Before and After: 5 Modern Makeovers Done With a Light Touch
These thoughtful remodels introduce contemporary updates while preserving historic features
As Modernism Week in Palm Springs, California, kicks off today, it’s a good time to revisit a collection of modern homes on Houzz that were brought back to life in a thoughtful way. While hardly time capsules, these five modern gems were renovated with an emphasis on keeping the design features that drew the homeowners to them in the first place.
After. The redwood siding was sanded to remove the deterioration and then resealed with linseed oil. Where warping and cracks had occurred, the siding was removed, water barriers installed and new siding applied. The new front entry includes a winding front courtyard of natural stone with a table for dining alfresco.
Before. The previous living room decor wasn’t to the new owner’s taste, but the wood-paneled walls and brick fireplace were still in good shape.
After. The design team restored this signature space to its original glory. It also added a glass insert to the loft area in the background, to continue the view of the redwood on either side of the fireplace.
See the rest of the house: Redwood Misfit Gets a Midcentury Makeover
See the rest of the house: Redwood Misfit Gets a Midcentury Makeover
2. Brady Bunch Beauty
Before. Despite being the “second-ugliest house in the neighborhood,” Di Bruning says, she and husband David Owen fell in love with the interior of this two-level 1968 home in Washington, D.C., when they spotted the open-riser entry staircase. It reminded Bruning of the one in The Brady Bunch, one of her favorite TV shows when she was growing up. “Inside, the house had a great vibe and a great amount of space,” she says. “I knew we could work with it.”
Bruning and Owen felt the exterior of the house had a somewhat oppressive look. However, the lot, which slopes up from the street, afforded a spacious two-level floor plan, with the garage, family room and a bedroom built into the hillside on the first level and the kitchen, dining and living rooms, as well as four more bedrooms, upstairs.
Before. Despite being the “second-ugliest house in the neighborhood,” Di Bruning says, she and husband David Owen fell in love with the interior of this two-level 1968 home in Washington, D.C., when they spotted the open-riser entry staircase. It reminded Bruning of the one in The Brady Bunch, one of her favorite TV shows when she was growing up. “Inside, the house had a great vibe and a great amount of space,” she says. “I knew we could work with it.”
Bruning and Owen felt the exterior of the house had a somewhat oppressive look. However, the lot, which slopes up from the street, afforded a spacious two-level floor plan, with the garage, family room and a bedroom built into the hillside on the first level and the kitchen, dining and living rooms, as well as four more bedrooms, upstairs.
After. Illustrating the power of fresh paint and a new and stylish garage, the home’s exterior is now a stunner. The team at Balodemas Architects boosted the curb appeal by installing a new entry door and sidelights; new windows, including an enlarged opening for the second-floor living room; new fiber cement siding for the upper level; and a new wood garage door.
Find an architect to design your modern home or remodel
Find an architect to design your modern home or remodel
Before. The original entry staircase won Bruning’s heart the moment she saw it. “I grew up in Australia, obsessively watching The Brady Bunch,” she says. “I loved all things American in the 1960s and ’70s. This staircase was almost exactly like the iconic one on the show, so I was in love.”
After. The design team left the staircase and fieldstone planter in their original condition but added a painted wood screen to separate the stairs from the lower-level family room and bedroom, the latter of which is now used as an office. Pushing out the entry door gave the foyer a bit more breathing room, and new porcelain tile flooring updated the look.
See the rest of the house: Saving a ‘Brady Bunch’ Staircase in a Midcentury Remodel
See the rest of the house: Saving a ‘Brady Bunch’ Staircase in a Midcentury Remodel
3. Enlivening a California Eichler
Before. Sometimes you don’t know what you want until it’s right in front of you. Pamela Lin and her husband, Erwin Tam, had set out looking for a run-of-the-mill, contemporary cookie-cutter home with two stories that they could move into without much renovating. But none of the dozens of homes they toured wowed them. Then they walked inside a home designed by well-known California developer-builder Joseph Eichler.
The front door opens to this atrium, which wooed Lin and Tam right away. In their research, they saw that many people opted to cover Eichler atriums to add more interior square footage, but they chose to preserve theirs.
Before. Sometimes you don’t know what you want until it’s right in front of you. Pamela Lin and her husband, Erwin Tam, had set out looking for a run-of-the-mill, contemporary cookie-cutter home with two stories that they could move into without much renovating. But none of the dozens of homes they toured wowed them. Then they walked inside a home designed by well-known California developer-builder Joseph Eichler.
The front door opens to this atrium, which wooed Lin and Tam right away. In their research, they saw that many people opted to cover Eichler atriums to add more interior square footage, but they chose to preserve theirs.
After. Lin took the connectivity a step further by adding clear, double-pane glass. She also replaced the concrete with an ipe wood deck and a fire pit. Mexican pebbles keep other areas clean-looking and low-maintenance. “We wanted to make it a place where you’d want to hang out as a family,” Lin says.
Before. Lin wanted to keep the kidney-shaped pool and the open layout of the backyard but update it a bit.
After. She removed some bushes, added an ipe wood deck at the far end of the pool and had new concrete poured right on top of the old layer. “It was cheaper than knocking out the old stuff,” she says. She also added Mexican pebbles and replaced the lawn with artificial turf.
See the rest of the house: An Eichler Remodel Spawns a Design Career
See the rest of the house: An Eichler Remodel Spawns a Design Career
4. Polishing a Gem in Vancouver
Before. Sixty years is a long time for a house to go without some remodel love. That’s what a Vancouver, British Columbia, lawyer faced when she excitedly snatched up this angular midcentury modern gem designed by notable local architect Fred Hollingsworth.
The home hadn’t been touched since it was built in 1952. Sure, she could have gutted the place and started from scratch, but the Hollingsworth-loving homeowner wanted to take a preservationist approach.
Playing with horizontal bricks was a trademark of Hollingsworth’s that the homeowner wanted to highlight. The living room’s banquette upholstery, however, she could do without.
Before. Sixty years is a long time for a house to go without some remodel love. That’s what a Vancouver, British Columbia, lawyer faced when she excitedly snatched up this angular midcentury modern gem designed by notable local architect Fred Hollingsworth.
The home hadn’t been touched since it was built in 1952. Sure, she could have gutted the place and started from scratch, but the Hollingsworth-loving homeowner wanted to take a preservationist approach.
Playing with horizontal bricks was a trademark of Hollingsworth’s that the homeowner wanted to highlight. The living room’s banquette upholstery, however, she could do without.
After. Designer Ken Best racked his brain trying to figure out how to get the wired glass windows out of the brick wall in order to insulate it. In the end he left them. They give a sense of obscured movement, shapes and light.
The concrete floors had radiant heat installed in the ’50s, but it had long ago stopped working. Instead of ripping up the old floor, Best poured a new slab with a radiant heat system right on top. (Yes, they lost an inch and a half of headroom.)
The concrete floors had radiant heat installed in the ’50s, but it had long ago stopped working. Instead of ripping up the old floor, Best poured a new slab with a radiant heat system right on top. (Yes, they lost an inch and a half of headroom.)
After. Best cleaned it up, adding a bit of drywall and a gas fireplace. This is where the homeowner likes to hang out, watch TV and read.
See the rest of the house: Houzz Tour: Preserving an Untouched Hollingsworth Gem
See the rest of the house: Houzz Tour: Preserving an Untouched Hollingsworth Gem
5. Stylish Update in San Jose
These Danish homeowners moved to the U.S. in 2011 and were renting in nearby Mountain View with their three kids when they bought this San Jose home designed by developer-builder Joseph Eichler. “We called the house ‘The James Bond House’ because of the walls,” which are paneled in mahogany, homeowner and designer Rikke Hein Truelsen says.
After they purchased it in 2016, they spent three months renovating the kitchen, refinishing the concrete floors, replacing windows and personalizing the open layout with their own modern furnishings.
Before. The homeowners disliked the plantings and concrete pads in the front atrium.
These Danish homeowners moved to the U.S. in 2011 and were renting in nearby Mountain View with their three kids when they bought this San Jose home designed by developer-builder Joseph Eichler. “We called the house ‘The James Bond House’ because of the walls,” which are paneled in mahogany, homeowner and designer Rikke Hein Truelsen says.
After they purchased it in 2016, they spent three months renovating the kitchen, refinishing the concrete floors, replacing windows and personalizing the open layout with their own modern furnishings.
Before. The homeowners disliked the plantings and concrete pads in the front atrium.
After. An ipe wood deck replaced the concrete. “We had the deck installed in full length with no visible screws to create a connection to the inside mahogany panels,” Truelsen says. She treated the wood with oil to protect it from the sun.
The designer wanted to preserve the indoor-outdoor flow for which Eichler homes are known. “The atrium is our favorite outdoor room — but used to just be a room you walked through,” Truelsen says.
The designer wanted to preserve the indoor-outdoor flow for which Eichler homes are known. “The atrium is our favorite outdoor room — but used to just be a room you walked through,” Truelsen says.
Before. The existing kitchen had an odd layout and didn’t include a full-size refrigerator. “There was an undercounter fridge and freezer in the island. Because of its built-in freezer, it could not even contain a gallon of milk,” Truelsen says. “I’m not sure how the previous homeowners used the kitchen. It was a bit puzzling.” Also, the range had no hood. And at the far end of the kitchen, an extra-long bar area made accessing the garage a tight squeeze.
After. Truelsen replaced the glossy maroon cabinets to give the kitchen a lighter and brighter Scandinavian aesthetic. They also wanted the flow to be more functional and added an extra-wide island with cabinetry on both sides to become a work surface for the kids.
Truelsen had budget-friendly cabinets from Ikea installed, along with quartz countertops and a glossy white faceted subway-tile backsplash. The couple added a full-size refrigerator and a stainless steel Zephyr range hood, moving the placement of the stove to the right of the window.
See the rest of the house: Updated Midcentury Home With Scandinavian Charm
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Truelsen had budget-friendly cabinets from Ikea installed, along with quartz countertops and a glossy white faceted subway-tile backsplash. The couple added a full-size refrigerator and a stainless steel Zephyr range hood, moving the placement of the stove to the right of the window.
See the rest of the house: Updated Midcentury Home With Scandinavian Charm
More
Why We Love Midcentury Modern Design
How to Get Midcentury Modern Style Today
Before. This home, known as “The Curves House,” was renovated with an eye toward restoring the architectural features that make it so distinct. The homeowner, who travels the world teaching conservation strategies to developing nations, instantly took to the house despite its deterioration. “He teaches people how to take what exists and make it better. He sees potential in everything, including this house,” designer Cavin Costello says.
The original entry had a purple front door surrounded by a neglected landscape. The redwood that covers much of the exterior had significant water damage.