the midcentury ranch for a new generation
14 min read Too many people skip over essential steps in planning their home remodel … and it shows. With the Master Plan Method, you take the time to plan your remodel right, right from the start.
A great home remodel needs more than a good floor plan. It needs a master plan.
Having a master plan is more than pinning a bunch of things you like. It’s more than having the furnace guy or the roofing guy come out and say, ‘Oh yep. Your home inspector was right. Plan for a remodel.’ And it’s more than having a perfectly tidy, organized blueprint for your house.
Continue reading “Your Remodel needs a Master Plan not a Floor Plan”3 min read Our homes – where we spend the majority of our hours – profoundly shape our lives. That should inform the way we plan a remodel!
If planning a remodel seems like a superficial thing to be discussing right now, I want to tell you that I believe it is ANYTHING BUT. The space we live in defines our experience of life. Why not help that space be its best so that it can help us in turn. If you love yourself, you should love your home too.
It will love you back!
Continue reading “Love yourself? Love your home!”13 min read Have you ever considered remodeling your mid-century ranch is an act of radical sustainability?
Think about it! There are 15 million of these modestly-sized, well-built houses across America located in walkable neighborhoods close to local businesses and schools. Taking on a sustainable mid-century remodel means helping people occupy them, love them and preserve them. In doing so, you prevent their demolition to build something larger or just building new homes on greenfield land elsewhere, and this is a significant environmental win.
Yes, mid-century modern style is cool and fun, but more than that – coming up with design tools to help 15 percent of US housing stock stay relevant is IMPORTANT WORK. ⠀
Continue reading “Your Sustainable Mid-century Remodel: Why and How”6 min read Today I consider the similarities and differences between two closely related building types, the Chicago Bungalow and the Midwestern Ranch. What can one teach about the other?
These two building types are very closely related. Specifically, the Chicago Bungalow is very closely related to the Midwestern or “tract” Ranch. They each share an older California cousin which features more variation, more drama and was originally designed as one-offs by architects. They are similar in square footage, in class and in initial cost. Their differences are useful in highlighting the modernism and innovations of the ranch type. Let’s look more closely! Continue reading “What came before: The Bungalow and Ranch Side by Side”
2 min read So I haven’t been making as much progress as I’d like on the Togstad project in August but it is for an excellent reason. I’ve been designing another project – a new Passive House residence to be constructed in the Bloomington, IL area.
While nothing in the design brief said “ranch” it is no coincidence that it has an elongated single-story profile and flowing open plan layout. I do have ranches on the brain. Here are some of my sketches from the Schematic Design phase.
Continue reading “In other news: Design for a (ranch like) Passive House”
