Design Archives - Page 20 of 22

Housing Discrimination and Racism in Mid-Century America

2 min readThere’s a dark side to the MCM era that we love … it was also an era of overt housing discrimination which cut Black Americans out of decades of post war prosperity building. Let’s talk about that today.

This isn’t the episode I was planning to record this week but I hope you’ll stick around to think about how the history of housing discrimination in America affects the mid-century houses we love and the world we all live in.

If your parents or grandparents bought a house in America during the post war boom years … they and you benefited from a system of racial oppression that encouraged white wealth building through home ownership with one hand … and held back black families with the other.

Mine did and I do.

Design Tips to Help you Fight Clutter!

4 min readYour house can’t help you sort what you love from what you don’t – its not a robot. But design can help you fight clutter by creating places the things you love where use use them!

So how has the battle to fight clutter been going at your house lately?

For me, housekeeping isn’t my strongest suit at the best of times but I do know that I feel better about life and myself when I’m not looking at to-do lists (in pile form) all over the dining table.

Some amount of clutter-busting will always be a form of #adulting but we can make the job harder or easier when the house we live in is designed a certain way. How can you design changes into your house that will help you stop clutter before it can start.

How to Plan a Mid-Century Renovation

4 min readYou NEED a strong masterplan to have a great MCM remodel. Today, I break down how to plan a successful Mid-Century Renovation!

It is so easy to get overwhelmed at the start of a big, planned renovation, especially if you’re a first time home buyer. Adding the stress of a home renovation can be a lot. You CAN do this, though. Sit down and plan a mid-century renovation that SUITS you. Your masterplan will clarify what you want, and steer the path to your ideal future home.

Establish the Remodeling Level that suits you

Do you know your remodeling level? It’s important to figure out how involved of a renovation you really want to take on long before you start! Consider your home’s condition, your lifestyle needs, your budget, and your willingness to deal with chaos.

Use this remodeling framework to plan your ideal MCM update

7 min readDesign a well rounded remodel that turns an every day ranch into your dream house with this easy three part framework borrowed from … the Romans!

Want to make sure you’ve thought of everything when you design a ranch remodel? This easy three part remodeling framework will make sure you are covering all the bases in your MCM home update!

Features of a Midwestern Ranch you should Recognize

10 min readI’m going to be talking about what I know best: the builder basic Midwestern ranch, built by the millions across the country.

Knowing the history and key features of midwestern ranch will help you make good decisions as you work on your home.

Understanding what’s unusual about some of those original features – and also the history and the reasoning behind how they were built – will help you identify what’s rare, cool, quirky, or valuable about your home. And in other cases, it will help you know when something about your home isn’t that important to its overall character and you can modify it with a clean conscience.

Know This before Updating an MCM Home

4 min readWe aren’t the same people our parents and grandparents were, so we might need to tweak their houses to make sure they work as well for us as they did for their original owners.

Before updating an MCM home, you want to know what has changed in the generations that have passed since those mid-century ranches were constructed.

We aren’t the same people our parents and grandparents were, so we need to tweak their homes a bit to make them facilitate a modern lifestyle.

Mid Mod Remodel is a Podcast!

9 min readWith a few done updates and upgrades, any builder basic ranch can become the home of your mid-century dreams.

Remodeling a ranch or other mid century home can be so rewarding but it IS a bit of a challenge. Today, I introduce Mid Mod Remodel – the podcast. We’ll uncover why MCM remodels can be an up hill slog and end with a pep talk about why I find your mid-century ranch to be so darn lovable!

Isthmus Cover Story: Ranch-O-Rama

2 min readCheck out my profile of Madison’s Mid-Century Homes for Isthmus!

My story on Madison’s MCM history is the cover story for Isthmus! Check out this excerpt or read the whole story HERE!

Isthmus Cover: Ranch-o-Rama

Madison’s mid-century homes are undergoing a renaissance

The eye-catching Postweiler house sits on a quiet street in Madison’s Midvale Heights neighborhood. A 1955 ad called it “tomorrow’s home…TODAY.” Characteristic stack bond masonry, with bricks set in a grid rather than offset, wraps a shaded entry and highlights a trapezoidal window wall, seeming to both showcase and protect the open living room. Every element — from the slim proportions of the thinner Roman brick to the double garage door with its three horizontal windows — amplifies its elongated, ground-hugging character.

Perron Nicholas and his wife, Mary Lauten, wanted to simplify their lives, relocate from Mount Horeb to be closer to work and friends, and find a home with distinctive qualities. When Nicholas drove by the just-listed house in 2014, he knew he had to have it. He didn’t realize he would be moving into a historic landmark.

Madison is home to a lot of ranch houses. Many are basic, but others have truly remarkable designs, featuring dramatic roof lines, envelope-pushing floor plans, and subtle modernist detailing. Some were designed by name architects; others are just the best work of area home builders.

Spurned for decades, ranches are in demand again. Mid-century modern styling is pervasive in current home and interior design — what was old has become new again.

Mid-century ranches are rightsized, livable, and filled with charming small details. They are better built than most new construction and easy to add on to and modify. They’re located in easy-commute neighborhoods near many local services. The real estate website Trulia lists the ranch-style house as the most popular type of home for sale in 34 states, including Wisconsin. Modern buyers, like their mid-century counterparts, are falling in love with the idea of the ranch house.

I’m one of them. Mid-century-era homes were not on my radar until I moved back to Madison, my hometown, three years ago looking for a hands-on renovation project. I’d planned to take a year sabbatical from my day job as a residential architect focused on sustainability. What I found in my never-updated 1952 ranch was a new passion. The deeper I dug, the more obsessed I became with the potential of mid-century ranch houses.

The ubiquitous simple ranch house is a form of modernism for the rest of us — an accessible conduit to tap into the great ideas and design of the mid-century period.

History in our midst

… want more? Read the rest of the article at the Isthmus website!

3 easy visualization tools to pre-plan a perfect remodel

6 min readGetting your dream house is about more than pinterest perfect finishes or fresh paint. Try these 3 easy visualizing exercises to pre-plan a perfect remodel!

Imagining an ideal version of the home you already live in is harder than it may seem. People are so adaptable . We get used to our homes to the point that we hardly even see them. It is easy to point to a tired paint color or chipped tile, visualizing a whole new space is hard. Never fear! You can use these three exercises to help break outside of your regular experience and pre-plan a perfect remodel!