Blog - Page 2 of 22 - MidMod Midwest

Mid-Century Bath Design Basics

21 min read Make the most of your bathroom remodel with these essential mid-century bath design concepts. Get just the mcm style you’re going for, whether you are upgrading, backdating or starting from scratch.

Most mid-century bathrooms are pretty modest by modern standards. They tend to be small and there often are too few of them in the house. Upgrading or restoring the mid-century charm in a bathroom while making it work better is one of the most consistent requests from both design clients and Ready to Remodel students.

So, how can you give yourself a serious bathroom upgrade while remaining true to the mcm feel of you home? The right choices for you are going to depend on your family and your taste and the home you’re working with.

Easy Owners’ Suite Space Steals

16 min read Don’t have an owners’ suite in your modest mid-century home? Want one? Let’s talk about how to make that happen.

Did you know that there’s a right and wrong way to add an owners’ suite onto your house? Well, if you care about costs, there is! Today, we’re going to talk about how you can effectively steal space for an owners’ suite in and around your mid-century house – whether you’re just expanding your closet space a little or adding a whole new wing.

Bedroom Storage Secrets

19 min read Looking for clever bedroom storage solutions designed to fit into to your (modest) mid-century bedroom? These bedroom storage secrets will help you create a mid mod inspired space that meets your modern storage needs.

Bedroom storage in mid-century homes leaves a lot to be desired!

So how can you and your mid century bedroom have at all? Is it even possible to make a space with ample bedroom storage, peaceful sleeping area, de facto, laundry folding station, and maybe a little work from home spot too?

The perfect first project is a small bath remodel

16 min read If you are stuck in neutral on your remodel, the best way kickstart the work is to find a perfect first project. Piece of cake, right? Right!

My DM’s are full of tales of remodeling overwhelm and woe from mid-century homeowners who just don’t know where to begin. Overwhelm is not just for folks mid-remodel! We get to experience the doubts, the decision paralysis, the budget blues all along the remodeling journey. Including before construction actually starts. The best way I know to kickstart the work is to find a perfect first project.

I hear you out there yelling, “Della! I don’t know which project is the perfect first project!!! If I knew, I’d start already.”

I have good news for you. I know exactly which project is your perfect first project. In fact, it’s the perfect first project for almost any remodeler.

Add a high-end owners’ suite in situ

3 min read You can create a high-end owners’ suite without moving walls. Floating storage and built-ins, along with just the right nudges elevate without adding space.

Here’s what we were dealing with: a bland owners’ suite lacking mid-century charm and functional storage.

This charming 1956 ranch already had a functional floor plan. The clients wanted an mcm feel for the bathroom upgrade and better storage, without too much disruption. Luckily for these clients hoping to concentrate their budget in other areas, busting down walls is not the only way to add a high-end owners’ suite.

Our goal was to liven up the existing owners’ bathroom with minimal changes to the plumbing and consider the overall bed/bath situation in the private areas. We focused on creating a more charming en suite with updated finishes and reclaiming the second bath from some unfortunate renovation decisions by a former owner.

Our Owners’ Suite Solutions

Our three schemes provide options at every level of renovation. A slight tweak can yield significant changes. Cleverly placed floating storage and full-height built-ins can transform a space without tanking the budget. Plus, they allow for generous high-end storage within a smaller footprint than a walk-in closet. Snagging a few inches from a closet discreetly broadens a bathroom for a more comfortable experience.

SCHEME 1 – A Small Tweak for a Transformation

SCHEME 2 – Extend, Nudge and Scooch

SCHEME 3 – A Storage Filled Sanctuary

Hoping for an (almost) demo-free owners’ suite upgrade?

Learn the secrets to maximizing your square footage in this blog post.
Got all the space you need, but none of the MCM style you love? Discover your mid-century style with this quiz!
Learn how to get ready to remodel in 2023 by watching my FREE Masterclass, “How to Plan an MCM Remodel to Fit Your Life(…and Budget)”, ON DEMAND.

Pivot With a Master Plan

17 min read A master plan will help you pivot when surprises and setbacks threaten to throw your remodel off track.

Every remodeling project gets stuck at some point. Life is chock-full of surprises, setback and unexpected twists – work or family obligations change, supply chain snags mean choosing different materials, shifts in the economy make scope or schedule changes a must.

But setbacks will seem less bad (because, #realtalk, they always feel sort of bad) when you are prepared to pivot.

The Owners’ Suite: A Brief History and Foolproof Advice

19 min read An owners’ suite has become a must have in modern homes, but less than a generation ago almost half of homes were still without indoor plumbing. So how did our bathroom expectations change so drastically in such a short time? And more importantly, how the heck do you fit an owners’ suite into a modest mid-century ranch?

Does the primary bed/bed configuration – the owners’ suite – in your mid-century home leave a lot to be desired? Maybe you a have a glorified powder bath tucked in next to your bedroom through a pocket door. Perhaps your ranch has one bath for you, the family, and any dinner guests who use the main floor!

If you wish for a little more from your bed and bath configuration … You’re not alone!!

The Power of Sketches

22 min read Sketching is the most important visual thinking tool you can use to plan your remodel. Sketches help you generate ideas quickly, explore alternatives without risk and avoid getting bogged down in the details too soon. And YOU CAN sketch…even if you have kindergarten-level drawing skills.

Sketching is the most important visual thinking tool you can use to plan your remodel. Sketches help you generate ideas quickly, explore alternatives without risk and avoid getting bogged down in the details too soon. And YOU CAN Sketch…even if you have kindergarten-level drawing skills.

Now when you think about a drawing that’s related to your remodel plan you are probably thinking of a blueprint. If you are, there are two things you need to know. One, blueprints haven’t been blue since, oh, before I went to design school. And two, they are the least interesting drawings in your remodel.

They also take months, years or even decades to complete depending on the complexity of the project. A sketch can be done in moments. It’s simple and yet surprisingly effective and evocative.

And here’s why. It’s not just less, it’s centralized. It shows the details that matter and only the details that matter. A sketch is precise to the level that you create it with no expectation of accuracy. It allows us to talk about the shapes and forms of things, the overall relation of length and width.

Easy Summer Projects to Tackle This Weekend

16 min read Easy summer projects can help you kick-off this year’s (mid-century) home improvement season! Here are a few of my favorites.

What feels like the true beginning of summer to you? Memorial Day weekend? Seeing the first lightning bugs? The last day of school? For me, my birthday in early June is the real start of summer!

It kind of feels like we just dived into the middle of summer in the last week or two and I have a feeling you might be in exactly the right headspace to take on some easy summer projects to make your mid-century home a little more your own.

So, grab your lemonade and a lawn chair and listen in for a few fun (and, okay some less fun but more necessary) summer project you can tackle right now to kick off your mid-century home improvement season!

Ready to Remodel Student Stories

36 min read Can’t get enough mid-century house talk? Listen in on updates from recent Ready to Remodel students.

I LOVE updates from our homeowners, both design clients and Ready to Remodel students!

Photos in the Facebook group are great. Emails with project pictures? A delight!

I bet YOU like to peek inside other people’s remodeling process, too!

This is one of my favorite parts of setting up a strong Mid Mod ReMod Squad – you get to hear all about everyone else’s projects.

Their wins can feel like your wins.

Their challenges make yours feel a little easier.

And their advice can prove INVALUABLE as you work to avoid remodeling regret for your own home.

So, I’ve borrowed a little Mid Mod ReMod Squad energy to share with you today.