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Bringing a Dream Down to Earth
A door on one side of the house opens into the plane's aisle. The idea of uniting plane and house came to Rick Broome in a recurring dream, he says.
(Jerilee Bennett - Photo By Jerilee Bennett/the Gaz)
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"No one knew what 'United Airlines blue' was," she said. She had to lug dozens of samples home until she found the right one -- that nondescript airline grayish blue.
She had the wall behind the plane painted a sort of wild-blue-yonder dark blue but said it's just not right. So she is looking at paint samples again.
One feature in the sunroom that complements the airplane is Rick's studio work table, which he designed to look like a United ticket counter.
Really, though, the sunroom decor isn't what this space is all about. It's the plane, and Rick's goal is to log 50,000 hours in it over the next 10 years. It shouldn't take him long: He hunkers down in his 727 to get ideas for his paintings, and sometimes to pray or take an occasional nap.
He said he thinks it's the only airplane that's been incorporated into a house. A California woman is planning an airplane home, but it isn't finished. Scattered around the country are a few planes in museums and restaurants, including one at Solo's in Colorado Springs, where you can dine in a Boeing KC-97 tanker. But in Rick's research, he hasn't found anyone who knows of another plane in a home. It's a "historical piece of aviation sculpture," he said.
He estimated that the airline project has cost more than $100,000, but he's not done yet. He has many other plans for the room, too many to mention.
If that's not enough to keep him busy, he can always fill time with another hobby. The Broomes' house backs up to a lakelike reservoir, and Rick has been licensed as a wildlife park caretaker for wild ducks. Every year he feeds 12,000 pounds of cracked corn to the birds.
"He likes anything that flies," Billie said.
