Table of contents for Fall 2019 in Atomic Ranch

After purchasing their 1959 shed-style ranch in 2012, Aletha Vandermaas, owner of True Home Restorations design firm, and her husband, Greg, enjoyed a home with the Midcentury Modern exterior they craved—stone, brick and glass. However, the galley kitchen had been stripped of most of its mod styling through decades of upgrades and updates. “Sadly, the original galley kitchen had been completely replaced in 1992,” Aletha says. “The kitchen that was in its place was a standard big-box, plain-white kitchen; it did not go with the house one bit. It was in good shape, but it was in the wrong house.” A FRESH START To help the kitchen better fit the home, the homeowners decided to start fresh. The galley kitchen was gutted and the walls to an adjoining office were…

Inside Scoop! Preserving Modernism in Sacramento From municipal buildings to beloved homes, this city is protecting its midcentury heritage. Decorating with Metal Wall Sculpture From Curtis Jeré to Project 62, mod wall sculptures always inspire. The Care and Keeping of Wood Paneling A few simple steps to follow to keep your paneling clean and shiny. How to Create the Mod Look No Matter Where You Live You don’t need to live in an Eichler to own an Eames lounger! Tile the Way Your midcentury kitchen and bath renovation just got a whole lot more colorful. Make It Midcentury just released a new line of atomic designs available in square and subway sizes. Get the full scoop online!…

“… there was an original orange wall; I believe [it was] this exact orange because we ended up matching it. My wife really likes orange, so we painted both the living room wall as well as the entry wall orange.” Original vaulted cedar ceilings and large expanses of windows were just some of the impressive features that attracted Robert and Amanda Nathan to the 1950 post-and-beam home they purchased in 2000. Since then, the house has had a fairly major remodel, but the kitchen was one of the last areas they tackled. BETTER FLOW While they were happy with the overall kitchen footprint, the cramped layout made usability and storage difficult. “We both, in particular I, really like to cook so we needed to make sure that the kitchen itself…

“In this home, the wood wall— the Brazilian mahogany—was done so well, and we wanted to retain that, work around it and enhance it. That’s what we duplicated in the bathroom.” While many original features of this 1960s Spokane home were kept during the renovation, one unique aspect was not only restored, but replicated in another area. “In this home, the wood wall—the Brazilian mahogany— was done so well, and we wanted to retain that, work around it and enhance it. That’s what we duplicated in the bathroom,” says Stephanie Sarro, owner of Sarro Design and project manager for the renovation. A smaller version of the dining area’s impressive accent wall was recreated in the newly refurbished bathroom, using a scale drawing by Stephanie and custom woodwork by Wagon Trail…

Having never lived in a midcentury homebefore, when the Szidon family found themselves moving from the East Coast to the West Coast, they knew they wanted a change from their 1839 Greek Revival. A 1953 Lafayette, California, home—the work of Fred Langhorst, an apprentice of Frank Lloyd Wright no less—turned out to be the perfect antidote. After living in the home for a year, Debra Szidon, founder of The Cass Clutch and Cocoon Home Design, along with her husband, Alex Szidon, father of three, tackled the not-so-small task of lovingly renovating their midcentury kitchen. Treating herself as her own client, Debra made three mood boards to help her decide on a design direction. What she landed on she describes as “midcentury chic.” A DESIGNER’S VISION Functionality and aesthetics led Debra…

While most house purchases tend to be a cold transaction between strangers, this Arizona home shifted hands between close friends. When current homeowner Lynn Tarrence found out that her friend and fellow designer Anne Hunt was selling this 1966 Tucson home, Lynn immediately told Anne that she and her husband, Dan, wanted to buy it. “Anne called me and said, ‘This might be good news, bad news, I don’t know, but we’re selling the house,’ and I said, ‘Okay, we’ll take it,’” Lynn recalls. “Anywhere you sit in that house, there’s a view.”—Lynn In 2010, Anne and her partner, Charlene Grabowski, had purchased the home, known as the ATB House after architect Arthur T. Brown who designed it, and Anne had restored the home herself with a little help, in…

Finding the perfect backsplash is both design bliss and decision overload, especially when you discover that Modwalls, a Midcentury Modern tile company, offers 103 color options. Thankfully Nicole Whitley, president of Modwalls, loves to help clients pair artisanal tile with their kitchen vision. CHOOSING COLOR Even with so many color options, Modwalls’ Kiln Ceramic tile is a useful trailhead. “Figuring out how you want to feel when you walk into a room really is the starting point,” Nicole says. “In my kitchen, I want that pop of color to be really bright and upbeat and cheery, so that would lead me to chartreuses and blues and oranges.” “Figuring out how you want to feel when you walk into a room really is the starting point.” Maybe you crave a warm…