A Conversation with Kerf Design

48 min readAre you familiar with Kerf Design kitchens or bathrooms or wall mounted shelving units? To quote Kerf’s website, “Good joints should be admired. Construction should be simple and honest. We tinker, we improve, and we consider every detail. We love plywood.”
Well, I do too.

If you’re in the market for a Kerf kitchen or just in the mood to learn a lot of interesting background on construction with veneer or plywood materials, you’re in luck.

In this great chat with founder Nathan Hartman, we cover how their designs are manufactured, how the plywood is sourced, different wood grain types, and how this kind of minimalist, sleek, modern cabinet blends in perfectly with the traditions of mid-century history. 

I’m also in luck because Nathan perfectly articulated why all of the different members of a design construction team are really valuable.

It works so well for his group to his group to take a project that started with a designer who can handoff to them once the schematic element is well established. Then Kerf’s team take in the project and figure out each detail of kitchen storage and plan for perfect construction before handing off their completed cabinets to a construction team for install. 

This conversation is going to give you some insight into built-ins and kitchen design and cabinets generally.

It’s also wonderful insight into the specific process that Kerf uses to create great kitchens that make their homeowners so happy.

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The Mid Modness of a Neo-Mansard Roof with Atom Stevens 

35 min readThe neo-mansard roof is as polarizing as an architectural feature can be.

Mansard roofs belong along a street in Paris or maybe on an 80’s vintage Burger King, right?

Yet, a slew of mid-century architects seemed to independently decide to give them a try in residential design during our favorite decades. Why, though? Why?

Today, I’m talking that over with our favorite mid mod house historian, Atom Stevens. 

In Today’s Episode You’ll Hear:

  • What exactly IS a neo-mansard roof? 
  • Who made the mansard roof a thing?
  • Why was there a neo-mansard moment in the mid-century? 

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Mid Mod Design Details with Aletha VanderMaas

38 min readI finally met Aletha VanderMaas, of True Home Restorations! Aletha is a talented designer and one of the OG tastemakers of mid-century Instagram.

Do you remember the first person you encountered who validated that your mid-century house was great and that you should LEAN INTO its charm when updating it to suit your own life?  

That’s such a magical feeling. To realize that you’re not alone in wanting to steer clear of the HGTV “paint it white” world.  Today I want to introduce you to one of MY OWN first sources of great Mid Mod inspiration.: Aletha VanderMaas

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