Tabla de contenidos para Summer 2024 en Atomic Ranch

As his fame was reaching an all-time high, Johnny Cash designed this ranch-style home tucked away in the hills of Ojai, California. In 1961, Johnny and his then-wife, Vivian, sought to provide some peace and privacy for their four daughters with this oasis. Ironically, in the coming years, Johnny would spend very little time in the home that he had designed room by room. Nevertheless, the home remains imbued with his style and character. Walking through the rustic wooden front door, you are greeted with a silver glitter ceiling. Pictures of Johnny and his family fill the entryway that was once the home of a large fish tank. Western mid-century motifs adorn each room as you feel the unmistakable presence of The Man in Black. Lisa Kenton and her husband,…

Most mid-century enthusiasts fall into one of two camps: You’re either a purist who loves authenticity in every aspect of architecture, design and furnishings or you prefer a more contemporary twist on the original look. For married couple Scott Cochran and Bethann Prettie, both visions came together for a gorgeous finished aesthetic that combines authentic and updated elements. “She likes Mid Century Modern, but I’m more a traditional purist,” Scott says. The couple is not new to mid-century home design. Bethann is a John L Scott realtor and specializes in mid-century homes in the Portland, Oregon, area, while Scott is a Renaissance man who has skills in everything from sheet-metal working to construction and woodworking. Between the two of them, they’ve restored three different mid-century homes. This latest, a 1971…

curb appeal Mitch and Kim Ernst love the way their home complements the landscape. It isn’t the only Mid Century Modern home on the block in the Old Rockbrook neighborhood of Omaha, Nebraska, but they’ve received compliments on the house for years. “There are six other flat-roofed, mid-century style homes on just our street alone,” Mitch says. “None by famous architects, but by individuals who loved the style and built themselves a home 70 years ago.” BEHIND THE DOOR Built by Jim Colby in 1953, the home was bought by Mitch’s parents in 1962 and passed down to them. Mitch and Kim updated the kitchen and bathrooms. “We did the demo, we did the prying (and the crying), the flooring, the painting and papering ourselves,” Mitch says. “Since there were…

Creating your dream kitchen is a balancing act. Juggling the needs of your family, maximizing space and including your favorite design elements can often seem like an impossible task. But for one lucky couple in the Los Angeles neighborhood of El Sereno, everything fell into place in extraordinary fashion. “Our clients wanted a fun, functional kitchen that was fresh and bright with thoughtful storage solutions,” says Gabrielle Aker of Aker Interiors, who took on the project in 2020. But before the fun began in this 1956 home, the layout of the kitchen would have to be reimagined. “We had spatial restrictions on either side of the kitchen that could only be resolved by remodeling the whole first floor, so instead we chose to meticulously design it to maximize the space,”…

When it comes to renovating a Mid Century Modern home, care must be taken in deciding what to update and what to restore. Design duo Sally Julien and Halie Venema of the interior design firm Modernous specialize in all things modern, working together to bring a harmony of style and function in every project. “I fell in love with mid-century design back in the early ’90s,” Sally says. “I spent the past 30 years learning about and loving the designs of the era. I find that the simplicity and clean lines make me feel calm in my own spaces and I like to bring that feeling to my clients.” When the owners of this Edmonds, Washington, home, built in 1959, approached Sally and Halie, they wanted to find a way…

last look THE ORIGINS OF THE TRAMPOLINE CAN BE traced to ancient civilizations like China, Iran and Egypt. The Inuit people in Alaska used walrus skin to launch each other in the air for games, rituals and scouting their surroundings. Similarly, the Persians are said to have used a type of trampoline made of stretched animal hides for tumbling and acrobatics. However, the modern trampoline only began to take shape in the early 20th century. In 1934, two American gymnasts, George Nissen and Larry Griswold, created the first prototype in Nissen’s garage in Iowa. Inspired by trapeze artists falling into safety nets and their desire to improve their own training methods, they developed a piece of equipment composed of a canvas sheet stretched over a steel frame with coiled springs,…

What was once old can be new again. This is especially true of a 1960s-themed hotel in Charlottesville, Virginia, aptly named the Little Mod Hotel. Guests staying here can bask in the hotel’s mid mod aesthetic, complete with retro-style mini fridges, record players (boasting vinyl records, of course) and plenty of nostalgic style that make this hotel a truly distinctive Mid Century Modern gem. But while it feels timeless now, the Little Mod wasn’t always so charming. VINTAGE VIBES First a hotel, the location was converted into apartments in 1964, only to become a beautiful hotel once again when owner Bill Chapman decided to save it. “The hotel owner used to jog by the building all the time and thought it would be great to restore the hotel back to…

Not all heroes wear capes. Some are preservation-minded people who swoop in at the last minute to rescue historical homes that were destined to be demolished. One such hero is Trevor Reynolds of Woodland Hills, California, who saved a Mid Century Modern ranch built in 1957 by architect Dick Day from being torn down by developers. “There were 12 offers, and my understanding is that all of them were from developers,” Trevor says. “I came in at the last minute and offered $100,000 over with no contingencies. Once we got into the construction of things, it became immediately apparent that it would’ve been much more cost-effective to simply tear it down and start over.” However, Trevor felt a connection to it that overrode his budget. It was costly to renovate…