Do you own a mid Century Home? Or just wish you did?

[Mary-Frances]

So, I'll kick this off....do you own a Mid Century style home? Or do you wish you did? If so, do you furnish in MidCentury style?

[Kelly]

yes! we are relatively new owners of a mid-century home and we are gradually furnishing it with period appropriate items. does anyone know if our type of four-level MCM home has a particular name? i've never seen anything quite like it, but i'm sure it's not unique. or maybe it is. : )

photos here: http://docublogger.typepad.com/midcentury/

the lower level addition was added in 1978.

thanks in advance for the feedback! --kelly

[Renee Adelmann]

we have an Eichler home in Northern California and wouldn't have it any other way. Our furniture is a 'mash up' of modern/contemporary furniture along with some classic mid-century modern pieces.

[Sue Teso]

Hi Everyone
I'm so new here. I'm also new to the 1970 ranch we bought in Sandwich, Ma. Love the house and the town! We will have to add a bedroom, but that's another story. I will also be blogging the adventures on that ..soon. I have a question for today, and I hope someone out there with a love for this period can help. My vision for decorating this home is mid century modern beach house. I may have made that style up, but then I have been known to do that! A few details, we live only a mile from the beach, but also just down the road from the center. This center is filled with beautiful antique homes. In betwixt and between...I do want the home to have the mid century look it deserves. I also want it to have a casual atmosphere. So..my question any one know of a book (new or old) or pamphlet from the 50's to 70's I can read to help?
Thanks everyone (and I may have just written my first blog post, ha!)
Sue
solsticehome.com
"

[Kelly Joyner]

I guess I should say - "kind of." We own a condo built in 1973 in a "modern" style. This complex was the first condominium complex built in our town in a time when "country club" living was extremely popular. This was also the first gated community and was a really great place to live. Fast forward 36 years. I am on the Homeowner's Association and we are struggling to bring this place back. We have been working on things like painting fences, painting the pool, tennis courts and basketball court. We are planning to refurbish the clubhouse and have already upgraded the landscaping.

Each building consists of a central hallway with a skylight, a two bedroom unit on each side in the front and three or four bedroom units in the back. The square footage of the back units does vary. Some have about 1400 square feet, others, like mine, have about 1700 square feet, and three units are 3 stories with about 2400 square feet. These larger units are two story - some with straight, floating staircases and some with circular staircases. Of course I have the fun textured ceiling swirls that were standard in '70s homes. The only thing I am missing is the glitter that was so popular! Downstairs and in the single story two bedroom units there are sliding glass doors that lead from the living room, dining area or middle bedroom and master or third bedroom onto a patio enclosed by a 6 foot decorative brick wall. Each front door has three large decorative squares on them. Unfortunately they all have to be painted white. This is where the similarities end.

Most of the units were initially purchased during construction and as such owners were allowed to make some of their own choices. Our unit has two patios - the small one off of the living room and bedrooms is upstairs and then we have a larger one downstairs. We have a straight floating staircase - although I like the circular better - and we have four bedrooms instead of a dining room. Due to the fact that our unit was a rental for 20 something years we were unable to salvage the original laminate counters, bathroom sinks and toilets. The upstairs bath was mint green, although I have recently refinished the bathtub to white. The downstairs bath was harvest gold. The bath is still that color right now but has reached the point that it will have to be refinished as well. I do have the original aluminum windows and sliders - although they are not weather proofed! We have also added laminate flooring in a pale bamboo type look to part of the downstairs.

I have many decorating plans and lots of mid century/modern furniture as this will probably be our retirement home, lol! I LOVE not having yard work. I will post some pics soon, but in the meantime you can check out our website:

http://westcliffcondos.tripod.com/

[Colleen]

This topic seems to have been at rest for some time. Well, it's new to me! So...my husband and I are looking to buy a ranch style home. We want a few specific things, the most difficult being a lake view. We're in the Midwest and while there are some lakes, not nearly as many as there should be that offer lakeside living, in a 3+ bedroom, attached garage, w/ basement, eat in kitchen and dining room, 1950's - early 70's, ranch model home. See? I don't want much, do I? Oh..and two bathrooms, but I'm willing to negotiate on that. And either there's a great deck/patio or room to build one. Great dual purpose yard - I need a garden, the dogs need room to run. And there needs to be enough room for me to store my online sales inventory. That about sums it up. I'll let you know how that turns out.

[Betsy Taylor]

Hi Mary-Frances,
We are just about to close on a 1952 Ranch in Denver, right between Highlands and Sloans Lake. It's adorable, with a pink double sink, pink cooktop, pink tub, pink fridge and aqua countertops (see photos)! If you'd ever want to stop by and take a look, we'd love to show it to you! We had no idea what we were getting with this house, we just liked the location:-) Betsy

[Colleen]

Love these photos! I lived by Sloans Lake in the 80's. There were some great mid century houses there. I lived in another mid century house at 1st and west of Federal a few blocks, and a late late 60's-early 70's split level (great house!) in Bear Creek. Small world!
My parents had a place by DU that was the epitome of what I'm looking for now. Brick ranch, birch cabinets, great tile, huge windows, open plan. They also had the pink kitchen like yours. And the sweetest aqua/yellow and pink/white bathrooms! And what I wouldn't do to turn back the clock and have her furniture now!

[JODY LUND]

What a cool house! Even the switchplate is original! I was not so fortunate; our 1954 ranch had a 1970's ugly kitchen which we had to replace. It looks pretty good, but not as cool as your original one. Congratulations!

[Patrick B. Baillargeon]

Yes, although some of the touches are more bourgeois 1940s! I am looking at some furniture of the period since what I have is more modern from the seventies, with some modern stuff desigend in the twenties, Seems I have missed the forties, fifties and sixties entirely! On the list of wanted items are Series 7 chairs by Jacobson and the table from the same designer, a Noguchi table and some rosewood Scandinavian pieces. Right now the structural problems with the house are keeping my wife and I up nights. After three months the kitchen has been gutted but nothing put up waiting first on the structural engineer and now for quotes from local contractors. Next week I have it remove the porcelain tiles and the two inch mortar bed from the kitchen, the pantry and the long corridor leading to the rear door and haul it to our local disposal centre in buckets. I hope one week is enough for the 325 square feet to be removed.

[Mary-Frances]

Wow, what a huge project!
I also like the "eclectic" combo in a new generation of the 50's house. We just got a "new to us" sofa that is much more Scandanavian modern than 50's, but I think it fits with the style.

[ReBop Shop/Sandra]

Our house is a bit older than mid century...it's a 1925 Chicago brick bungalow. So its original design and interior would be arts and crafts, of course. But our humble cottage-in-the-city has had a few changes made over the decades to give it a cleaner looking interior: dark picture rail removed, built-in living room cabinets removed, swinging kitchen door removed, etc.

So we decorate mostly mid century, because that's the style we like and because these homes were constantly evolving with each resident's taste. We're fortunate to have most original features, including woodwork that's never been painted and oak floors that have never been carpeted.

I especially love vintage decorating in the kitchen. I'm in the process of creating a 1940s red-black-chartreuse theme, with an enclosed back porch connected that we're remodeling into a tropical vintage theme in the same colors.