remodel Archives - Page 13 of 15

How do I fit a TV on the Fireplace Wall

16 min read(AKA: how to fit your flat screen TV in a mid-century living room)
Where ARE you supposed to fit your flat screen TV in a mid-century living room? Especially if you are one of the lucky folks who ALSO has a lovely brick or stone fireplace as a focal point. Let’s discuss the TV fireplace wall conundrum!

“What to do with a TV on a fireplace wall,” is a quintessential modern conundrum for mid century homeowners.

There’s an undeniable charm to an actual mid-century TV unit – a piece of wooden furniture with cute legs and the ability to roll out of a corner for “family viewing.” But where are you supposed to fit your flat screen TV in a mid-century living room? Especially if you are one of the lucky folks who ALSO have a lovely brick or stone fireplace as a focal point.

This came up in a recent Ready to Remodel Office Hours call because the homeowner was really struggling to find a good solution. Keep scrolling to see the video of that call and how we SOLVE the TV on a Fireplace wall conundrum for them!

Note: This was originally posted May, 2022. It has been updated and now includes a podcast episode for those who’d rather listen than read!

Listen Now On Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher

Please, Don’t Paint Your Mid-Century Brick

12 min readThink twice before you paint over your mid-century brick: a short term facelift could damage the character and durability of your home.

Brick has been used as a building material since long before the three little pigs. But mid-century brick is particularly well suited to the ethos of modernist designers: it is humble, honest, tactile and capable of both great simplicity and great variety. Let’s talk about why you should not paint brick, and why you should especially not paint mid-century brick!

There are a number of problems with painting mid-century brick, including aesthetics, technical issues and maintenance headaches.

Note: this was originally posted Feburary 2019. It has been updated and now includes a podcast episode for those who’d rather listen than read!

For more on OTHER mid-century masonry you should not paint, check out this episode: White Paint is NOT the Answer!

Listen Now On Apple | Google | Spotify | Stitcher

Become Your Home’s Historian – Atom Stevens

23 min readDella’s continued conversation with Atom Stevens, Denver area mid-century Realtor, photographer, designer, and advocate, about how to become your own home’s historian.

This week, Atom Stevens, Denver area mid-century Realtor, photographer, designer, and advocate, tells Mid Mod Remodel how to become your own home’s historian.

Becoming the expert in your own home can mean a lot of different things. It might be rattling off the square footage of your roof to a potential contract or on a call without thinking. It might be having handy access to documents about the repair and maintenance of your furnace or water heater. Or it might just mean knowing some interesting history of who built your home and why they made some of their choices.

All of this information – from dimensions on a floorplan sketch to archival advertising of your home’s builder – falls into the category of Home Improvement Planning I call “discovery”.

And while it might not seem like your most pressing concern, when you’re trying to pick out backsplash tile, or nail down contractor beds, it has a purpose. The more you know about your home, the more you are empowered to make confident and correct for you choices.

Cliff May Homes – Interview with Atom Stevens

25 min readDella chats with Denver area mid-century Realtor, photographer, designer, and advocate Atom Stevens about becoming the hometown expert on Cliff May homes in Denver and across the country.

When Atom Stevens bought his house in Harvey Park, he had no idea it would lead him on a journey to becoming a Cliff May historian and an advocate for mid-century preservation. But the more he learned about his home in the Harvey Park Neighborhood, the more he realized he was on to something AMAZING.

Cliff May was a home builder and designer who became nationally known as a home designer and builder for the rich and famous. He also wanted to bring his ideas to the masses, and began by co-creating a modular, pre-fabricated, low-cost home-building system with architect Chris Choate.

The Cliff May Homes were built by Burns Construction, under license, and are the only pre-fabricated houses in Harvey Park. Panelized house parts were pre-assembled off site, flat-packed, and brought in by truck to be tilted-up onto foundations that had already been poured. Panels would have already had siding installed, so the houses were designed to be constructed very quickly. Cliff May and architect Chris Choate are the designers of this home-building system, the houses of which have been re-discovered in various cities throughout the western U.S. in recent years. Although a great majority of them are in California, Harvey Park is home to the largest and best-preserved single tract outside of California. Cliff May prefabs can also be found in Las Vegas, Dallas, Salt Lake City, Kansas City, Tacoma, Eugene, and even Flint, Michigan. Recognizing the historical significance of these houses, Cliff May residents are in the early stages of assembling an application to protect the Cliff May Homes as a historic district.

Micro-masterplan Your Way to Your Perfect Kitchen

12 min readMy master plan process was created as a path to managing a full house remodel, but you can still use the five D’s develop to micro-masterplan any space.

A masterplan might sound like something you use for a BIG home improvement project. That’s true. But it is also something you can use at ANY Scale. Today let’s talk about how to micro-masterplan any thing in your home!

My master plan process was created as a path to managing a full house (or at least very significant) remodel. You begin by dreaming about your ideal home and the life you envision in it and move through each step until you have a full vision for your home.

The five steps follow in order and you are able to plan until you feel ready to tackle your renovation.

Sounds just like real life, right? Nope.

The Lazy Genius Kitchen

13 min readI’ve talked about Kendra Adachi’s Lazy Genius philosophy before and this week we’re joining her in the kitchen. You can start lazy genuising your kitchen as you plan your update!

In her fantastic new book, The Lazy Genius Kitchen, Kendra Adachi lays out a system for creating a kitchen that has and does everything you need. The lazy genius kitchen isn’t really a book about remodeling. Nor is it explicitly a cookbook or an organizing book or a lifestyle guide. It’s some of all of those things. And, perhaps, it’s better than any of them could be on their own.

Adachi’s advice is to think about the way you want to live in your home. And if you know me at all, you know this is absolutely where I believe every project in architecture should begin. So, let’s talk about how you can be a lazy genius about your kitchen update. And create the kitchen that’s perfect for YOU.

the Lazy Genius Kitchen by Kendra Adachi on a yellow background

Mid Mod Kitchen Update Essentials

16 min readThere are five Mid Mod Kitchen Update Essentials. These design elements are key to creating a fabulous and functional kitchen regardless of style, but are extra important when updating a mid century kitchen.

The five Mid Mod Kitchen Update Essentials are key to creating a fabulous and functional kitchen regardless of style, but are extra important when updating a mid century kitchen.

The kitchen is the heart of nearly all mid-century updates.

New Year, New Remodel Philosophy

13 min readNext year … try going easier on yourself so that you can actually make some remodel progress. Counter intuitive, I know. But it just might work!

Find a new, kinder and easier remodel philosophy in 2023. One that understands perfectionism is a perfect way to prevent yourself from making remodel progress. Real talk folks…it’s more important to begin than to do it perfectly.

Today’s episode is an end-of-year pep talk about setting yourself up for success with reasonable and realistic expectations for yourself around remodel planning.

Best of Our 25 Days of Design

This week we’re revisiting the best of our 25 days of design in hopes of sparking your sense of wonder about your home, boosting your remodel confidence and providing concrete advice on making your 2023 remodeling dreams come true.

‘Tis the season! Around the holidays, everyone likes to add a little charm to their home. Shortening daylight makes us think about how to maximize the comfort and joy inside. Bringing out seasonal decorations makes us take a fresh look at the space where we spend our days and share holiday traditions. As well it should – we need a recurring chance to reevaluate how well our homes suit our lives!

This season of revelry and reflection is a great opportunity to dream a little bigger than holiday decor. While you’re thinking about how to make your house merry and bright for the season, let’s also think about how to improve it in the medium and long-term!

Best Of Mid Mod Remodel: Why You Need a Design Before You Make a Budget

11 min readWhy you should design your remodel before you set the budget. You’ll love the results more … and it might even save you money!

This week’s episode is a classic from the Mid Mod Remodel archive. You can find the original episode and resources at www.midmod-midwest.com/604.

The common wisdom is that you should save up money for a remodel and then plan one that fits your budget.

I want to pitch an alternate plan. It can be better to let the design drive the budget, rather than the other way around. Let’s talk about diving into your master plan before you decide what your home update should cost.