Images by Ron McDaniel
With an extraordinary eye for detail and an exemplary understanding of the drama of less, Ron has created a modern home that reflects the minimalist formula exceedingly well. This is stunning in many regards, considering he’s a great collector and this concept is being published in a magazine that absolutely encourages and celebrates the hunt and acquisition of things – mostly car-related things, but we’re open to anything anyone would find collectible. Why not? But Ron has shown you don’t need more to have more.
Truly a strange concept, but we’re all learning, right?
Ron started from roughly ground-zero to create not only a collection that would reflect his tastes, but also the home in which to showcase them. The idea was fairly simple: create a home in which to live in art within art. M. C. Escher would appreciate the idea.
“The house is very modern, with a lot of glass,” said Ron. “I remodeled it when I bought it and created a home that’s much more like an art gallery. Even the exterior reflects a clean, modern, museum-like design with no overgrown trees and lots of drought-resistant plants.”
Purchased in 2019, Ron considered it a potential forever home. Single story, in a gated community, in an excellent neighborhood, he remodeled it on mostly the same footprint to create exactly the home he was envisioning.
“It’s not a big house, but it’s got excellent presence. When I remodeled it, I knew I wanted it to be a showpiece, a place that was clean and sharp, free of clutter and chaos. This was a philosophy that would extend to the garage.”
Where once there was a two-car garage, now sits an oversized four-car space with a full, clear-glass door, clean white walls with a matching ceiling, and woodgrain flooring. The oversized nature of the garage allowed Ron to put his Ferrari Testarossa and Lamborghini Gallardo on full display while enjoying enough space to establish two seating areas. With a full glass door, plenty of light is gently bounced around by the white walls during the day, and gallery lighting creates a warm environment at night. From the outside looking in, the garage lends the feel of a high-end showroom. But, despite the visual appeal and continuity with Ron’s house, the idea of a glass garage door wasn’t popular with the HOA.
“Initially, the HOA wasn’t open to the clear-glass garage door,” Ron said. “And I understood their reasoning; it made perfect sense. The rule was in place to prevent people from seeing unsightly items like lawncare and sporting equipment. Completely understandable, but my vision was to create a gallery lounge that housed my cars, something comfortable inside and aesthetically pleasing when looking at the house from the street. Also, because so much of the house is glass, to install a wood or otherwise solid door simply risked the flow. A glass garage door was imperative.”
With the help of his attorney, Ron gave the HOA various assurances and they allowed the glass door.
“It’s worked out very well,” Ron said. “It looks like a luxury showroom, which was very much my vision.”
That said, Ron often sees people slowing or even stopping to get a better look at the house and the garage, especially during the Christmas season, when Ron decorates the house with special lights and large nutcrackers. He has large red bows that he places atop the Ferrari and Lamborghini, adding just another detail to the festivities.
“It’s fun, and I think in the end everyone is happy, including the neighbors and the HOA. I love art, so art has been hung in the garage, which absolutely echoes the gallery theme. There are also a couple of comfortable seating areas, sustaining the social aspect of the garage. Lights are on timers, so the house is illuminated at night and that really creates a dramatic look, and the showroom anchors the overall architecture of the house,” Ron said.
Luxury vinyl plank flooring (LVP) is used throughout the garage, mimicking to some extent the look of the authentic European oak wood floors within the home.
“I wanted to be able to walk into the garage and not feel a difference under my feet. But I also didn’t want a floor that looked like a garage, it had to look like a gallery,” he said. “It had to flow, the look had to be an extension of the house, because ultimately it is just a big room in the house. Also, I found this flooring suitable for a garage application in case of any fluid leaks from the vehicles.”
Providing space to relax and enjoy the big room in the house, Ron has included a coffee table, sofa, and sideboard in the garage from Pacific Green Furniture in Fiji, which are very much art unto themselves.
“When I first saw their products, I was intensely drawn to them,” Ron said. “They were exquisitely crafted, with deep finishes, and unique touches and details that made them stand apart from anything else.”
Flanked with two big screen televisions, Ron has also wired in a Bang & Olufsen stereo system to handle the sounds, which was predictable if you knew him. Ron has long been a Bang & Olufsen loyalist with an extensive collection of their products.
“Bang & Olufsen items are displayed throughout my home serving as functional pieces of art,” he said. “Having been a Bang & Olufsen collector for many years, there was no question I would choose that brand to incorporate into my Garage Lounge.”
A high-top table and stool set has been placed as well, and refreshments are kept cool by way of a stainless-steel refrigerator complete with a built-in water and ice dispenser. Speaking of keeping cool, Ron has also installed a mini split system.
“It really is a great place to entertain, it expands on the abilities of the house to accommodate people comfortably,” said Ron. “Even with the two cars inside, there is ample room for people to mingle around. It’s been wonderful.”
Another of Ron’s passions is collecting automotive luggage. The Ferrari and Lamborghini both have fitted custom luggage sets, and he enjoys displaying them with the cars when he shows them at events. He also has a BMW i8, which has factory luggage. If you know your i8s and Louis Vuitton, you likely know what this is all about, and you are very possibly gobsmacked right about now, because you know how excruciatingly rare the LV i8 luggage set is.
“BMW wanted to offer their customers a special luggage set, so in 2014 they worked with Louis Vuitton to create it. But, by the time all was said and done, the set retailed for about $28,000,” Ron said. “This was hugely expensive for a car costing about $150,000, so needless to say, very few were sold. To further complicate matters, just seven Louis Vuitton stores in the world were authorized to sell the luggage, only two of which were in the United States, one in Los Angeles and one in New York. Available for just one year, it’s believed that only 10 sets of the luggage were sold.”
According to women’s online retailer Public Desire, the BMW-LV partnerships has long stood as one of the most sought-after brand collaborations ever, responsible for roughly 6.2m Google searches. The luggage resale value has skyrocketed to about eight times its original value, with an average price of a stratospheric $177,000.
When Hagerty’s “Revelations” contacted Ron to use his i8 for one of their programs, they were overblown to also find out that he also had the luggage set. Of course, they immediately asked to send it with the car for filming.
“That was a little nerve wracking, to be honest,” said Ron. “Supposedly there are less than 10 complete sets in the world. And they want me to trust them enough to send the luggage along to them so they can film it and chat about it and then get it back, all in the same condition in which it was sent to them. Discussing my concerns, Hagerty wrote a special policy covering just the luggage by itself, and that settled me. I was still nervous, but I felt better.”
Ron’s i8 brought about another interesting element to the home and garage by way of its charger. Ron isn’t the kind to just settle for whatever the market will provide him. He seeks out the best, both aesthetically and functionally. As such, he wanted the extremely rare BMW WallBox Charger.
“The BMW i WallBox Pro EV Charger was never available in the US market, it was only released for the European market,” said Ron. “Seeing one in the US is truly a rare sight.”
Ron found his WallBox Charger for sale in Europe and waited many months to receive it, thanks to being held up in customs on a few occasions, and just being a bulky item.
“It was too big to place in the garage, so it had to be installed outside,” he said. “When the HOA finally approved it, the city denied it, insisting I install a solar system to help provide power for it, which was fine, I had it installed. But the permits and the work, it was all quite an undertaking. But, in the end, it’s now in the driveway and the i8 lives under a custom cover and has its charger, and the charger looks spectacular out there. Funny thing, because it’s a level 2 station, on occasion, the GPS in an EV will guide the driver to my house in search of a public charger.”
While most readers of this magazine adhere to the idea that more is more, Ron gives us reason to pause and rethink that concept. Maybe he’s got something with his less is more mantra. But, as he says, only if it’s of exceptional quality.
