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The outward appearance also belies the work that has been done inside by Jim Stukenbroeker since he and his wife, Gloria, moved in 29 years ago. If the decades-long project had a theme, it might be “now you see a wall, now you don’t.â€‌

He removed a wall to add more space to the kitchen. When all the children were grown up and gone, a wall was taken down to change two bedrooms into one and create an office for Gloria. When Jim’s mother moved in with the couple two years ago, he added a wall to a bedroom so she could have a private living room and a separate bedroom. When the couple purchased a corner cabinet, he added a stub wall so the cabinet would not extend beyond where the wall ends.

Jim even moved one garage wall, but in this case, he jacked up the wall so a concrete footing could be added to prevent water seeping in from the sloping back yard.

Most walls display something related to the family. In the dining room, a collage of individually framed photos of the 11 grandchildren are grouped together. A hallway displays an arrangement of silhouettes of the grandchildren hand cut by an artist in Tennessee, while on a wall in the lower-level family room photos are assembled in the shape of a family tree.

Other walls showcase wood and glass triangular flag cases in honor of two daughters and Jim’s grandfather, all of whom served in the armed forces.

Much of the furniture is heirloom pieces passed down by generations of Jim’s family, many from great, great grandparents.

A prized round dining room table was purchased by Jim’s parents at an estate sale from a large home on Vandeventer Avenue. “It is walnut, and while it seats four comfortably, it has seven leaves. Each insert is 14 آ½ -inches wide, adding 101 inches to the 5-foot table,â€‌ Jim says.

“We had a poster of the â€کRat Pack’ playing pool (Dean Martin, Sammy Davis, Jr., Peter Lawford and Frank Sinatra,) and when we got a pool table we got it professionally framed,â€‌ Doris says.

“We got the pool table in 2012 and that made it necessary for Jim to remove the four walls in the basement to create the rec room.â€‌

Sports themed collections abound in the lower level. A cabinet displays a collection of miniature أغر؟´«أ½ Cardinals ballparks and other themed Cardinal merchandise. A steel support post has been plastered with replicas of tickets to the first 25 Super Bowls, and أغر؟´«أ½ Blues posters are on the walls, which are painted red and blue.

A wall is devoted to Route 66 signs, and a trophy case holds Gloria’s bowling trophies. An avid bowler since 7 years old, she has a 700 score for a three game series to her credit.

“Our basement stereo system set-up really rocks. The speakers can play vinyl records, cassette tapes, 8-track tapes, and CDs,â€‌ Jim says. “We can hook up our phones to digital stream music, too.â€‌

In the back yard, a red barn Jim built with double x-hatch doors, and which was conceived without plans, holds garden tools. A wooden sculpture of a cow stands nearby. “Jim always wanted a cow after he built the barn,â€‌ Gloria volunteers with a laugh.

“When we moved in, I could hardly drill a hole,â€‌ Jim says, adding that all his handiwork has been self-taught.

“I am really proud of all he has done,â€‌ Gloria says.

While Jim says there are no more plans to make changes inside the home, he does have a project waiting under a tarp in the carport he built. A close look at the tarpaulin reveals the outline of a 1965 Mustang. “It is mostly in parts right now,â€‌ Jim says.