Mid Century Modern - Love It? Or Not?

So, let me start by admitting I've never thought of myself as a big fan of mid century modern (MCM).  Truth be told, since I was born in the middle of the 20th century - I'm mid century myself J Which might account for my disdain!!

And for years, I really hated the style, maybe because I got a large dose of it as a kid.  My parents got married in the late 1950's.  They bought a new house in Colorado and furnished it in the latest style - Danish Modern.  And that stuff was made to last!  My earliest memories of it was when it had been relegated to the basement playroom when I was growing up.  When Richard and I got married and had an apartment to furnish - you guessed it, my parents gave us the old furniture.  We used it for several years and then gave it to friends  and family.  And my niece is still using a bedroom set for her kids - 4 generations, wow!
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Photo by Amber Interiors - Look for living room design inspiration

And as the MCM trend has intensified over the last few years, I was highly resistant.  Been there.....done that!  But lately, I've found myself drawn back to the style.

So I decided I should learn a bit more.  And where better to get an appreciation for the style than at the Danish Museum of Design in Copenhagen.









There's something about the simple lines of the furniture and lighting that are starting to appeal to me - particularly as it's recreated for the 21st century.  Look at these chairs from the museum!  Such clean, beautiful lines!  They're classics for a reason!

And I've been wow'd by some of the MCM houses I found on Houzz.  What a vibrant space!

Or this living room.  Look at the clean lines and integration between the indoors/outdoors - a real hallmark of the design approach. 

Midcentury Living Room by Berkeley Architects & Building Designers Koch Architects, Inc. Joanne Koch

I wish I could find a MCM house in SoPo to renovate.  I think it would be a blast!!  But we don't seem to have many examples in our area.

So what are your thoughts?  Are you a fan?  Or not?  Is MCM for you?  

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Before and After Vintage Colonial: Dining Room and Kitchen

This might sound odd, but the inspiration for the design of the entire house came from the dining room light fixture.  As soon as I saw this light fixture, with its mix of satin nickel and brushed brass, the design just clicked.  I fell in love with it.

























At that moment, I knew I wanted to use nautical charts for wallpaper.



































And I knew that to balance the charts, we needed a simple, tall wainscoting below it.














Add to that striped linen drapes that I had in my storage unit and bright aqua bowls, and it really started to come together

Foyer to Dining Room - Before

When that approach is connected with the major walls that we removed, well, here's the result!

Foyer to Dining Room - After

By opening the wall between the kitchen and dining room, both rooms feel larger and more welcoming.  Now you can sit at the island and chat with the chef.  Or the kids can do their homework after school.  And we kept the original china cabinet, which really adds some antique charm to the space.

Dining Room & Kitchen - Before

Don't you love how light and bright this kitchen is??

Dining Room & Kitchen - After

This will give you an idea how much work was involved in moving these walls! 

And one of my favorite features?  These custom glass inserts that Jim Nutting of Maine Art Glass made for me.  They sparkle and give the room so much personality!

And the glass penny tile above the stove?  Well it connects the entire color scheme!!! 

The third wall we removed was the one between the kitchen and living room.  This gave the house a real circular floor plan.  We had a thank you reception for the neighbors last week and confirmed - this is a fantastic party house!!!  

Kitchen Before

With the wall gone, look how the kitchen just flows into the rest of the living space!  

Did you see the Downeast Magazine article  about SoPo Cottage in their May issue?  Where they talked about my quest for the perfect foyer fixture?  Well this is it!!  It's part of the new Mitzi line and I LOVE it!!  Totally worth all those hours of searching!

As you can see, this was a lot of work.  But we're just thrilled with the result!!  

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Art - It Makes a House a Home

When I start planning a project, I think about fabrics, color schemes and art!!!  Because to me, artwork really makes a room come alive.

When I attended the MECA (Maine College of Art) holiday show in December, I had the opportunity to meet Dietlind Vander Schaaf.  Her work was stunning and even though I hadn't completely decided on the design for the Vintage Colonial, I kept thinking about it.

And as the plan came together, I reached out to her, to see if she'd loan me a couple of her paintings for the project.  Thankfully she was happy to and we started to do some planning.

I met with her in her studio and was fascinated to see her work.  You see, she does encaustic paintings.  Essentially, it's many layers of wax, applied to create a texture and depth that you simply don't achieve with standard painting.  

So, instead of tubes of pigment, she has these wonderful cakes of wax in vibrant colors.

that are combined with base wax to create her palette

And of course she has to heat it all up, to 'paint'.  Here are a few works in progress, so you can get the idea.

The resulting artwork has this amazing silken quality to it.  Much different than what you would usually see with paint on a canvas.  It has a warmth and shine that I couldn't adequately capture in a photo.

And when she came to hang the paintings, well they were just perfect!

Don't you think they make the living room a 'wow'???

If you're local, come see them in person at the Open House, 77 Goudy St, Sunday the 29th from 11-3.  And if you could bring a non-perishable donation for the South Portland Food Cupboard, that would be fantastic!!  I'm hoping we'll break our 200 pound record donation!

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And Just Like That.....It's Done!!

It's been almost 5 months since we purchased the Vintage Colonial.  And we've had lots of fun (and surprises) along the way as we totally renovated it.  This house had fantastic bones, but it truly was a diamond in the rough.  It needed an infusion of the 3 things we focus on - quality, craftsmanship and love - not to mention quite a bit of money!

The activity level has been a bit frantic as we pushed to get across the finish line.  Yesterday we felt like we were on a reality TV show.  We had an advance showing scheduled for late in the day and I kept calling out to the team - 90 minutes!!!  We have to be finished in 90 minutes!!!  (I'm not sure they were amused....but we got it done!!)

So here are some of the photos.  I will have a lot more, plus all the 'Before & Afters' in the next couple of weeks.  And I'll share sources for the products as well.  But I couldn't wait to share some of them today.

The exterior has been updated with all new windows, trim, garage door and a bright blue front door!

The living room is a big room with this amazing fireplace as the centerpiece.

I think the dining room will be the most talked about room in the house.  The nautical charts, some of them 40-50 years old, were installed as wallpaper above the custom wainscoting.

And the kitchen?  Well the house waited 80 years for a new kitchen and this one is pretty fabulous.  The glass penny tile above the range and the custom glass doors are my favorite features.

We have a home office that is a really sweet space for checking your emails in the morning.  The sunlight comes pouring in the room all day long.

I love how the office 'glows' when you see it from other rooms in the house.

Original art - Dietland Vander Schaaf  

But my favorite space on the first floor?  The screened in porch.  We wait a long time for nice weather up here in Maine - and having a room like this to enjoy it is pretty awesome.

Upstairs we were able to create a Master Suite with lots of closets, a window seat and its own bathroom.

The front bedroom is a little girls dream with a dog inspired theme (because what little girl doesn't love dogs?).

Original Artwork - Julie Bernier of Earth Angel Arts 

And the back bedroom is so cute for a little boy.

What used to be a big landing at the top of steps is now the hall bathroom.  I just love the spa blue glass tile and the console sink.

And the finished basement has been gussied up and is a great space for the kids to hang out.

So what do you think?  Was it worth all that time and effort?  Is this a house you'd want to call home?

For those of you who are local, I hope to see you at the Open House this Sunday, April 29th.  11-3pm.  77 Goudy St, SoPo.  And if you could bring a non-perishable donation for the South Portland Food Cupboard, that would be fantastic!!


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