Archives for November 2019

November 13, 2019 at 7 a.m.

 

Dear Design Diary (DD),

We finally did it!  We purchased our next Mod Haven renovation project.  After looking at several homes we finally found a mid-century modern that we feel excited about.  I didn’t even have to convince Scott on this one.  It had me at the pool…swoon!  It is an original mid mod atomic gem.  But it needs some renovation help!

People often ask us how we choose a home.  We try to find the right balance of the following features:

• Mid Mod or Mid-Century architecture is preferred
• Floor plan that can be easily modified for current lifestyle
• No recent bad renovations that drive the price up
• No bad additions on the home
• Location, Location, Location
• Good trees
• Avoid busy streets
• Good lot size for the neighborhood
• The right price

It is nearly impossible for a home to meet all this criterion but we try to find as many of them as possible.

We are calling this project the Pinocchio House.  And no, it doesn’t grow a nose when it lies.  Or at least it hasn’t yet.  I do think it is perfectly magical though.  And I imagine we are going to find it has a few hidden secrets when we open up the walls.  It is in nearly original condition, so we will gut it to studs and replace all the mechanical and electrical.  This is super important! We believe it is actually more important to have a safe home than having a pretty home.  But in the end it will be both!

I believe that sometimes rules are meant to be broken, this house has a bad addition on the side that will have to be removed and rebuilt as a fourth bedroom.  (the architecture was good enough to overcome a bad addition in this case).  The home is very hidden behind the garage so the garage will move and the front door will be placed back on the front (as it was originally) vs. the current side entrance.  It will get NEW everything and it is going to be a Mid Mod dream home. Scott says he might move in so I better keep an eye on him.  I am already feeling anxious because we are about three months behind on this one to have it ready for the 2020 selling season.  So much to do, so little time.

I am off to design the kitchen today.  What do you think people will like most?  Wood or painted cabinets?  Upper cabinets or open shelves?  Sleek Mid Mod or casual throwback?  There are so many options, but I have been secretly dreaming about a certain kitchen backsplash.  Often I end up designing around one element that I can’t live without.  Don’t tell Scott, it is a little bit high for the budget but I can NOT get it out of my head, and it is on SALE!  Woo hoo!

I have included some before photos so we will always remember how much work this one needed.  Sometimes it is actually hard to remember the “before” after we are done.

Talk to you soon.  Has anyone ever told you that you are the best listener?

Christine

Welcome to this week’s version of Throwback Thursday for the Lomita House.  It was an incredible project but it was a renovation challenge because we decided to live in the house the entire time.  I giggle when I hear people say “patience is a virtue” because it really is!   Dust, sheetrock, open walls, open floors, and a refrigerator that traveled to every room before it was done, who does that!

We decided to start in the main living area of this typical 1950s ranch style home.  There was so many walls and rooms that were tightly enclosed, it felt dark.  It was begging to be opened up for today’s modern lifestyles.  To accomplish this, we had to remove 20+ feet of load bearing wall and knock out a non load bearing wall between the kitchen and dining room.  This meant that a huge engineered beam had to be installed in the attic to support the ceiling rafters.  The ceilings were only 8 feet tall, and it was cost prohibitive to increase the ceiling height because the room pitch was low.  So it was essential to hide the structural beam in the attic to create a completely open concept that drew the eye as high as possible.

I remember the day I walked in and suddenly exclaimed “what is that, it HAS to go!”.  Imagine my agitation when Scott said it had to stay!  He claims it is structural.  After 5 minutes of me offering every possible alternative to fixing this situation, he held firm and insisted there was no other option.  Scott likes to refer to these moments as design challenges for me, which I don’t find quite as funny as he does, lol.  Not only was this open concept supposed to result in a smooth open ceiling, the interior walls were supposed to be gone leaving a continuous outside wall.  So imagine my surprise when I walked in and saw this!  A stupid beam sitting about 3 feet away from the wall in the most awkward place any post could ever chose to be.

It was horrible!  I included this photo so to see how ridiculous it looked!

I remember loving the original fireplace so much but this new “design challenge” was making it nearly impossible to keep.  Plus, where is the TV and equipment supposed to go? So, plan B.  Tear out the original fireplace brick and hearth.  The redesigned fireplace had to be functional and fit the new overall mid-century modern design.   This new fireplace design offered storage (which is always a complete bonus in an old house) and somehow hide this horrible post.  I chose walnut wood veneered frameless cabinets because they bring the warmth that the mid-century modern design is known for.  The hearth was done in Pure White Caesarstone Quartz to match the kitchen.  And a gorgeous cut quartz stone from Porcelanosa was added as the accent tile to bring back the original brick look.  We also made use of the space between the posts to create storage for beautiful glasses in the dining room.  Because who doesn’t need 40 glasses for every type of occasion when in the end you only use the same 10 glasses over and over again, ha!

In the end, I was grateful to the ugly post, it pushed us to create a better design.  And I could purchase more glasses! Bonus!

Isn’t that how it usually works in life, the challenge is what usually leads to the better outcome?

We have learned to appreciate the design/construction challenge.  When you renovate old homes, you can ALWAYS count on something NOT to go as planned.  But staying true to construction quality and the desired design is essential to the whole renovation coming together in the end.  Fireplace design challenge? Solved!

 

 

Photo Credit:  Shoot 2 Sell