I get asked about the right landscape design for a mid-century a lot. And, while I do design outdoor “rooms” and have a landscape at my own house, I am far from the expert on designing beautiful gardens. Seriously…I only just succeeded in not killing (most of) my houseplants in the last couple of years.  So to tackle all your landscaping questions I called up a landscaping expert. A chat with an MCM Landscape specialist And big giant bonus? An expert who specializes in design for mid-century homes. Jim Drzewiecki, APLD, award-winning principal designer, is the founder and owner of Ginkgo ..read more

What is the best mid-century flooring for your house? I get this question ALL the time and I have a lot of opinions about it. But before I tell you about what I like and what I’d choose … we need to focus on you. Short version: it depends on what you want That’s because my answer to you, to my clients, to my students and to everybody who asks me this is … It depends. Now, when I answer this way, I’m not hedging or hesitating.  I do have opinions about and experience with many types of flooring in all sorts of applications. And strong personal preferences of my own! But when people ask “Wh ..read more

One of the questions I get asked most often (right after how much will my remodel cost) is, hey, how long will my remodel take? We all want a solid answer to this question before moving forward. But the reality is how long it all takes depends on how much of your house is affected, who does the work, when it starts and HOW DECISIVE YOU ARE ALONG THE WAY! So … the answer is it depends. But I’ve got good news for you as well as bad news, here. Because it depends on some factors you can predict and sometimes factors you can control with your own choices! TL;DR: Your remodel will probably take lon ..read more

OK, so I spend a lot of time warning Mid-Century homeowners off of getting their ideas and advice from general shelter media. A lot of it is just not for us. But that doesn’t mean there is nothing we can learn from HGTV. Home improvement shows (and magazines, and social media) give us lots of chances to look at other peoples homes. And to observe those people looking at lots of different homes. And even have the occasional good Mid-Century design idea. (It happens!) Let’s talk about what we can learn from HGTV. Because it really can be a wonderful window into the wider world of home improvemen ..read more

White paint on original mid-century wood work? Well, that depends.  But in a well planned mid mod update the answer is almost ALWAYS … no! Why you should NOT paint mid-century wood If you have unpainted original wood in your home, set the paint brush down and step away. You and future occupants of your home will thank you. That wood is precious – a non-renewable resource Because the wood you have in your mid-century home is higher quality than anything you can buy today. It is irreplaceable and special. And there are better ways to work with your original materials rather than covering th ..read more

Look … I’m going to get straight to the point. The internet is full of advice to “slap a nice fresh coat of paint onto your mid-century ____.” You fill in the blank: stone, brick, block, and woodwork. But in almost every case, white paint is NOT the answer. Painting over stone (and brick or block) is a trendy, thoughtless, cheap (in a bad way) and very permanent move. Long story short: Don’t paint stone or brick So let’s talk about why you keep getting that advice, and then let’s break down some of the mid-century materials in a mid-century house you should not paint over. Why does HGTV keep t ..read more

Your ranch is not a cottage and it never will be. These are two different types of houses right down to their bones to the floor plan that is, and right up to every little detail that makes each of these different types of houses great.  What even is a cottage? The term cottage has been around for a long time and it has had many varied meanings in the US and in Europe. In the US, the word came to mean a small freestanding rural home and then to refer to the urban cousins of these homes, including the Chicago bungalow.  The Chicago bungalow has a similar footprint to a modest, early M ..read more

Here’s what we were dealing with: This 1952 basic ranch had a basement with plenty of space but not much style. With the right updates it could be the perfect spot for a cool home office, plus guest area. The bathroom needed a serious upgrade to be guest-worthy and the balance of the basement needed the right divisions for everything to work.  Our goal was to build a snazzy right-sized office with sound privacy, while reserving space for guest stays. Bonus points were awarded for including a potter’s corner.  Our WFH Basement Solutions We provided both an option that claims lots of ..read more

According to HGTV, you can never take a house as it is. A change is required. You must remodel it to make it “yours”.  But … (again per HGTV) there’s ONLY one right way to improve your home. And that is whatever is the most current latest and greatest on Pinterest on Instagram on HGTV and in Dwell magazine.  Now, in fact, I actually do believe in the transformative power of a remodel. Planning them is kind of my bread and butter. But here’s the thing: real, life changing transformations rarely look the same for every homeowner or home. And very frequently there’s nary a subway tile t ..read more

Do you have objects in your life in your house that you would categorize as clutter? Probably you do. I know I do. Most people think of most of their partners stuff as clutter. And we’re all trying to cut back. Decluttering sometimes feels like our national pastime. HGTV has multiple shows devoted to the pleasures and virtues of minimalism. They want you to know that you should throw out most of your stuff and replace it all with “the right stuff.” Or if you prefer your Marie Kondo straight from the source her show is on Netflix. But I want to ask you this. DO you actually have a clutter probl ..read more