the midcentury ranch for a new generation
21 min read Today, we have a fantastic chat lined up with Brandy McLain, co-founder and one of the creative geniuses behind Modern House Numbers.
Della and Brandy McLain, founder of Modern House Numbers, are digging in to discuss all things house number. From current requirements to history, plus tons of great style tips!
If you’ve been thinking about giving your home’s exterior a fresh look, you’ll want to keep reading!
Continue reading “House Number Basics with Modern House Numbers”19 min read When I think about perfecting an original mid-century or mid mod home by polishing and upgrading its original details, I think of Susan Halla of Make It Mid-Century.
Today, I’m thrilled to bring you my most recent conversation with Susan Halla from Make It Mid Century. Susan is an absolute treasure trove of knowledge when it comes to period-appropriate choices for your home, whether it’s mid-century modern or mid-century modest.
Mid-Century vs. Mid-Century Modern
We kick off with a bit of myth-busting around the terms “mid-century” and “mid-century modern.” Susan beautifully analogized it to the difference between a square and a rectangle: mid-century modern is mid-century, but not all mid-century is mid-century modern. Think of mid-century as the broader era, spanning roughly from 1945 to 1975, encompassing a variety of styles from faux colonial to streamlined modern. Mid-century modern, on the other hand, is a subset with its own unique flair—think clean lines, large windows, and funky rooflines.
Continue reading “Mid-Century vs. Mid Mod with Susan Halla”19 min read In our latest podcast episode, I had the absolute pleasure of chatting with the amazing Adrian Kinney. Adrian has joined me on the pod before. He’s a realtor, mid-century modern (MCM) guru and heads up Mid Mod Colorado. Listen for his insights into what makes mcm homes so special and how to navigate today’s tricky market to find a mid-century gem.
We kicked things off by talking about how Adrian defines his ultimate mcm home—the elusive “unicorn.” For Adrian, the unicorn is an untouched mid-century time capsule that’s stayed true to its origins. A house where every detail, from the kitchen cabinets to the bathroom tiles remains from the 1950s or 60s.
While I share Adrian’s passion for these vintage beauties, I also love rolling up my sleeves and blending the old with the new. We discussed how to go about creating spaces that honor their mid-century roots and keep their retro charm alive while making the home work for modern life.
Continue reading “Unicorn Houses and Tight MCM Markets with Adrian Kinney”24 min read Remember the delightful Jim Drzewiecki from Ginkgo Leaf Studio? We barely scratched the surface of all the listener landscaping questions we received last season. So, naturally, I had to bring him back on the podcast to continue our chat! Today, we’re diving in on hardscaping and adding feature elements to your landscape.
Hardscaping includes any solid surfaces in your yard – think patios, walkways and driveways. These elements aren’t just practical; they set the stage for the entire landscape design. While many folks think landscaping is all about plants, according to Jim it’s actually the hardscape that lays the groundwork for everything else.
Continue reading “Mid-Century Hardscapes and Feature Elements with Ginkgo Leaf Studio”27 min read When you find yourself in a remodeling time crunch, the most frequently skipped step in the process is actually the most essential part of any well planned and executed remodel.
Planning your dream remodel takes time. It takes introspection, at least. There’s no getting around that. But often, time is exactly what you don’t have. Life happens. You might need to move or have sudden changes in your family’s scope and scale. You might have an opportunity to take advantage of that requires fast action.
When you’re in a hurry, do you sometimes skip important steps?
Same!
So … when you find yourself in a remodeling time crunch, watch out for THIS! Because the most frequently skipped step in the planning process is actually the most essential part of any well planned and executed remodel.
Continue reading “An Architect Chat – The secret to planning your Dream Remodel”26 min read Straight outta the DM’s “Do you have an un-flip quick start guide?” If you’re wondering what there might be to salvage about your farmhouse flipped mid-century house, the short answer is there’s plenty.
I encounter many brutal flip examples of mid-century homes through both students and clients. Kitchens that look like a Home Depot display. Vast expanses of gray LVP flooring. So many six panel doors. Like so, so many.
What do you do when someone beat you to the mid-century home of your dreams and stripped the charm right out of it? Can you ever go back? Well, sure you can. And you may even find that the flippers did you a few favors.
One of the things about a flipped house is that it becomes hard to see what is possible. And to hone in on what could change when it isn’t possible to roll the whole thing back.
26 min read Spreadsheets are the secret ingredient that takes you from planning a remodel to project managing one. Yours should look like this:
Once you have a Master Plan, how do you get ready to work with contractors? Put another way … how do you transition from the planning phase to the doing phase of your remodel? (The secret is going to be a spreadsheet!)
For some people this means finding a trustworthy organization to handoff your entire project to and go back to your life. But what if you are planning on being a bit more hands on and self-managing? Or even planning to DIY some big chunks of your remodel?
Either way, you need a few tools to help you be the boss your remodel from the planning phase right through until the punch list.
Continue reading “Do you have a spreadsheet to help me manage my remodel?”30 min read Most mid-century homes are a little light on natural light in certain areas. Pun intended. If you’ve done all you can to light your home with open interior spaces and maximized window openings. Have you considered bringing in light from above?
Mid-century homes are often kind of light on daylight, so I get a lot of questions about whether skylights and light tubes are appropriate and feasible options. The short answer? Heck yeah!
Now, there are plenty of horror stories out there about leaky mid-century skylights. And those were well founded at the time. But times have CHANGED, my friends and today’s skylight and light tube options are vastly superior to their mid-century predecessors. They are very appropriate for the era and have finally reach a level of performance mid-century moderns could only dream of.
Continue reading “Are skylights and light tubes too modern for a mid-century house? “26 min read Replacement windows may not be any better…and are likely worse…than your home’s original windows. Learn how to tell when it’s better to keep the OG’s and how to make smart window replacement choices for your home.
Tis the season for window replacement folks to make the rounds in many mid-century neighborhoods, sharing the “good news” of vinyl replacement windows.
And for well meaning neighbor to extoll the new maintenance free replacement windows they just installed?
Plus, it’s ALWAYS the right time of year for the contractor you’re discussing your home update with to suggest that you add “replace every window” to the budget. After all … aren’t those originals (gasp) single pane glass!?!
So … should you?
Continue reading “Should I replace my mid-century windows?”38 min read 30-ish minutes to learn how to plan a remodel in 30 days?
Believe it! You can check off maintenance, meet a deadline and still get a remodel that enhances your home’s MCM charm and suits your life and family! Listen to my new workshop for all the speedy remodel planning skills.
Continue reading “Speedy Strategies to Plan a Remodel You’ll Love (in the time you have)”
