Mark Johnson is a third-generation real estate agent who dreamed of building a beautiful family home. Part of his vision featured a sweet over-the-top garage and office. One of his main clients in real estate is Zetterberg Custom Homes & Remodeling. “I used to say the worst part about doing an open house in a Zetterberg Home is having to go home to a non-Zetterberg Home,” Johnson said. In 2022, that all changed, when he enlisted the Zetterberg team to build his family a new home in Gig Harbor.
“These are my brothers, and they blessed me by helping us build a home that I never in my wildest dreams thought I could have,” Johnson said, adding that they all grew up together while attending the same church. “My priorities were that the land and the home were for my family. But for this build, I wanted to plan the garage and my office.”
The garage didn’t cost a fortune, and it is average in size, Johnson noted. But it’s a special, well-thought-out space he had mapped out in his mind long before the actual ground broke for the home project. He enjoys spending time watching a worship show on TV or listening to a podcast while building old box bikes or cleaning his cars.
He also enjoys sharing “his space” with family and friends. “Cars have been an amazing bonding experience for my whole family, but priceless for me and my son. We just love to be out there together.”
A Nod To Dad
His father was a dragster racer in the 1950s-’70s, and there are several photos of him. “I put a photo progression from the first hand-built-looking tub he built in an alley near Lincoln High School to some of his more modern cars.”
- Johnson also converted his father’s old racetrack tool chest into a custom table and made a lamp from a car camshaft and an old Johnson outboard.
- His dad loved drinking Coke, so there is a Coke refrigerator.
- “He also put my siblings and I all in quarter midget race cars pretty much before we ever went to kindergarten, and I have some of those memories hanging. My dad has been gone a long time, but our best times together were always at car shows on Hosmer growing up.”
