When Mike Karch bought his house in Minnetrista, it was the seven-car attached garage that sealed the deal.
"I'm a car collector," he said, with a fleet of muscle cars and famous movie vehicles, including a Batmobile, a "Back to the Future" car and a shagadelic "Austin Powers" Jaguar.
Karch and his wife also liked the 1989-built home's open floor plan, with a master suite and family room on the main floor. But the home's contemporary style wasn't to their taste.
"We like traditional," Karch said.
Over the next 26 years, the couple undertook multiple home-improvement projects, increasing their home's size to 9,330 square feet and adding traditional detailing, including hand-carved woodwork, columns, a barrel-vault ceiling and handpainted murals and finishes.
"We think traditional, with warmer woods, makes a warmer atmosphere," Karch said.
The exterior got a Country French-inspired makeover with a stone facade and a copper-topped front entry with artisan-made iron doors.
Karch and his wife also added a large "safari room" handpainted by artist Jeff Biggerstaff to look like a hut, with bamboo walls, an open ceiling with "sky" and "birds" and greenery so lifelike that it fooled their listing agent.
