Atomic Ranch Exteriors & Landscaping 2024

EDITOR'S LETTER Rejuvenating our Mid Century Modern interiors can be an all-consuming process. But anyone who has even dabbled in making their outdoor spaces more inhabitable has likely had the awakening of two things: one, that there is an untapped canvas of usable and rewarding space waiting to be unearthed (pun intended) and maximizing that opportunity is an exciting prospect and, two, that an MCM home’s interior potential cannot be fully realized without blossoming (pun intended) the outdoor spaces’ beauty, because, in the modernist view, one was made for the other and vice versa. So, in this issue, we encourage you to envision what a whole home can look like with tours of incredible ones that have fully realized the indoor/outdoor connection. We entice you to breathe new life into…

CURB APPEAL WHEN DANA JENKINS AND COLIN DAVIS first bought this charming 1966 split-level in Chamblee, Georgia, it was apparent that it had fallen victim to the housing market. “While in good shape, the home was clearly quickly and cheaply flipped. You could tell corners were cut,” Dana says. But with their own design plans and the help of a contractor, the couple was able to execute their vision and “re-flip” this incredible home design by Ernest Mastin. “Since many of the original details, like the brick, tongue-and-groove eaves and exposed beams, were already painted over, we decided to go more modern than preservationist,” Dana says. The first addition was a proper front door, which was originally hollow core and had no business being on the exterior of a home.…

IN THE ELEMENTS ONE MAJOR EXTERIOR ELEMENT some people don’t consider when updating curb appeal is hardscape. This is any manmade, ground-covering material that’s not plants or vegetation, like your driveway, front path, backyard patio, pool deck and even side-yard walkway. “Often, it’s the last thing people consider in their project because they see their hardscaping in contrast with their new renovations,” says Christi Flanigan, CEO at Farley Pavers, a Southern California company that has been installing pavers for over 50 years.“You just painted your home, and then you realize the driveway looks outdated next to it.” But when well-chosen, your hardscape not only complements your exterior elements, it amplifies it. Pavers Versus Concrete The most common hardscape material is a poured concrete slab. While it’s generally the most cost-…

THEY’RE UNMISTAKABLY identifiable and instantly eye-catching. And while their invention and use predate the mid-century period by more than a hundred years (more on that on page 110), they’ve become an icon of the era. We’re talking about breeze blocks. And if you’re looking to add, imbue or amp up your mod style, they’re the perfect material to add to your space—inside and out. Use them as a floating wall or top an existing wall, as a room divider or as a sculptural focal point. Build a breeze-block wall to hide the pool filter or the trash-bin stall. Breeze blocks can make garden greenery feel extra lush when layered into plantings or side gardens and they can be part of a dynamic design for a built-in barbecue or outdoor-bar top.…

House hunting is always a challenge, but it’s even harder if you live 3,000 miles away from the location where you want to move. Alex Quintana of Alexander Desert Designs and interior designer Alan Beardslee were looking for a Mid Century Modern home in Palm Springs, California, but they still lived in Miami, Florida. “We were looking for a home to retire into for the future,” Alex says. “It was 2014, and after nine months of searching, Alan befriended a realtor in Palm Springs. The realtor said he had a home about to hit the market and was curious if we wanted to see it even though it might need some work.” Their expectations low, the couple agreed to drive by the house. “It didn’t look like much from the…

When homeowner and stylist Mary Jane (MJ) Cripe first walked into this Mid Century Modern home located in the coveted Rossmoor neighborhood in Southern California, her heart started to race. While she and her husband, Jason, were not initially looking to move as they had just completed a renovation of their house in nearby Long Beach, something about the home drew them in. “We loved that it was Mid Century Modern with a single level and four bedrooms and it had a large lot and a pool,” MJ says. After her husband walked through the home, they agreed it was perfect for their family, especially regarding their special needs daughter. In the competitive housing market of 2022, and with an incredibly busy open house, neither of them thought their dream…