Mid Mod Remodel

Does the primary bed/bed configuration in your modest ranch leave a lot to be desired? You may just have one hall bath. Or (upgrade alert!!!) a sort-of-sad powder room off the owners’ bedroom. An owners’ suite has become a must have in modern homes, but less than a generation ago almost half of U.S. homes were still without indoor plumbing. So how did our bathroom expectations change so drasticall...

Sketching is the most important visual thinking tool you can use to plan your remodel. Sketches help you generate ideas quickly, explore alternatives without risk and avoid getting bogged down in the details too soon. And YOU CAN Sketch…even if you have kindergarten-level drawing skills. Get the full show notes with all the trimmings at www.midmod-midwest.com/1212 Like and subscribe at Apple | Spo...

What feels like the true beginning of summer to you? Memorial Day weekend? The first lightning bugs of the year? The last day of school?  For me, my birthday in early June is the real start of summer! It kind of feels like we just dived into the middle of summer in the last week or two and I have a feeling you might be in exactly the right headspace to take on some easy summer projects to make you...

I LOVE updates from our homeowners, both design clients and Ready to Remodel students! Photos in the Facebook group are great. Emails with project pictures? A delight! I bet YOU like to peek inside other people's remodeling process, too! I recently reached out to see if some of my Ready to Remodel students had a few minutes to spend catching me up on their remodels and their experience in the...

I'm often asked, "What does it cost to remodel a kitchen right now?" Wow! That depends on so many factors.  I might as well ask you, "What does it cost to go on vacation?" There are as many types of home remodels, as there are different ways to travel away from home! But there are shortcuts and ways to simplify planning a remodel…just as there are ways to plan an easier va...

How can you make sure the choices you make for your mid-century home RIGHT NOW will be ones you don’t regret in the future?  Ask the right questions! In Today's Episode You'll Hear: How to roll back remodeling choices you made in the past to get a home you’ll love for decades to come.  Plus, can a mid-century door that’s been languishing in a shed for 16 years be salvaged? How to make su...

We created the Mid-Century Master Plan Package to get you from “I want to remodel” to “let’s call up contractors.”  The masterplans we create for our clients include floor plans and images to help clients visualize the remodeling possibilities. We also share a style guide with project specific recommendations and our general design guidance. One they review these documents, we integrate their feed...

Movies love to show architects creating away at a drafting table or sitting picturesquely at a cafe, sketchbook in hand. It’s romantic, this vision of a endlessly creative mind conjuring beautiful buildings from some eternal, internal well.  But * SPOILER ALERT* no one uses a drafting table anymore (except throwbacks and nostalgia lovers). In fact, I do all my sketching on a tablet. But there is a...

What is a micro space?  A micro space (also know as a "nook") is an area within a room that does one specific job. A few examples: a reading chair in the corner of a larger living room, an eat in area in the kitchen, a closet repurposed as an office or crafting space.  Today I’m going to teach you to capitalize on the micro space idea to improve on your home…without moving a single wall....

You need a masterplan approach to be able to a) get started in the first place , b) keep going with a minimum of unpleasant expensive surprises and c) end up with a home that looks and works the way you want and need it to.  Making changes to your home’s layout and flow is how you make sure it is going to work the way you want. The style guide is the lever by which you can easily control the way y...

You don’t need a mid century mood board…but feel free to make one, if it feels like fun to you. It's just not the tool that is going to destress and simplify your remodel decision making. For that, you’re gonna need a style guide.  In Today's Episode You'll Hear: Why a mid century mood board won’t cut it for your remodel. How a style guide is different and better (for our purposes)...

Today let’s talk about the right way to steal mid-century style ideas. There is actually a right way and a wrong way to find your mid mod home improvement inspiration.  Done right, you can light up your mind with great ideas. You can connect with mid-century homeowners who have walked the path you’re on to find out what they learned.  But done wrong, your search for ideas can lead you into overwhe...

What's your mid century remodel era? Do you love 40's fab or 50's sputnik-space-race or sunny, earthy late 60's vibes?  Today's episode is all about naming your favorite mid century era, then using that information to create the perfect style guide for your remodel! Get the full show notes with all the trimmings at  https://www.midmod-midwest.com/1201 Like and subscribe at...

One of the easiest ways to make your front door shine is to upgrade your house numbers. I've been a big fan of one particular company,  Modern House Numbers, for quite a while. I've got their numbers on my house, and I recommend them to a lot of my clients. But I didn't even know how much I love this company until I sat down with owner, Brandy McLain, recently. Brandy and I talk abo...

Mid-century modern is so in right now, people are popping neutra type house numbers and modbox mailboxes onto just about any house type.  You are in luck, Ranch Owner, because the mid-century front door was made for your house.  I'll break down how you can get or make your own perfect mid century front door. This works whether you are simply aiming for a spin through Etsy or planning major re...

One thing most mid century homes lack is a modern mudroom…or any practical dedicated entry/exit space designed to catch those things that belong to the outside edge of your life. If this sounds like your home, you're not alone!  Helping our one-to-one design clients to solve this challenge is part of nearly every mid century master plan here at Mid Mod Midwest. And solving this problem doesn&...

This week we're revisiting one of our favorite episodes! Choosing a color scheme for your home is one of the most effective ways to put your stamp on a house and start the process of making it your home. But before you “pick” the “right” color for your home … I want you to ask yourself a few more questions about what you’re trying to make happen here. Don’t panic. This is part of the fun, I p...

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...