a dinner one evening, speaks to the hopes that we invest in our homes, that they’re a big part of our happily ever after.

To paraphrase the title of a popular and poignant movie: Life is a house. When Bob and Karen bought their home three years ago, the tired structure was revived almost as if by transfusion.
Bob poured his strength and self-taught know-how into the walls and floors. He respects good, strong construction. “I tend to overbuild,” he says. “That’s my nature.”
An electrical contractor with a knack for knowing how things work, Bob devoted himself to building their dream.
Shortly after moving in, and following a trip to China, he began helping workers on the garage construction. “I was there with my son and others, and I noticed my left hand, when I got cold, couldn’t hold a nail,” he says. “It was like the wiring didn’t connect with the hand to tell it what to do.”

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