Most residential real estate agents come into this business with a story about the role architecture had in their lives and how they grew to be passionate about the places we call home.  For Berkeley Hills Realty’s Broker/owner Emeritus, Nancy Gruys Mueller, the answer to the Nature vs Nurture question is– both.  She grew up from and in the world of architecture.  Her father, noted architect Frank Gruys, built the beautiful Mid Century Los Angeles home she grew up in.  Her father imparted an early respect for the power in the walls that frame our lives.  And, it was the house itself that gave her the reference point for how beautifully and subtly impactful our surroundings can be on our childhood.

Her history in the LA house planted many soul seeds that inform more than just Nancy’s chosen career path.  Nancy is pictured below at about age three busy with her birthday cake.  In addition to her fabulous real estate prowess, many in our office can testify as to the wonderful cook she is today.  She is also pictured prophetically on a bike.  An avid bicycle enthusiast, Nancy is known to regularly ride the daunting hills near her Claremont home and she can help advise on the best Bay Area (and worldwide) bicycle excursions.

The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, even as it heads north from LA.  Nancy moved to Berkeley in 1967 to attend UCB and never left.  She raised her two sons in the stunning custom home she still lives in today.  The beautiful home that has helped nurture a new generation of Muellers was built by another important man in her life, her husband– accomplished Bay Area architect, Robert Mueller.