When I think of the mid-century modern home style, the first thing I think of is light… and bringing the outside in, blurring the lines between exterior and interior spaces. The 1950s house designed by Edward Fickett in the photo below is A Modern Renovation of a Mid-Century House in Los Angeles, shared by MidCenturyHome.com. The clerestory windows bring in light and nature while still maintaining privacy.
Photo by Brandon Shigeta from MidCenturyHome.com – more at A Modern Renovation of a Mid-Century House
I showed the Twin Cities mid-century home in the photo below shortly after seeing the photo of the Fickett house above. My client commented on how dark this room felt. My thoughts immediately went to the house above… what a difference clerestory windows would make on the feel of this room, even with the original wood walls.
Modernism developed in Minnesota about the same time that it developed in California, but many people first think of “California Modern” when they think of mid-century modernism. I am embarrassed to say I didn’t know Edward Fickett when I first saw the post about the house above that was designed by him. He is called the “Forgotten Giant”… once called the ‘miracle man’ behind more than 40,000 post-war modernism tract homes as well as dozens more custom homes plus restaurants, hotels, shopping and medical centers. Fickett is one of the most prolific designers of modern homes ever. Better Homes and Gardens declared him the Frank Lloyd Wright of the 1950s.
Joseph Eichler is one of the names many people think of as responsible for bringing mid-century-modern homes to the masses, a developer building over 11,000 homes in California between 1949 and 1960. He was inspired by his time renting a Frank Lloyd Wright Usonian style home in 1943, and was indebted to Wright and Mies van der Rohe for his open floor plans, glass walls, and post-and-beam construction. His signature concepts included skylights and floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking private outdoor spaces but few street-facing windows, tongue and groove decking for ceilings, Philippine mahogany paneling, concrete floors with radiant heat, and entry atriums. Eichler Homes were examples of Modernist architecture that came to be known as “California Modern”.
Photos by Open Homes Photography, Inc from MidCenturyHomes.com – more at This Iconic Eichler Will Invite You to its Inside and Outside Spaces
Joseph Eichler was a social visionary with the aim of constructing homes for the middle class. He established a non-discrimination policy and offered homes for sale to anyone of any religion or race. He resigned from the National Association of Home Builders in 1958, when they refused to support a non-discrimination policy.
Sharlene Hensrud, RE/MAX Results – shensrud@homesmsp.com
