Mid Mod Remodel

Where are you supposed to fit your flat screen TV in a mid-century living room? Especially is you also have a lovely fireplace! Here's what the internet generally recommends: that you plop your TV on the wall right over the fireplace opening.  And here's what I have to say to that ... nope.  Instead follow the key principles in today's episode for a well placed TV in a mid-century l...

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

What is a mid mod ReMod Squad and what can it do for you?  Your ReMod Squad is the team you rely on to give you advice specific to your love of mid century style. In Today's Episode You'll Hear: Why it’s so important to find you mid mod folks.  How big a difference finding the right experts can make for your mid century home and remodeling experience.   How a mid mod ReMod Squad can supp...

Every home has a story and every homeowner can benefit from becoming their home’s resident expert! When Atom Stevens bought his house in Harvey Park, he had no idea it would lead him on a journey to becoming a local Cliff May historian and advocate for mid-century preservation. Not only did Atom find a vocation, he also found a great value! Part 2 of Della’s conversation with Denver area mid-centu...

Della chats with Denver area mid-century realtor, photographer, designer, and advocate Atom Stevens about becoming an enthusiast and then an 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 local Cliff May historian and advocate for mid-century preservation. Stevens spent...

My masterplan 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? At th...

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. ...

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.  We love mid century homes for many reasons - they are right sized, they were made with quality materials, they tend to have a simple beauty, and they still function pretty well for modern families.  But often mid century...

Find a new, lazier 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. All of the pr...

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 an...

I want you to use your holiday prep time to plan your remodel.  Okay, Before you tell me, Della, that's crazy. The holidays are when I'm busiest. I can't be picking out tiles and solving problems and calling contractors during this period. You're right. Of course you can't. You know me. I wouldn't ask you to make your life harder when it's already full. Instead,...

Design used properly can double your remodel dollar. Focusing on design can make every purchase more effective and every change more magical. Using design means considering everything you could do as part of an update or project that might improve your home down the line, bring it back to into alignment with its original style, or provide economies of scale for layout tweaks or other changes.  Whe...

Buying from small businesses is about more than just making yourself feel good about yourself to support small businesses, to keep jobs and dollars local.  It’s straight up fun, but it also comes with the real benefit of building your community of design resources.  So while you’re hunting for great reproductions from modern craftsmen who care or amazing vintage pieces that come with a story, the...

This week's episode is a classic from the Mid Mod Remodel archive.  The common wisdom is that you should save up money for a remodel and then plan one that fits your budget.  Wrong. I want to pitch an alternate plan. It os 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 shou...

In just one hour you really can make big or small decisions that put your remodel on the path for success.  Taking a whole remodel from start to finish is a big undertaking. Just planning to start your remodel sometimes feels like it's taking forever…and it really can be a black hole that seems to absorb as much time and energy as you have to put into it.  However, it is possible to set yours...

Today’s podcast is a chat with Denver Area mid-century Realtor, designer and advocate, Adrian Kinney, on what he’s learned restoring SEVEN Cliff May Homes and helping match mcm homeowners to so many more.  Adrian shares his mcm origin story, all the deets on his favorite projects and some surprising insights from a decade of mcm remodeling. Listen along as two true mid-century super fans dish abou...

Stress-free is a big promise.  Of course, there will be some stress in a remodel.  You can worry about labor and material costs. You will feel the pressure of timing. You might rack yourself over design details.  But you can cut stress out of the remodeling process in as many places as possible! Today we're talking about the value of the (often overlooked) pre-design phases to help you avoid...

This week, I've been talking about style guides inside the Ready to Remodel program. On our architect office hours call on Monday, I talked this cohort of homeowners through the value of distilling your personal style.  Everyone starts with a fuzzy big picture concept like time capsule cute versus mid-mod contemporary, and then we gather ideas through the process of collecting design inspirat...

Mid Mod Midwest has a LOT of news to share! From format changes to new faces, we’ll cover everything you need to know in this tiny but mighty mini-sode! First up - our team is growing! Mid Mod Midwest is hiring a designer to create amazing schematic designs for mid-century remodels.  This was going to be Mid Mod Remodel Season 10 (!) but instead, we've decided to be all podcast all the time,...

This episode goes out to all the homeowners waiting to plan, or dream about home improvement projects until you’ve saved up the home remodel budget.  I hope you’ll take this the right way when I tell you … you’re doing it wrong. I know … you’re being responsible.  You’re waiting to plan util you’ve got the budget in the bank.  But … ACTUALLY it’s more responsible for you to plan your remodel now,...

What should you do when you can’t make up your mind?  When finding a mid-century faucet seems impossible? The abundance of choice is a HUGE factor in getting in over your head when you are trying to choose finishes for your home update.  With the entire internet at your fingertips … or even the plumbing supply showroom that your plumber directed you to … you can feel like anything is possible and...

First,  are you signed up for the Free Mid-Century Master Planning Masterclass on August 27th?  If not?  Why not!?   Hope to see you there! When HGTV Home Depot every contractor you’ve spoken to so far and some of your friends and family are all questioning why you like that feature of your mid-century house, it can feel like maybe they’re right and you’re not. You can ask yourself,  am I wrong to...

Do you worry that you could never cut a hole in your house or expand an opening without consulting a design expert?  Today’s episode is for you!  If you’re afraid to move a wall in your home … or to put a new hole in one, I hope you’ll feel less so at the end of this episode! True, there are some areas of your house you don’t want to carelessly change - for fear of bringing down the whole house! ...

Here’s how you can get the best value in a remodel … you can supercharge any remodel using adjustments to your home’s layout.  By the way ... this episode is the PERFECT preamble to this weekend's Mid-Century Design Clinic. Listen up here and then go save your seat for the Workshop ! Look, beautiful finishes can make your life so shiny and pretty.  You can wake up in the morning and smile bec...

Make sure you sign up for the Mid-Century Design Clinic by July 31st to grab the early bird pricing!  See you there! Today’s question is actually one I don’t get asked often enough. Here it goes: How can I get started now on my fun mid-century home update plans when I have this feeling I should do maintenance before I remodel? I don’t get asked because  way too many people assume it’s the wrong qu...