Can you spot Mid-Century-Modern design elements in this house?

It’s pretty easy to spot mid-century-modern design furnishings and decor… can you also spot mid-century-modern architectural design elements?

This home built in 1953 is not a classic mid-century-modern, but it does share some mid-century-modern design characteristics.

One-level rambler style

The rambler style was the quintessential 1950s style… easy, one-level living with flexible space. Even the most basic 1950s ramblers often had a third bedroom next to the kitchen with 2 doorways… making it a flexible space for use as a bedroom, den, office, or even a dining room. These new mid-century homes replaced the idea of reserving rooms for specific uses by the idea of living in a house where all spaces were for every day use, with the flexibility to adapt their use.

EXTERIOR

• Roof line – although not the typical flat, shed, distinctive butterfly or accordion roof lines associated with mid-century moderns, the angled roof ends show that influence of looking at roof lines in new ways
• Massive brick chimney – natural elements such as brick and a substantial fireplace chimney were common to mid-century-modern design
• Windows – mid-century moderns often had high windows hugging the roof line, making the roof appear suspended from the interior; here they are modified, practically providing privacy and easier furniture placement in bedrooms facing the street

INTERIOR

• Expansive windows – a key element of mid-century-modern design was expansive windows stretching from floor to ceiling, flooding the interior with light; this living room has a distinctive wall of window panes extending all the way to the floor
• Fireplace – fireplaces were key features of mid-century-modern design, usually with no mantel and a raised hearth often tiled as in this home; note how the brick is tucked in the corner and the firebox opening is offset, also found in mid-century-modern design

• Built-in open shelving – with an emphasis on simplicity, open shelving was a common design element… usually in natural wood and built in to maximize open living space
• Slate entry tile – mid-century-modern design emphasized from the natural world that brought nature indoors

Although this addition was not part of the original house, it still shares some mid-century-modern  basic design concepts…

• Emphasis on natural light and bringing the outside in
• Lack of ornamentation, simple flat-faced cabinetry
• Spacious, open areas for flexible use
• High ceilings to create a sense of volume

These principles of understated beauty and fluid interpretation of space are common in today’s modern design, perhaps one of the reasons why there is such a renewed interest in mid-century-modernism.

Learn more about this charming home… and get in touch if you would like to work together, looking at homes with a mid-century-modern eye.

RE/MAX Results HomesMSP Team – info@homesMSP.com

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