Gehry, a modest man, was uncomfortable with the P.R. campaign. Following Easy Edges came Rough Edges. Rugged and more abstract than the original cardboard collection, the Rough Edges pieces were produced in smaller quantities and sold at even higher prices through exclusive galleries. In 1978, after more than 20 years in the business, Gehry finally got national attention for one of his buildings, ironically, an inexpensive renovation of his own home. He enclosed the first floor in a corrugated metal sheath that looks from the street like a jagged privacy fence, then expanded the ground floor space out to meet it.
Concrete blocks retain a small, terraced yard.
Concrete steps, a plywood stoop and spare patches of chain-link and white picket fencing all provide accents. Meanwhile, the demure pink second floor with its pristine white trim, brick chimney and black tar paper gambrel roof peeks out above the whole assemblage. Gehry's house might appear hackneyed to anyone who didn't know how far his predates the most recent crop. Part of the '91 re-renovation was to provide more privacy for the family from the vanloads of architecture students who still parade past on a regular basis. It's like a Talmudic question.