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
