Houzz Tour: Mid Mod Split-Level With Colorful Retro Flair
A remodel restores midcentury modern character and adds bold splashes of color to a South Carolina home
In 1961, an engineer constructed a modern house on a sloped, wooded lot in Greenville, South Carolina. Over the next 60 years, vinyl siding covered the original exterior, a Craftsman-style kitchen was added and other period-inappropriate renovations crept in. But when a couple with a fondness for midcentury modern design purchased the home, they saw the potential underneath the anachronisms. To reveal it, they turned to architecture and interior design firm Ario Studio.
Before: When the couple bought the home, it had vinyl siding covering the original wood siding. When the vinyl was removed, the wood was in bad shape, says architect and interior designer Brittany Arnold, who co-owns Ario Studio with her husband, studio director Matthew Arnold.
After: Arnold had the house re-sided with a highly durable textured aluminum product that, painted an almost black charcoal gray, resembles shou-sugi-ban (Japanese-style charred wood siding). She paired it with a new black standing-seam metal roof.
Arnold also had the overgrown vegetation along the front of the home removed and added a poured-in-place concrete paver pathway.
The exterior architecture of the home remained largely the same, including the windows, some of which have an unusual pivot-slide function.
“They’re really beautiful,” Arnold says. “You’re not really going to get any made like that again.”
Exterior paint: Iron Ore, Sherwin-Williams
Arnold also had the overgrown vegetation along the front of the home removed and added a poured-in-place concrete paver pathway.
The exterior architecture of the home remained largely the same, including the windows, some of which have an unusual pivot-slide function.
“They’re really beautiful,” Arnold says. “You’re not really going to get any made like that again.”
Exterior paint: Iron Ore, Sherwin-Williams
A new midcentury-modern-style slab door in bold gold replaced the existing traditional-style door.
Door paint: Ceremonial Gold, Sherwin-Williams
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
Door paint: Ceremonial Gold, Sherwin-Williams
New to home remodeling? Learn the basics
Arnold says one of the best choices they made was to replace the brown-painted wood soffits with stained cedar paneling that stretches across the interior ceiling.
“You can see that all the way through the project, and it makes a really big difference on how your eye moves,” she says.
“You can see that all the way through the project, and it makes a really big difference on how your eye moves,” she says.
Before: This was the view from just inside the front door. The kitchen was through the opening in the wall on the left.
After: This view was taken from a slightly different angle compared with the previous picture, but it better shows the new layout of the main level.
Arnold relocated the kitchen to the back left of the home, which was previously the dining area. That allowed her to push back the wall on the left in the previous photo, opening up the entry area. It also expanded views to the backyard through floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding doors that stretch across the back of the house.
Scroll to the bottom to see the floor plan.
Arnold relocated the kitchen to the back left of the home, which was previously the dining area. That allowed her to push back the wall on the left in the previous photo, opening up the entry area. It also expanded views to the backyard through floor-to-ceiling windows and sliding doors that stretch across the back of the house.
Scroll to the bottom to see the floor plan.
This is the view looking from the living room toward the front door. Pushing back the kitchen wall also opened up the views to the front yard and let more light into the house. The ceiling paneling visually pulls the trees into the home too.
Arnold preserved the entryway’s distinctive terrazzo floor, which was made with large pieces of terra cotta. But she had the damaged wood removed everywhere else on the main level to expose the concrete slab, which was then simply polished.
A George Nelson for Herman Miller triple bubble chandelier hangs above the terrazzo.
Arnold preserved the entryway’s distinctive terrazzo floor, which was made with large pieces of terra cotta. But she had the damaged wood removed everywhere else on the main level to expose the concrete slab, which was then simply polished.
A George Nelson for Herman Miller triple bubble chandelier hangs above the terrazzo.
Before: The kitchen, which had dark traditional Shaker-style cabinetry, opened directly into the carport.
After: In the space opened up by moving the kitchen and pushing back the wall, Arnold paired a custom dining bench by local furniture maker Pratt Woodworks with the owners’ vintage table and chairs to create a compact dining area.
Most, if not all, of the artwork decorating the space was done by the husband’s father.
Wall paint: Pure White, Sherwin-Williams
Most, if not all, of the artwork decorating the space was done by the husband’s father.
Wall paint: Pure White, Sherwin-Williams
A new laundry room-mudroom is now behind the dining area wall, in what’s left of the space once occupied by the kitchen. The homeowners primarily enter the house from the carport through this mudroom and then into the new kitchen via a door on the right of the photo.
Blue-painted and natural white oak cabinets, also by Pratt Woodworks, include built-in dog bowls and coat and pantry storage.
Blue cabinet paints: Atmospheric and Rest Assured, Sherwin-Williams
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Blue-painted and natural white oak cabinets, also by Pratt Woodworks, include built-in dog bowls and coat and pantry storage.
Blue cabinet paints: Atmospheric and Rest Assured, Sherwin-Williams
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The washer and dryer are in a niche in one corner of the mudroom. The colors, flat-panel and bypass doors and cutout door pulls all have distinctly midcentury modern style.
Tour more midcentury homes
Tour more midcentury homes
The door between the kitchen (formerly the dining room) and laundry room is next to the refrigerator. The side of the dining bench is peeking out on the left of the photo. Scroll down to the floor plan if you’re feeling disoriented.
Arnold worked with Seattle-based Kerf Design to dream up the cabinetry for the new kitchen, which has a retro palette driven partly by the Louis Poulsen PH 5 pendant lights over the island. The midcentury-modern-inspired plywood cabinets are finished with a rich walnut veneer and a mix of white and three shades of orange laminate. Arnold paired them with a white induction range, a Samsung refrigerator with aqua and white panels and Herman Miller Eames counter stools.
“It’s a very asymmetrical choice of where the colors are, but we like the balance of the composition,” Arnold says. “The homeowners were very open to having something that was expressive and interesting and fun.”
Arnold worked with Seattle-based Kerf Design to dream up the cabinetry for the new kitchen, which has a retro palette driven partly by the Louis Poulsen PH 5 pendant lights over the island. The midcentury-modern-inspired plywood cabinets are finished with a rich walnut veneer and a mix of white and three shades of orange laminate. Arnold paired them with a white induction range, a Samsung refrigerator with aqua and white panels and Herman Miller Eames counter stools.
“It’s a very asymmetrical choice of where the colors are, but we like the balance of the composition,” Arnold says. “The homeowners were very open to having something that was expressive and interesting and fun.”
The cabinetry is fitted with a lot of nifty features. For example, if you look carefully at the bottom of the island, you’ll see two cabinets on wheels.
10 Times to Hire a Kitchen Designer
10 Times to Hire a Kitchen Designer
Designed for the wife, who loves to bake, the rolling cabinets have countertops and wheels that can be unlocked so they can roll wherever they’re needed — such as over to this baking station and pop-up mixer.
There’s also a coffee station hidden in the tall cabinetry next to the mudroom door.
Just barely visible in this picture is a 6-inch circle in the white quartz countertop. That piece of countertop pops up so food scraps can be scraped off a cutting board into a compost receptacle below.
Just barely visible in this picture is a 6-inch circle in the white quartz countertop. That piece of countertop pops up so food scraps can be scraped off a cutting board into a compost receptacle below.
The kitchen flows into the living room, which has a butterscotch-colored leather sofa facing a rugged stone fireplace. The fireplace opening is on the lower level, which Ario Studio reconfigured but didn’t photograph.
Before: Prior to the renovation, the fireplace had incongruous pillars on either side, as well as a structural header at the top.
After: Ario Studio removed the pillars and reset the header to give the fireplace a cleaner look, then added a Kerf Design white-and-walnut floating console and built-in cabinetry. The homeowners planned to eventually hang art above the console.
When a sliding panel in the built-ins is pulled down over the television, the homeowners’ colorful collection of ceramics is showcased in the custom-size niches.
Shop for midcentury-modern-style furniture and decor
Shop for midcentury-modern-style furniture and decor
To the right of the fireplace, stairs descend to the lower level and up to two bedrooms. The team replaced the original railing, which was unsafe, and painted the treads off the entry three different shades of orange to tie in with the kitchen cabinetry.
The primary bedroom is at one end of the hallway. Ario Studio absorbed part of the hallway into the bedroom redesign to create a kind of anteroom with built-in white oak storage and a bench made by Pratt Woodworks.
The bedroom got a simple refresh using the clients’ vintage furnishings. The original floor was restained.
10 Easy Ways to Refresh Your Bedroom
10 Easy Ways to Refresh Your Bedroom
One small but impactful change was replacing the doors on the closets at the foot of the bed and drenching them and the surrounding drywall in an earthy olive green. Long wooden pulls coordinate with the wood floors.
Before: The primary en suite bathroom was fairly spacious but outdated, and it lacked some basic modern amenities, including a shower.
After: Ario Studio changed the layout and upgraded the finishes to make the room clean, modern and functional. A soaking tub and dual shower share a wet room that has a glass enclosure, curbless entry and stacked rectangular porcelain wall tiles.
The team also replaced the wood-framed window and moved it higher for more privacy.
The team also replaced the wood-framed window and moved it higher for more privacy.
Pratt Woodworks custom-made the double walnut vanity for the space. Its concrete trough-style sink was custom-made by another local vendor.
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See why you should hire a professional who uses Houzz Pro software
Before: The house is built into a hill, which is clear from this “before” photo of its back side, with its original wood siding. This photo also hints at the property’s drainage challenges, which caused water to pool in the backyard.
After: Drains and new retaining walls covered in smooth stucco (which extend beyond the frame of this photo to the right) help with the drainage issues. Ario Studio carried the stucco across the lower level’s exterior to create a cohesive and clean look. It also replaced the deck and stair railing, and the doors, brought all structures up to code and installed a gravel area for a fire pit. The furniture hadn’t yet been installed when this photo was taken, aside from the white Thomas Heatherwick Spun chair.
The new garage door opens to reveal an airy office.
The new garage door opens to reveal an airy office.
With its clean lines, mix of natural materials, connection to its settings and distinctive palette, the house certainly has the architecture and spirit of a midcentury modern house. Ario Studio’s updates enhance those assets while making it feel functional and fresh.
“We weren’t trying to preserve the house, necessarily, and keep it the same,” Arnold says. “It was more like, ‘What could this house be?’”
One imagines the engineer who built the home would appreciate how this renovation answered the question.
“We weren’t trying to preserve the house, necessarily, and keep it the same,” Arnold says. “It was more like, ‘What could this house be?’”
One imagines the engineer who built the home would appreciate how this renovation answered the question.
Main-level floor plan
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House at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple
Location: Greenville, South Carolina
Size: 3,220 square feet (299 square meters); five bedrooms, three bathrooms
Designer: Brittany Arnold of Ario Studio (architecture and interiors)
Builder: Corey Mercer of Tekton Builds
This is the home as it looks today. Although not far from downtown Greenville, it feels secluded thanks to its setting away from the road, on a large, leafy lot with a stream running through the backyard.
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