Rolling Back a 90’s Remodel (with recent client Michelle)

37 min readAs a designer, it’s so hard to pick a favorite project, but one I’m talking about today has certainly got to be at the top of my list. I recently covered this house on the YouTube channel, because it’s a perfect case study of getting the 90s out of a perfectly nice mid-century home.

Sometimes you find the house in the perfect spot that completes your future dream checklist … but no one has taken the time to revise the 90’s remodel. So only you can really see it’s potential.

Today I’ve invited homeowner, Michelle Cramton, to talk about how we took a shell of a house and turned it into her dream retirement home as she was literally starting from zero after the Altadena fires last winter. I am so happy to share her story of resettling back into her hometown of Madison, Wisconsin, and into her mid-century dream.

Her contractors are still tying up the last loose ends so no “after” shots yet but some of these progress photos are looking pretty SNAPPY!.

Settle in to hear Michelle telling you her story of how we met, how we started thinking about this project together, and how we explored her options in a master plan package.

And then had the opportunity to take it further through a bunch of really fun additional services.

She just let me stick with her from the beginning right through until now! We’re currently working on the last final few details of the house. It has been such a treat to get to follow along closely at every step.

You’ll find some photos of this house below. These are recent progress snaps. We don’t have final photos yet, because work is still underway. In fact, in the conversation you’ll hear just a little bit of banging – outside work being done. 

If you’d like to see a bit of the design process, jump to the YouTube case study I just made about this house.

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Apple | Spotify | YouTube

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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

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