A rare look inside one of the Ju-Nel A-frames

A centenarian craftsman in Michigan. A 2003 industrial townhome in Bryan Place. A 1930 Victorian in Junius Heights. A 1945 Tudor near the M Streets. And now a 1962 midcentury modern in Eastwood Estates. One of the two Ju-Nel A-frames, nonetheless.

In the about seven years that 38-year-old Heidi Ellsworth and Blake Iwaniw, 39, have been together, they’ve managed to collect the infinity stones of architecture.

It wasn’t intentional. They just love a house with potential and a little bit of history.

The couple met through Tinder in February 2019 in Phoenix. Four months in, Iwaniw was looking at homes bookmarked by Ellsworth in his native Michigan. He needed to relocate for his job at an erosion control and geosynthetics company. They moved into the aforementioned Grand Rapids craftsman, which had a Pittsburgh potty made for laborers to clean up before entering the main living areas, in July. He proposed in December.

But for the couple, going from Phoenix, a city of 1.6 million people, to Grand Rapids, a city of a mere 200, 000, was undescribable. Iwaniw has spent time in Atlanta, Chicago, and an 18-month stint in Spain. Ellsworth, a Seattle native, had moved to New York City for a boy before ending up in Phoenix. His job included managing operations in five states, including Texas, along with Mexico and Latin America. Snakes are abundant in Austin, and Dallas seemed pleasant during a one-time layover. Ellsworth started a job with Match Group as the director of CRM for 14 of their brands, ironically including Tinder. So they found a townhome with corrugated metal detailing and a large townhome in a FaceTime with their realtor.

They lasted in that home for a little over year, before thinking about starting a family.

“And we knew that three stories wasn’t going to work,” Iwaniw says.

After four bidding wars, they finally won on a Victorian on Victor Avenue.

“We had just lost out on a house that we absolutely loved to a competing offer,” Ellsworth says. “And so we offered, I think, asking price, or right over asking price. We’re like, ‘They’re not going to accept it, right?’ And then they did, and we were like, ‘Oh, crap, what do we do?’ But it was a really beautiful house.”

That’s where they brought their daughter home.

“So it has, you know, beautiful memories,” she says.

And in 2023, they found their M Streets-adjacent house. The Kenwood Avenue Tudor needed significant structural work. The joints in the ceiling above the primary bedroom were cracked causing the ceiling to cave in. The flooring around the refrigerator had rotted due to a leak. Neither of them enjoyed all of the crown molding that needed to be done to be period-appropriate.

“The renovation process has allowed us to buy homes that otherwise we wouldn’t be able to afford,” he says. “We’re able to get into houses with potential and cool neighborhoods, and we enjoy it. There’s a lot of satisfaction that comes from improving spaces and making them livable and beautiful.”

There was temporary buyer’s regret, but they loved the finished product. It went well with their ornate art frames, refurbished vintage and contemporary furnishing they picked up secondhand.

But then there was an open house.

“We weren’t even looking for a house. We were just wrapping up our M Streets house,” Ellsworth says.

She didn’t know much about Ju-Nel architecture and hadn’t spent much time east of the lake. Their daughter was napping at home with Iwaniw and she decided to drop in on the home created by Dallas-favorite architects Lyle Rowley and Jack Wilson.

“I just want to see it, you know?” Ellsworth says. “I just walked around. I was like, ‘Oh, my God, this house is amazing.’”

They didn’t even think about putting an offer. There was already a slew of bids and another bidding war seemed exhausting. And again, they had just finished the Tudor.

But when Ellsworth sat on the edge of the bed in the primary bedroom, looking at the original 9-foot 1960s pool through a wall of glass, she fell in love.

“This is kind of what sold us on the house, just being able to lay in bed and look out.”

She watched the listing all week, noticing it was still on the market Monday, they texted the realtor.

At the time of their purchase, in its 63-year existence, the 2,569-square-foot three-bedroom and three-bath hadn’t been on the market for 53 years and had only had two owners. Ellsworth and Iwaniw bought the home May 2025 and moved in June.

Despite the east side of the home being constructed with primarily glass panels, the home manages to be secluded with a Ju-Nel’s signature line of bamboo trees and an entryway tucked into a courtyard.

The linoleum galley kitchen was transformed with durable leathered granite countertops, Ikea cabinets fitted with third-party door fronts and handmade green Moroccan tile.

“I’m essentially a mule. She’s the brains of the operation,” he says.

They try to do most of the renovations on their own. And they have no problem rebuilding and redoing something that’s not quite right. The right half of the built-in bookshelves they constructed from scratch, they took down, leveled, and rebuilt.

“You got to make it right, take it down,” she says. “So we’ve done that several times.”

They had the living areas painted in a creamy alabaster and replaced the carpet with 2,200 square feet of hardwood. They rebuilt the small deck off the family room on the original coffee can pillars.

On the second floor, where the landing is lined with built-ins, is their daughter’s room tucked into the eaves of the A-frame.

“But she really has the best room in the house,” Ellsworth says.

Eventually, the family of three will find their way back to Seattle to be closer to Ellsworth’s family. After living in more than seven states collectively (and Iwaniw lived in Spain for an 18-month stint), going home to Ellsworth’s family is appealing. Plus, it’s an opportunity for a new house. Perhaps a craftsman.