Ex-NFL player buys ‘coolest home on the market’ in return to Sacramento area. See it

Coming back to the Sacramento area to live near family and friends, former NFL defensive tackle Armond Armstead and his wife Greer quickly bought what a real estate expert called “the coolest home on the market.”

The couple purchased the timeless and modern Fair Oaks Village home near the American River for $1.28 million. The design and history of the residence instantly appealed to them.

“The design jumped out at me immediately,” said Armond, whose brother is San Francisco 49ers defensive end Arik Armstead. “My wife saw it (first), and showed it to me — she thought that I was joking, how excited I was. It’s very unique. The shapes and shadowing and all the thoughtfulness jumped out at me immediately. The detail really spoke to me, and inspired me.”

Natural light fills the home through abundant glass walls, while angles and curves give the structure a dramatic flair not often found in single-family homes built 45 years ago.

In an Instagram post, Sacramento Mid Century Homes called it “the coolest house on the market right now” after the property was listed April 10 for $1.35 million.

Sacramento appraiser and housing market analyst Ryan Lundquist said the home is “like an art piece ... that nobody else has.”

Architect Eugene Hoover, whose work projects include the former R.A. Herold Wing at the Crocker Art Museum, designed and built the house for himself in 1977.

“Being inspired in spaces is really important,” Armond said. “The way things are designed can change your perspective and your viewpoint in life. I think of it as an honor to be able to live in a space that is designed so well. It’s really an extension ... of nature. I look at it as an honor to be in a space that’s so artistically and well thought out.”

Hoover was the only person to ever own the house. The architect died in November 2022 at the age of 82.

“(Hoover) believed that timeless architecture would stand the test of time, and this seems to be definitely true as it feels like something that could have been built yesterday,” listing agent Angela Gitt of Lyon Real Estate told The Sacramento Bee in an interview before the final sale.

The residence sits on a hill on one of the highest lots in Fair Oaks Village, a community 15 miles northeast of Sacramento, California, and overlooks a lush canopy of trees. It’s set back from Capitola Avenue on a private, 0.73-acre setting near the American River.

“I love that the house is so hidden from the street and there’s so much nature around the house,” Greer said. “It’s built around the land, in a sense, and has its own grandness about it. It looks like a museum.”

The home is entered through the original and unique steel and glass front door and then flows into a living room with large windows and a fireplace. The kitchen, which has butcher-block counters, an eating area and a walk-in pantry, looks out onto the resort-like pool. Next to the kitchen is a separate, dramatic, curved dining room offering incredible tree-top views.

Upstairs, there’s the primary bedroom and bathroom, and a family-room loft that opens onto a balcony with panoramic views.

Outside, there are grassy areas, lush landscaping, the pool and decking and several outdoor entertaining spaces with substantial parking in the front.

“Since we have been moving around a lot over the past couple of years, and we do have small kids, one thing we both tried to learn and practice is having less stuff, and instead being more inspired by our spaces and our surroundings,” Greer said. “We immediately loved Fair Oaks, in general, and Old Fair Oaks, and also the nature of the river.”

Greer’s parents live within walking distance on the other side of the American River in Gold River. However, Armond and Greer weren’t planning on moving back to Sacramento as soon as they did.

They put an offer on the house less than a week after it was listed. Cheryl Nightingale of House Real Estate represented the buyers.

“We weren’t really planning on moving to Sacramento, at least this soon, because we just sold a house in Hawaii and were living in Southern California, but occasionally I would look at houses in Sacramento. I showed (Armond) this house, and he’s like, ‘Oh, wow, it’s really perfect. Let’s go tomorrow.’”

For now, the Armsteads said they are happy to begin settling into the home. When they’re ready to remodel or expand the house, they have photographs, information and design plans from Hoover’s collection to guide them in what he envisioned for the property.

“We’re trying to do our best to honor everything that Eugene and his wife built, and trying to keep the legacy of what he’s been cultivating and developing out there on the block,” Armond said.

The Armsteads said they’ve scaled back on work for the time being in order to establish roots in their new home and focus on raising their four young children with another on the way.

The athletic couple have competed at the top levels of their respective sports. Greer joined the UC Berkeley women’s rowing team after graduating from Rio Americano High School in Arden Arcade.

Armond, 32, played high school football at Pleasant Grove High School in Elk Grove. The Sacramento Bee named him All-Metro League MVP as a senior defensive and offensive lineman. He went on to play college football at the University of Southern California for three seasons, from 2008 to 2010.

In 2012, he signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League. A year later, he jumped to the NFL with the New England Patriots. He announced his retirement from football in 2014.

In 2015, Armstead settled a lawsuit against USC that blamed the school for a heart attack he suffered while playing football for the Trojans. The heart attack happened months before what would have been his senior year. The lawsuit blamed the administration of the drug Toradol for causing the heart attack that cut short his promising football career.