mid-century Archives - Page 4 of 14

Temperature and Moisture Control in Mid-Century Homes

Temperature and moisture control in mid-century houses is one of those topics that might seem less exciting and relevant until suddenly…it matters to YOU.

And while our mid-century houses have the potential be properly snug without being too sealed up. They also sometimes need a tune up. Plus a number of trendy, seemingly “esthetic” changes to your house – siding, soffit, or roof changes – can create problems that didn’t exist before. We’ll definitely cover the moisture consequences (yes, that sounds icky) of painting brick and adding vinyl siding.

So let’s dig into some building technology and the broader concept of thermodynamics so that you are READY to handle the most important considerations about moisture control in mid-century homes.

Who is your Master Plan for?

37 min readYour master plan is for you!

A Mid-Century Master Plan is more than a set of pretty drawings—it’s both a process and a document. Today, we’re talking about how to use that document to navigate your remodel, from getting bids from contractors to working with the city.

Ultimately, a master plan is for you, the person who will live with the finished home, and you should curate it to be exactly what you need. But, ideally, you will share pieces of your plan with various pros along the way to ensure understanding, meet permitting requirements and illustrate your vision for your remodel.

Mudrooms, Mudrooms and More Mudrooms

46 min readWe love our mid-century houses for many reasons – their enduring design, clean lines and great indoor/outdoor connections. But MANY mid-century homes, both modest and high end, share one glaring omission. They lack a proper mudroom.

Good mudrooms are unfortunately rare in mid-century houses.

The process of leaving home and coming back has apparently gotten more complex since the mid-century era because … we have mudroom needs that time capsule houses just can’t meet.

Most of my clients come to me with homes that lack a transition zone that takes you from the sidewalk or garage into the house.

You probably do too. Even if you have a mudroom, it may benefit from an overhaul. So today, let’s take a tour of several past projects that need mudroom improvement.

By the way, this post has a companion post. Make sure you check out: How to plan a great Breezeway to Mudroom Conversion

Let’s Review: You’re not done DEVELOPing a master plan till the house is done.

31 min readI’m taking July off from recording the podcast this summer but that doesn’t mean YOU have to. In fact, I’m actually pretty excited about what I’ve got planned for you. I took a dip through our deep archives (did you know we have over 250 episodes recorded) and pulled together some throwback episodes that have great content but may be SO FAR BACK in your podcast feed that you’re unlikely ever to hit them. For these four weeks I’ve chosen some fun episode pairings from the past that will take us on a little spin through the master plan method. So sit back and relax and get read to get inspired to do little more for your home and for yourself.

Creating a great vision for your remodel is the goal of everything I do for my clients and with my students. But it actually will only take a mid-century remodel so far.

If that vision lives only in my mind, I can’t share it with my clients.

If that vision only exists in your head, you can share it with anyone who’ll be helping you make your remodel a reality.

So clearly documenting what you’ve designed is a key element to bringing a remodel to fruition.

I could have called the last stage of the master plan method Document. But I didn’t. I called it Develop.

Let’s Review: Distill your style then Draft options to for a Tailored Timeless update

24 min readI’m taking July off from recording the podcast this summer but that doesn’t mean YOU have to. In fact, I’m actually pretty excited about what I’ve got planned for you. I took a dip through our deep archives (did you know we have over 250 episodes recorded) and pulled together some throwback episodes that have great content but may be SO FAR BACK in your podcast feed that you’re unlikely ever to hit them. For these four weeks I’ve chosen some fun episode pairings from the past that will take us on a little spin through the master plan method. So sit back and relax and get read to get inspired to do little more for your home and for yourself.

A great remodel for a mid-century home needs to be a good fit for you.

And it needs to be a good fit … for your mid-century home.

If you don’t make an effort to fit your home to your actual life, you’ll never really feel satisfied with the way things turned out – the house will feel too formal, too closed off, too open for your life.

BUT if you don’t remember to plan a remodel that fits the mid-century era of your home … your too-trendy choices will rapidly become dated ones.

Let’s Review: Discover what’s great about your Mid-Century Home

36 min readI’m taking July off from recording the podcast this summer but that doesn’t mean YOU have to.

Instead, I’ve rounded up the BEST of our back catalog to take you on a journey through Master Planning your remodel. Let’s start with making it fun and easy to learn more about your home!

I want you to become an expert on your home before your remodel.

Note, I did not say that you need to become an expert on remodeling … just on your house.

Why? Because it’s going to smooth every step of your remodel journey!

One good reason to take a few of your own measurements, skim an inspection report, or dig into some MCM history about the original owners by chatting with elderly neighbors, is that these activities will set you up for clever design ideas for your remodel. And they will.

But another super important reason getting familiar with your home is essential to a successful remodel is that the more you feel like an expert in the specifics of your house (not even all of them, just in certain parts of it!) the more you interface confidently with everyone else in the project.

Let’s Review : Dream the right way for a great master plan

32 min readI’m taking July off from recording the podcast this summer but that doesn’t mean YOU have to.

Instead, I’ve rounded up the BEST of our back catalog to take you on a journey through Master Planning your remodel. Let’s start with Dreaming … the right way!

Julie Andrews said it best – the very beginning; a very good place to start.

In fact, if you start your remodel planning anywhere other than HERE it will take longer, feel more chaotic, be more stressful and likely end up more expensive.

And for us, the ABC or do-rey-me of a remodel is you. Your own life. Your family. The way you want to feel at home.

Remodeling a (mostly) Mid-Century Gem

44 min readIs your house a (mostly) mid-century gem? The “mostly” means that your house that has some really great, intact mid-century features…and then an area or two where a maintenance failure or unfortunate remodel has wreaked havoc on the charm.

Is your house a mostly mid-century gem?

And by “mostly” I mean that your house that has some really great, intact MCM features … but there’s a room or three where someone made a few bad calls. Now you’re left holding the bag on a sweet place with a super tired kitchen, a really strange bathroom or even a structural issue created by the previous owners.

I see houses like this all the time!

Full of wonderful, intact details set against the backdrop of an over large kitchen or unfortunate addition. And the good news is they are perfectly suited to the master plan process.

While I love working on everything from grandparent time capsule houses to places that have experienced a brutal flip and need to be entirely hauled back from the brink … the (mostly) charming house is one of our most common projects.

Today, lets take a spin through three recent Mid Mod Midwest master plan projects. I’ll share some fun history, common design challenges and my favorite approaches to upgrading mid-century homes that are in (mostly) great shape. With a big focus on putting back the appropriate mid-century materials in those not-so-great spots.

In Today’s Episode You’ll Hear:

Why homes with just a few problem areas need a master plan, too.
How to approach right sizing a space post remuddle.
Where to consider if “decorative” mcm elements might be much more.

Listen Now On

Apple | Spotify | YouTube

Finding the right mid-century home for you with Susan Halla

44 min readSusan Halla, founder of Make It Mid-Century and mid-century enthusiast, joins me this week to dish about her own recent house hunt.

If anyone knows what they’re looking for in a mid-century home, it’s Susan Halla. She has spent the last decade making retro-focused DIY doable for mid-century lovers of all stripes.

When she had to move, she knew she needed another perfect mid-century house to make her home. And she’s just completed a multi-city search that was laser focused on finding a relatively untouched, not too high end mid-century home.

The five mid-century kitchen cabinet questions you need to answer.

To make timeless choices right for you and your house when you replace mid-century kitchen cabinet s you’ll need to choose correctly for your home and your mid-century style.

Choose right and you’ll end up with remodel that will have people wondering which parts are original, which are new, and which are a really slammin 60’s tweak to the house.

Make the WRONG choice or choices and everyone who ever walks into your kitchen will instantly know the year you updated from now until it all ends up in a dumpster to make way for the next new trend.

Trendy choices in mid-century homes always age like milk.