Here’s the list you need to get started with this Mid-Century thing OR to dig much deeper. Learn the history, get some great DIY and design tips, and set yourself up for continuing inspiration. These are two dozen of my favorite Mid-Century ranch resources and I use them on a regular basis.
Have fun exploring!
If you know of a great Mid-Century Ranch Resource I’m forgetting … give me a shout out in the comments and I’ll make sure it gets updated! Bear in mind … this is only my top three in each category. Want more? Grab the pdf checklist for 56 (and counting)!
While I do own all the books listed below, I don’t have any affiliation with any of these companies or individuals. I just like their stuff and I think you will, too. Enjoy my Mid-Century Ranch Resource List!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Get Started with Mid-Century Modern
If you’re just looking for a jumping off point, here are a few of my FAVORITE posts and web accessible articles that really get to the heart of the mid-century style today.
Curbed Handbook: How to renovate a Mid-century Modern House [article]
Curbed Handbook’s motto is “Everything you need to know about your home, from securing a mortgage to painting your living room.” They really deliver on that promise. So when they turn their eye to Mid Mod, I always tune in! Here are some very universal tips from Adrian Kinney – a Mid-Century real estate specialist in Denver.
Forgotten Lessons of Mid-Century Modern Design [article]
One of my favorite West Coast architecture firms, Build LLC, put together this great analysis of the design ideas behind the wonderful Mid-Century buildings we love so much. Designers of any era should get back to some of these great design standards.
Idaho Modern Field Guide: the history, care, and keeping of your mid-century home. [pdf]
Idaho Modern and Preservation Idaho have put together an AMAZING style guide to Mid-Century homes. While their specific focus is their home state, this is a wonderful jumping off point for any Ranch owner looking for more info and details about the history (and best future) of their home. It is available on the website of my friends at mid-centuryhomes.com (featured later in this list.
Dig Deeper into Design with Mid-century Ranch Resource Books
Atomic Ranch: Design Ideas for Stylish Ranch Homes [book]
Atomic Ranch: MidCentury Interiors [book]
by Michelle Gringeri-Brown, photos by Jim Brown
The pair behind Atomic Ranch Magazine have published two coffee table books full of truly stunning mid-century homes from the Atomic Age. The houses they feature are all much more dramatic and flamboyant variants of the ranch form than my humble 1952 tract house but they still provide some valuable insight into the style of the time … and are just plain stunning eye candy.
Ranches: Design Ideas for Renovating Remodeling, and Building New [book]
by M. Caren Connolly and Louis Wasserman
This is a GREAT resource for learning some of the history of the ranch style and a not-so-great resource for people hoping to update their ranch in a mid-century style. Originally published in 2003, the “updates” in this book are pretty dated – a lot of sculptural drywall and art glass. In general I don’t love advice that suggest you make your ranch house look less like a ranch house. However, there are some good layout improvements and some GREAT analyses of the original ranch form and style.
Not so Big Remodeling: Tailoring your Home for the Way you Really Live [book]
by Sarah Susanka
This book has nothing to do with ranches or mid-century style, per se, but it is a WONDERFUL reference for anyone considering updating their existing home. Susanka’s pitch is that if you limit you quantity – whether you are building new or remodeling – you can have more money and time to spend on quality. Honestly, this philosophy underpins everything I do. READ THIS BOOK!
Learn the History of the Mid-Century Era
The Ranch House [book]
by Alan Hess
Hess argues that “the Ranch House matches the philosophical potency of the bungalow, … outstrips the brownstone in numbers, and … challenges the log cabin in mythic power.” He’s right. Here’s a great history of the ranch house AND comprehensive photo collection of the style. This coffee table book could almost BE a coffee table. I highly recommend it.
Mid-Century Modern: Living with mid-century modern design [book]
by Judith Miller
A pithy introduction that talks about how the ideas of mid-century designers evolved into our modern homes. Then miller gets encyclopedic about how Mid Mod design shows up in glass, ceramics, metalwork and furniture. This is a handy reference for any Mid-Century enthusiast!
Ranches, Rowhouses, and Railroad Flats: American Homes: How They Shape Our Landscapes and Neighborhoods [book]
by Christine Hunter
This book has been on my shelf since grad school. It is less about ranches specifically than about what Americans expect from our homes … and why. This is a great read for anyone who wants to understand the history of how ranches – and ranch neighborhoods – took over American life. This isn’t a coffee table reference book, it’s a good non-fiction read. Check it out!
Julius Shulman: Chicago Mid-Century Modernism [book]
by Gary Gand
“While the book is a fitting tribute to the photography of the great Julius Shulman, who died last year, it’s equally significant as a document of the rich local legacy of midcentury design and a growing grassroots movement to save it from replacement by the onslaught of starter castles and piccoli palazzi.” ~Architect’s Newspaper
Mid-Century Ranch Resource List For DIYers
If you’re going to be taking on a home renovation project yourself you need some extra specialized advice to get the job done. Here are my go-tos.
Retro Renovation [web]
I’ve already featured on of their posts up top but really I don’t have a better general resource for mid-century DIYers looking for inspiration. Crawl the archives of this indispensable mid-century ranch resource.
Family Handyman [web and print mag]
Gender normative name aside, Family Handyman is a great resource for projects large and small with detailed explanations and photo and sketch illustrations. I don’t use their design STYLE but I really appreciate their attention to detail as a jumping off point.
Seriously, ANY time I find myself taking on a home task I’ve never done before I seek out some advice – a how-to blog post or youtube video – from Family Handyman. Their no-nonsense, step-by-step approach always answer all my questions and gets me ready to get out the nail gun and get started!
Black and Decker How-To …[book series]
I have plenty of experience as a designer but when it comes to DIY, I really appreciate a clearly laid out How-To explanation and these are the best I’ve come across in book form. I’ve particularly enjoyed their compilation: The Complete Guide to Finishing Basements. Again, their style is not mid-century modern but their advice is universally helpful!
Get Inspiration in your (Mid-Century) Mailbox
If old school print journalism is your go-to for inspiration, you should check out these great Mid-century focused publications.
Atomic Ranch [magazine]
This is of course the go-to for Mid-century design today. Their focus is often more on the California and Florida extremes of Mid Mod design but that only makes it more delicious. Come for the glossy photos, stay for design tips.
Online here (the website’s not bad either): atomic-ranch.com
Dwell [magazine]
Dwell is about Modern design generally but they love the Mid-Century period too. You’ll find Mid Mod features here regularly and the rest of their design content is pretty grand too!
Here’s their online Mid-Century collection: dwell.com
Sunset [magazine]
Sunset was the original home of the ranch. Cliff May showcased his designs for early Ranchos with them and worked with their editorial team to publish both Sunset Western Ranch Houses in 1946 and Western Ranch Houses in 1958.
With the tagline, “Discover the best of the West,” you know this Magazine is going to have a coastal focus. Today their focus is more on general home and garden lifestyle content but they do an amazing Mid-Century home feature pretty regularly.
Find them online here: sunset.com
Follow the Mid-century Leader … Online
The Mid-Century community is very tight and enthusiastic. There are a lot of great blogs and online resource lists that you should absolutely get friendly with. Stay tuned for updates.
Mid-Century Homes (in Boise) [realtors]
This group of realtors in Boise, ID is passionate about mid-century homes. They came up with a marvelous idea to help inspire mid-century updates: feature actual Mid-Century homes owned by Boise locals and let everyone learn from their examples. Feast your eyes!
Mid Mod Michigan [interiors]
Aletha VanderMaas is a designer and specialist in mid-century homes in Grand Haven, Michigan. Her 1959 brick and stone ranch is a work of art and she does great designs for other people which I follow obsessively on her Instagram. Her blog is a slow drip of really great content. I particularly enjoyed her recent feature of Mid-Century rooflines.
Hammer and a Headband [home and garden]
Self described “Mod Home and Garden Inspiration” from Tara Besore, an interior design enthusiast who is transforming her 1960’s house from bland to beautiful. Her Ideas are very accessible and she’s full of handy how to guides to back up each of her shared projects.
Drool worthy Mid-century Furniture Suppliers
As I’ve said here, one of the best ways to start improving the Mid-Century “cred” of your ranch house interior is to fill it with classic (or re-imagined) Mid-Century furniture. Here are just a few of my favorite retro and modern mid mod style furniture supply houses.
Century House [online and Madison local store]
This one is Madison local. Century House began in mid-century Madison as a pottery then shifted to become an importer of Scandinavian furniture. Today it is the go-to mid-century ranch resource for stylish modern and mid-century furniture in town with both European imports and some great American product lines. I love them and they love Mid-century design.
Knoll International [online store]
Knoll has been in the furniture business SINCE the mid-century and they are still producing some reliably stunning pieces including: Saarinen Tulip Tables and Mies van der Roho’s Barcelona chair. Their stuff is priced like museum quality but then again … it is.
West Elm [online store]
West Elm aims to produce lovely Mid-Century furniture for Millenial apartments and first homes. They are my sister’s absolute fave! I love their look and they end up being a lot more “within reach” than some other companies ;-)!
Sources of great Mid-Century Details and Materials
But there’s more to updating a Mid-Century home than filling it with furniture. Here are some great resources for things you can add to the inside and outside of your ranch with a little DIY skill.
ModBox [online store]
I have a Mod Box myself and not only do I LOVE IT but I’ve set a trend in my neighborhood just by putting it on my house. I don’t need to shill for these guys – they sell themselves. Just look at the website!
Make it Mid-Century [online store]
This company was started by a fellow mid mod enthusiast who wanted to make her own home more mid-century. Come here for authentic Mid-Century style building materials and DIY kits for your home. In particular I ADORE their door and garage door conversion kits. Check them out here:
ReStore [brick and mortar]
There’s no guarantee of what you’ll find on a trip to ReStore but I do guarantee you’ll find something cool. This is an obvious mid-century ranch resource. If ranches are being remodeled all the time, someone is casting off their old doors, trim, built-ins and more at their local ReStore. Be the one to go in there and pick it back up again!
My local ReStore is at: habitatdane.org/restore/
What else is there?
So … have I exhausted you? Have I MISSED ANYTHING?
Let me know in the comments!
