Vintage Mid Century Modern House Plans
Table Of Content
Interior decorating styles that draw inspiration from midcentury style, like Scandinavian design and Danish Modern, have made this style accessible to millions of new homeowners. To encourage this, rooms will often have multiple outdoor views and access points to nature, large floor-to-ceiling windows, or sliding doors to allow natural light to enter and encourage a sense of harmony with the outdoor spaces. You’ll also see a connection to nature in other forms, such as the use of raw materials and houseplants as decoration. Mid century modern homes are residential, single-family homes built using modernist principles and design tactics like cantilevered walls, flat-facing surfaces, and simple lines. Mid century modern homes have appeared everywhere from Slim Aarons famous photographs of backyard parties to noir films from the 1960s.
Most influential architects
Los Angeles architect John Lautner may have apprenticed with Frank Lloyd Wright, but the space-age house shown here, designed in 1960 for aerospace engineer Leonard Malin, was most certainly influenced by geodesic dome engineering. Mid-century modern became a style not only of architecture, but also of furniture and other design. This guide to single-family homes describes an American middle class as it struggled, grew, moved, and built. Many of these dwellings changed the face of the United States and became the very homes we occupy today. After World War II, the Mid-Century Modern house style appeared in the U.S. to support the increased demand for suburban homes.
Modern Houses
A house doesn’t have to be a particular year to be considered mid-century modern. However, the movement became popularized in the 1950s, so some of the original mid-century modern homes will be from that era. Attention to detail is evident in the choice of materials and fixtures throughout the house. In the kitchen, custom cabinetry and high-grade woodwork blend the house’s original architectural elements with new, modern additions. The installation of a Nero Marquina Marble island and a walk-up coffee bar enhances functionality while maintaining aesthetic allure. The primary bedroom saw a strategic remolding to foster privacy and serenity, including a modified entrance through an enlarged walk-in closet and a repositioned two-way fireplace.
Plan: #202-1025
The largest collection of midcentury modern homes, however, can be seen in Palm Springs, California. Some of the world's most famous midcentury modern architects built homes, hotels, motels, and other structures in Palm Springs, and many homeowners building new construction replicate the style. The stage was set for midcentury-modern design by visionary architects and designers that preceded the period. Hallmarks of his buildings—site-specific designs, the consideration for flow between the spaces, and his dedication to the use of wood paneling—are all prominent features of midcentury-modern homes. Although some midcentury modern styles are more ornate than others, simplicity is a key characteristic of the movement.
Don’t be afraid of mixing styles
This version is inspired by international architects and heavily influenced by the Bauhaus movement. Homes are simple, with little to no decoration, and typically finished with stucco. Other characteristics of the international style include rectangular structures, large windows, and open interiors. Statham and interior designer Courtney Applebaum opted for a minimalist look for the home’s living room to better highlight the clean lines of the space. The black leather couch is Illum Wikkelso, and the red couch and armchairs are by Pierre Jeanneret.
Alexander Construction worked with several architects, including Donald Wexler, to develop prefabricated, modern home styles constructed with steel. The idea of prefabricated housing — factory-made mass-produced parts shipped like self-contained Erector Sets to a construction site — was not a new idea in the 1940s or 1950s. In fact, many cast-iron buildings were produced this way in the late 1800s and shipped all over the world. Later, in the mid-twentieth century, factory-built mobile homes gave rise to entire communities of steel housing.
Complementary to nature
While the style is still used today in new structures, the name comes from the period in which the style emerged, between 1945 and 1970, though primarily between 1947 and 1957.
Online Forms
Function was as important as form in Mid-century designs, with an emphasis placed on targeting the needs of the average American family. Known for clean lines, minimal decoration, and a connection with nature, midcentury modern architecture is an American classic that began after World War II. A midcentury modern house plan is characterized by a very wide, low footprint with large, open spaces, floor-to-ceiling windows, and an emphasis on bringing the outdoors in. Mid-century modern house plans refer to architectural designs that emerged in the mid-20th century (1940s-1960s). These plans typically feature open floor plans, large windows, integration with nature, and a focus on simplicity and functionality.
Plan 6726
Mies van der Rohe's Farnsworth House is extremely difficult to heat or cool, while Keck and Keck were pioneers in the incorporation of passive solar features in their houses to compensate for their large glass windows. All models freely adapted ideas from Frank Lloyd Wright's Usonian vision — natural lighting, open and expandable floor plans, and the merging of exterior and interior spaces. A common feature of all midcentury housing was the modern kitchen, complete with pink, yellow, green, or white appliances and decor. From their furniture with Herman Miller to designing for IBM, the influence of Charles and Ray Eames over our contemporary understanding of midcentury-modern style cannot be overstated. At the center of it all is the Pacific Palisades home they designed and built in 1949. The house in fact consists of two raised steel-and-glass structures, both flaunting flat roofs, bright color blocks, and an intentional connection to its natural surroundings.
Hot Property: A Mid-Century Modern That Even the New York Times Had to Notice - D Magazine
Hot Property: A Mid-Century Modern That Even the New York Times Had to Notice.
Posted: Thu, 21 Mar 2024 07:00:00 GMT [source]
Studio Paradowski's renovation of a hotel in Kraków, Poland, was informed by the city's interwar cafes as well as the "clean functionalism" of its mid-century modern cinemas. Frost House has also retained its original Knoll furniture, including a gridded-steel Bertoia side chair, as well as its distinctive built-in cabinetry. Joseph Eichler was a real estate developer born to European Jewish parents in New York — like William J. Levitt. Unlike the Levitts, however, Eichler stood for racial equality in home-buying — a belief that some say affected his business success in 1950s America. Eichler designs were copied and freely adapted throughout the California housing boom.
Since then, the movement — including architecture and interior design elements, furniture, and accessories — has only grown. Explore the Lark House in Seattle, WA, a striking testimony of thoughtful architecture meeting modern functionality. Originally crafted by Al Bumgardner in 1958, this private house was redesigned in 2023 by SHED Architecture & Design. The renovation emphasizes openness, natural light, and scenic connections, seamlessly integrating historical reverence with contemporary living demands.
In a lot of ways, the process was like making a painting in three dimensions,” Weatherford says. Jason Statham—hero of action-thriller films like the Fast & Furious franchise, Snatch, and The Transporter—may not be the first name that comes to mind when you think of midcentury-modern design fanatics. But it takes only a few minutes of conversation with the actor to realize he has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of the movement’s design philosophies, major architects, and—most importantly—where to buy houses that fit the description. “There’s just something really appealing about the symmetry and openness of things,” he says of the homes. Be sure to check out our other collections of plans including our garage plans, backyard space plans, split-level plans, modern farmhouse plans, narrow lot plans, and much more.
Comments
Post a Comment