the midcentury ranch for a new generation
3 min readFour simple thing you need to know in order to use Pinterest to plan the best possible MCM remodel.
Wait. You do use Pinterest to strategize your remodel plans, right?
Pinterest can be your best friend, or your most stressful frenemy when you are planning a remodel. Here are some quick and easy tips for how (and when) to use Pinterest to plan your mid-century home update the right way!
Continue reading “Use Pinterest (the right way) to plan your MCM remodel”Do you know your remodeling level? It’s important to figure out how involved of a renovation you really want to take on long before you start! Consider your home’s condition, your lifestyle needs, your budget, and your willingness to deal with chaos.
Continue reading “Establish the Remodeling Level that suits you”6 min readGetting your dream house is about more than pinterest perfect finishes or fresh paint. Try these 3 easy visualizing exercises to pre-plan a perfect remodel!
Imagining an ideal version of the home you already live in is harder than it may seem. People are so adaptable . We get used to our homes to the point that we hardly even see them. It is easy to point to a tired paint color or chipped tile, visualizing a whole new space is hard. Never fear! You can use these three exercises to help break outside of your regular experience and pre-plan a perfect remodel!
Continue reading “3 easy visualization tools to pre-plan a perfect remodel”12 min readToday, let’s do a deep dive into the best ways to find and buy a mid-century home!
Whether you’re looking to buy a mid-century home that is 100% move in ready, or a dire fixer-upper on a fire sale budget, I can help. Here are a few great universal MCM house hunting tips.
I’m a designer who specializes in helping homeowners update and improve their MCM houses. So, I have a particular interest in people looking for a fixer-upper. This post will focus on how you can find buy a mid-century house full of potential just waiting for you to make it your own.
Continue reading “How to Buy a Mid-Century Home: An Architect’s Guide”4 min readCan we talk about the secret to a great remodel? Spoiler: its planning.
If you’re thinking about a Mid-Century Ranch Remodel, hang on a minute. I want to talk to you about the ABSOLUTE MINIMUM design boost you need to get a mid-century ranch remodel you’ll love. Â
A little design goes such a long way. Every homeowner needs a boost of design thinking at the start of a project to set them on the right track.
Continue reading “The Design Boost you NEED to love your Mid-Century Ranch Remodel”13 min readHave you ever considered remodeling your mid-century ranch is an act of radical sustainability?
Think about it! There are 15 million of these modestly-sized, well-built houses across America located in walkable neighborhoods close to local businesses and schools. Taking on a sustainable mid-century remodel means helping people occupy them, love them and preserve them. In doing so, you prevent their demolition to build something larger or just building new homes on greenfield land elsewhere, and this is a significant environmental win.
Yes, mid-century modern style is cool and fun, but more than that – coming up with design tools to help 15 percent of US housing stock stay relevant is IMPORTANT WORK.
Continue reading “Your Sustainable Mid-century Remodel: Why and How” 3 min readGetting the glass in these windows took me three months of waiting for the right weather conditions (and free time) and about three hours of work to install!
I am SO EXCITED that they are finally in!
Remember back in OCTOBER, when I posted about putting up this fun cedar slat wall? Well, the project is still ongoing.
Getting these DIY windows in was such a simple job that I’ve been waiting to get wrapped up for SO LONG now. It took a few moving parts: having the glass cut to size and having the right weather conditions to caulk it into place. Plus I’ve been crazy busy on all previous good-weather work days working INSIDE the garage to build the mudroom part of the project.
Technically THAT progress update should be Part 2, but I forgot to post about it in November and now I just want to shout from the rooftops about my brand new DIY windows!
Continue reading “Progress: Transforming the Breezeway into a Mudroom (Part 2)”
2 min readThe big chunk of work for this fall is transforming the long narrow breezeway into a cosy and effective mudroom plus a little bonus garage storage. Â
This is phase one of … well many. I’ve pushed the project a little late in the season so before I get started on constructing the new mudroom structure within the existing breezeway I’ll be closing off both ends. To the street side, that means the new and permanent extension of the garage wall. On the back yard side I put up a quick temporary wall of translucent plastic to secure the garage and keep it somewhat weathertight. Continue reading “Progress: Transforming the Breezeway into a Mudroom (Part 1)”
6 min readI’m speaking at the MREA Energy Fair, Friday May 15th at 2:30 and 5:30 to spread the good word on green design and remodeling.
Here’s what I plan to say!
I’m speaking at the the MREA Energy Fair, in Custer, WI, this Friday, delivering two lectures on green building. Continue reading “Speaking at MREA Energy Fair: Remodel to Create Your Green Dream House”
2 min readRemodeling is your opportunity to improve all kinds of layout flaws – tight corners, inadequate kitchen storage, not enough privacy for bedrooms – AND improve your relationship with the sun.
Don’t let yourself think of existing walls as immutable or hyper-focus your attention on the surface of things. Gilding the lily won’t fix an awkward, dark or segmented floor plan.Â
Continue reading “Don’t forget to improve your Passive Solar Potential when you remodel!”
