Spring 2026

Chalet Modern

Featured, MY KCTV LIVE

Using future-forward building technology, an Old Leawood teardown transmutes into the most sustainable home on the block.

Words
Christine Emming

Photos
Matthew Anderson
@matthewaphoto

Architect
SixTwentyOne
@sixtwentyone_

Builder
Kala Performance Homes
@kalabuilt

Designer
Therese Wickey Designs
theresewickeydesigns.com

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The story of how we found our lot still makes me smile,” says homeowner and designer Therese Wickey. She and her husband, Tim, already lived in Old Leawood and adored the neighborhood’s charm. But cleaning their screened-in porch, they discovered wood rot. Again.

With a grin, Tim said, “Maybe it’s time to move.”

He may have been teasing, but Therese started looking on Zillow and found a lot down the street. Minutes later, the couple hopped on their bikes to check it out and knew instantly—this was the perfect teardown for their dream home, right in the neighborhood they already loved.

“We made the purchase within two days,” Therese says.

They also knew exactly what to build there.  “My husband and I have always dreamed of building a high-performance passive home that was both beautiful and energy efficient,” Therese says.

Passive homes are built to a meticulous standard of energy-efficiency, all the while prioritizing comfortable living spaces. With their specifications altering the way the home controls thermal, solar, and air, passive home owners expect their home to endure for a century—decades longer than a home built to minimum construction standards.

“There are six sides to every building, and the goal is the same for each of them, though the practical techniques vary for walls, foundation, and roof,” says the Kala team. “The result is a more durable, healthy, comfortable, and sustainable home.”

 

Spring Feature 2026 myKC Live Interview

Kala Performance Homes Managing Director David Schleicher, Six Twenty-One Architects Founder Dan Brown and Therese Wickey Design Owner Therese Wickey join designKC Magazine Publisher Keith Sauro to go inside one of the beautiful homes featured in the designKC 2026 Spring Issue. To subscribe to designKC, use promo code “MYKCLIVE1″ to get a 1-year subscription for only $15 or promo code “MYKCLIVE2″ to receive a 2-year subscription for only $25.

Visible wood grain surrounds and grounds the formal dining area, providing an instant ease to guests. Atop the inset shelving of the floating wall stands a little girl dancing, sculpted by the homeowner’s grandfather, Art Wickey.
The walnut floating wall was designed as a collaboration between Brown and Wickey. When closed, it prettily divides the foyer from the dining room. But its double duty is revealed, when opened, as a well-organized liquor cabinet. On the opposite side, the wall conceals the foyer’s coat closet.
The walnut floating wall was designed as a collaboration between Brown and Wickey. When closed, it prettily divides the foyer from the dining room. But its double duty is revealed, when opened, as a well-organized liquor cabinet. On the opposite side, the wall conceals the foyer’s coat closet.
Open to the living space, the kitchen features an elegant custom cabinet for pots and pans inspired by a magazine photograph. “The quality of their craftsmanship and materials was outstanding,” Therese says of the custom build by Metal 1 of Lee’s Summit. Below the cabinet lies a powder-coated drawer with an insert for storing lids and cooking screens. Metal 1 also crafted the fireplace, range hood, and a magnetic spice rack.
Sunlight proliferates in this radiant stairway, supported by organic stone and the warmth from the fireplace. Therese’s idea of bringing the stone inside was inspired by contemporary rehabilitation projects in historic structures in Spain, where existing stone walls were necessarily incorporated with contemporary elements. In the stairway, the stone, backlit by windows, offers a grounding effect and blurs the line between exterior and interior spaces.
The fireplace material is the same raw metal with a black wax finish, applied in several layers, that was used in the kitchen. Soft, elegant hues of Dolomite marble used on the base infuse the home with a calming, spa-like energy.
A wood head wall warms up the space and ties back to the home’s exterior materials, while vaulted ceilings allow daylight to reflect deeper into the space, giving the master bedroom a grand air.
The couple’s love of collecting meaningful, one-of-a-kind art runs through every corner of the home.
This passthrough is invisible from the main entry points of the home, tucked just behind the main kitchen. It functions as the kitchen’s workhorse, housing appliances, a second wash station, and plenty of storage in a beautiful, white oak surround with marble countertops and backsplash.

After choosing Kala Performance Homes to construct their passive home, the couple interviewed architects. Founder and architect Dan Brown at SixTwentyOne understood their vision.

“Dan was the right fit for us,” Therese says.

Plans began to materialize for a distinctive home design that melded with the established neighborhood. Brown designed spaces where the couple would be equally comfortable entertaining large family gatherings and living by themselves.

“We envisioned a space filled with light, comfort, and purpose—where every room is both functional and beautiful,” Therese says.

With her own extensive background in design, Therese had previously designed all three of the custom homes she and Tim have built together.

“At first, I think Dan was a little surprised by how specific our vision was—especially since I wanted to handle all the interior and exterior design elements myself,” Therese says.

Taking inspiration from their modern home in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, Tim and Therese emphasized a love of the outdoors and natural light.

“Capturing southern light and bringing it deep into interior spaces was a high priority,” Dan says. “Our aim is to create spaces where you don’t need artificial lighting during daylight hours, and this home is a great example of that approach.”

Tim and Therese wanted an airy main floor plan with a functional kitchen open to the main living space, a joint office, a tranquil master suite, and welcoming areas for their dogs. In short, a home that is not merely efficient, but an authentic reflection of the homeowners’ lives. The home’s floor plan is thoughtful, but simple. All of the daily living spaces—living room, kitchen, primary suite—are located on the back side of the home for additional privacy, while secondary spaces, such as a formal dining area and office, occupy the street-facing façade.

Connecting the indoors with the outdoors meant using exposed natural wood, which offers a calm, grounding visual.

“There is a comfort and warmth that no man-made product can achieve as wood can,” Brown says.

The couple’s dream home needed to include space for fitness, a shared passion. A hot tub nestles beside a 10’ x 16’ endless pool—the wave function allows a person to swim in place—that the homeowners use every morning.
The couple’s dream home needed to include space for fitness, a shared passion. A hot tub nestles beside a 10’ x 16’ endless pool—the wave function allows a person to swim in place—that the homeowners use every morning.
A passive home is one that aims to control energy transfer between the inside and the outside of a home by breaking the path energy uses to flow in and out. This is done by adding continuous exterior insulation outside the structure of your home, and integrating high-performance windows into a wall much thicker with insulation than code-compliance requires.
A passive home is one that aims to control energy transfer between the inside and the outside of a home by breaking the path energy uses to flow in and out. This is done by adding continuous exterior insulation outside the structure of your home, and integrating high-performance windows into a wall much thicker with insulation than code-compliance requires.
These large, back-facing windows are shaded by a brise soleil, a system of shade fins that block harsh summer daylight and allow for year-round use without an interior curtain.
These large, back-facing windows are shaded by a brise soleil, a system of shade fins that block harsh summer daylight and allow for year-round use without an interior curtain.

Natural light is also an essential part of the home’s architecture. “Expansive windows and thoughtfully-framed doorways invite sunlight and sky into nearly every room,” Therese says. “The luminous atmosphere highlights the home’s clean geometry and organic materials.”

Large windows and framed views are primarily oriented to the south, where there is nearly 300 feet of private, wooded land. “Even though there is a lot of glass, the home feels very private,” Brown says. The property’s tree-lined backyard backs up to a secluded ravine. These large, back-facing windows are shaded by a brise-soleil, a system of shade fins that block harsh summer sunlight and allow year-round use without a curtain.

Throughout the home, texture fluctuates pleasingly from the hardwood floors and ceiling planks to stone and ceramic finishes; each surface feels effortlessly curated. In nature, very few things are perfect and smooth, so humans are drawn to texture, variation, and imperfection.

“I love seeing people running their hands on walls in homes we design,” Brown notes. “It means there’s something special there that they want to connect with.” 

Art is central to the home’s aesthetic. Many of the featured art pieces were created by Tim’s grandfather and hold significant meaning for the couple. After meeting and befriending artists together, the couple also gifts each other “artworks that mirror our journeys and shared experiences,” Therese says. In designing her home, she created spaces to celebrate these special pieces.

Though transient objects like art can change as tastes evolve, Brown says, “Our goal is for the home’s architecture to age gracefully with the homeowner.”

Resources

Architect: SixTwentyOne 
Contractor and FinishCarpentry: KALA Performance Homes   
Designer: Therese Wickey Designs
Custom Cabinetry and Floating Wall: Gillpatrick Woodworks 
High-Performance Windows: Zola

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