Table of contents for Spring 2019 in Atomic Ranch

WHEN A SELLER OF A MODERNIST HOUSE CALLS AND ASKS MY OPINION ON PRICING, I try to be helpful, but I’m not a real estate agent or appraiser. What I can ask is, how did the caller arrive at that price? If it was based on solid comparable houses, they are likely on the right track. But sometimes, the seller has invented a price, fixated on it, and only wants to hear agreement from me. Here’s a typical tale. Three siblings, Rick, Hudson and Janine, must sell their mom’s 1962 modernist ranch designed by a talented local architect, Bob Cartwright. They ask Rick’s wife, Barb, to be their realtor. Barb has never sold a house like this before. The best modernist realtors have a network of inspectors, appraisers, roofers, architects…

FOR MOST OF THE YEAR, BLAINE SILER ANDHUSBANDLINCOLNBOGARD spend their days in a 1,300-square-foot, two-bedroom, one-bath Craftsman bungalow built in 1912. Painted bubble-gum pink on the outside, the home, in Martinez, California, hasn’t had many upgrades since 1930, and retains a classic charm. The couple’s vacation home, in Blaine’s words, is “in pretty stark contrast” to their bungalow. Built in 1960, the 2,800-square-foot, three-bedroom, two-bath home was suffering from too many upgrades. This home needed restoration inside and out to reclaim its modern edge. “The previous owners had attempted to give it a Mediterranean exterior facelift; it looked a bit like The Olive Garden,” Blaine shares. “However, the interior was bipolar with both modern and Tuscan finishes.” Since purchasing the home in 2015, Blaine and Lincoln have worked to transform…

WHAT TRANSFORMED THE HOLE-IN-THE-WALL DESERT LAND OF RANCHO MIRAGE INTO A HOLE-IN-ONE HAVEN? A couple of country clubs and dozens of golf clubs. In her book, Mod Mirage: The Midcentury Architecture of Rancho Mirage, Melissa Riche describes the midcentury origins of Rancho Mirage, which sprang from the fertile ground of celebrity golf courses. FROM RANCH TO COUNTRY CLUB In the late 1940s, amateur golfer Johnny Dawson dreamed of opening an 18-hole golf course… in the middle of the desert. Melissa writes that Dawson “realized that by moving east from Palm Springs… he could obtain an extra 90 minutes of sunshine each afternoon.” Dawson set his sights on Thunderbird Ranch, a development that had “opened in January 1947 to great fanfare,” but reportedly “lost $50,000 a year during its four years…

Inside Scoop! Our Case Study Series Continues! Learn about the project that has long captured the hearts of modernists. Plan Your Next Getaway Florida, California, Hawaii and more! Where will your modernist passions take you on vacation? We’ve got all the details to help you plan. Tips for Buying Your Dream Home On the hunt for your next midcentury marvel? Our real estate experts weigh in with the info you need to know. Surprising Mod Suppliers Mid mod furnishings and décor pop up in some unexpected places—and we’ve found the best secret sources. Cool Stuff…

DESPITE THE USUAL HEADACHES OF HOUSE HUNTING, realtors Dane Kealoha and Christopher Johnson found their Palm Springs home on the first day of searching. “It was actually pleasant,” Christopher admits of the couple’s experience. Working with local realtor Paul Kaplan, it took only four or five viewings to find the perfect match. “We walked in and got as far as the back and said, 'This is it,’” Christopher remembers. Located on a corner lot in the Racquet Club Estates neighborhood, the William Krisel tract home was built by the Alexander Construction Company in 1959. “We wanted midcentury, but we weren’t specifically looking for an Alexander,” says Dane. “But it was more specifically the view and how it was laid out on the property,” Christopher says. “… because it was so…

LIKE THE REST OF THEIR MODERN HOME, the kitchen/dining room in Blake Siler and Lincoln Bogard’s 1960s ranch went through an awkward phase, one in which it had a Tuscan makeover. Thanks to careful styling and a passion for the midcentury aesthetic, the couple helped the home move past this rough design phase. Not far from Palm Springs, the makeunder of this Bermuda Dunes, California, kitchen required the homeowners to pretty well start from scratch. “The house came with a newly installed gloss white IKEA kitchen and an amateur-poured concrete countertop,” says Blaine. “I blame the Home Depot for telling people they can do things they shouldn’t.” Out went the gloss white cabinetry and concrete counter; in came the walnut cabinetry and white Caesarstone counter, each cleaner and decidedly more…

“The more we started spending time there, the more we got into learning about the neighborhoods and the architecture.” From the front exterior, this Palm Springs home looks rather unassuming. For the homeowners, husband and wife Joe O’Hara and Lizbeth Scordo, the true moment of impact comes after walking through the front door to see the entire back wall of the house made up of floor-to-ceiling glass windows and doors. When you open up the front door and there is this wall of glass,” says Joe, “that’s what I just fell in love with.” For the couple, the home is a desert escape from the grind of life. “On a nice day, when you open up all the sliders, it’s really just kind of indoor-outdoor living;” says Lizbeth, “it adds…

IN PALM SPRINGS, THE MINIMAL LINES OF MIDCENTURY MODERN DESIGNS and the monochrome colors of the area’s natural desert climate cause many homeowners to use bright colors on their doors to give their homes a unique touch. In fact, Palm Springs “door tours” spring up around the theme of checking out these vibrant colors. Designers Howard Hawkes and Kevin Kemper of H3K Design are based in Palm Springs and share how you can bring this look to your home, no matter where you live. COOL TURQUOISE “Owning a retail store in Palm Springs, you find that there is an insatiable appetite for orange and turquoise in the desert. Those seem to be the trademark colors,” Howard and Kevin explain. Choosing an accent color for any part of your home requires…