Table of contents for Design Issue 2020 in Atomic Ranch

Choosing the perfect palette for a room can be challenging, whether you’re starting from a blank slate or working with existing colors. But the right combination can truly transform a space. Designer Danielle Fennoy of Revamp Interior Design describes her first encounter with this Manhattan condo as “one of those jaw-dropping moments where you walk in and go, ‘Oh! This is nice!’” The space’s gray-washed oak, curved walls and floor-to-ceiling windows frame the Hudson River below, and Danielle calls it a “perfect white box.” But the condo’s owners realized it needed a boost of personality to help it seem more inviting and less sterile. Enter Danielle. She was tasked with making the condo feel more casual and friendly for her clients, so she got to work with one of the…

For anyone who’s been through a flood at their house, finding a silver lining in that destructive circumstance may seem impossible. Kurt and Krista Scholla were able to spin a positive from the flood that damaged the basement of their 1957 Fairway, Kansas, ranch, using that as the starting point for a renovation project that brought the modern edge back to their house. The home had seen multiple updates by previous owners throughout the years, and Kurt and Krista wanted to reimagine the space for their own style and family needs. “Since purchasing the house, we had always planned on remodeling; the basement flood helped us kickstart the process,” the homeowners say. “While we loved the location of the house, we weren’t totally satisfied with the style of the house;…

“If I told you we’ve looked at thousands of homes, I wouldn’t be lying,” says Kim Zakowski. She and her husband, Joe, love scoping out real estate and indulging their passion for design and architecture. They’ve restored several homes and have spent years conducting extensive research on mid century style. “We go in not only as investors, but also as preservationists,” Kim says. “We look for untapped beauty, a treasure—something with architectural cachet.” In 2017, they purchased the 2,600-square-foot home you see here. It’s part of the Canyon Estates development in south Palm Springs, constructed between 1969 and 1971 and designed by Charles Du Bois. Du Bois has been a bit overlooked, but the architect is finally getting his due. “We look for untapped beauty, a treasure — something with…

EVEN THE SIMPLEST OBJECT CAN CARRY immense meaning. Japanese designer Isamu Kenmochi’s most lasting war effort came after World War II. When the world needed to be made new, he used a simple chair to mend cultural rifts. Kenmochi studied industrial design in 1932, and with that training, he worked at Tokyo’s Industrial Arts Research Institute. He valued tradition, but the longer he worked, the more drastically the world changed around him. He wanted to guide Japan through its difficult post-war years, and his mission was to modernize as only Japan could. NEW TIES Kenmochi created a wide array of designs, such as coffee tables, light fixtures and ash trays, but chairs remain his most iconic pieces. His first chair stemmed from a 1950 collaboration with the famed sculptor Isamu…

With extra time at home, you may be itching for a restoration project. But knowing where to start or if a project is worthwhile can be complicated. For Barry Louks and Mike Solan—the chief executive officer and chief of operations respectively at Chicago-based Modern Hill Furniture—answering that question is their job. They use mid century techniques like veneers and authentic parts to restore the original look and value of vintage furniture, art and décor. “We focus on bringing out the best character in vintage pieces and making them look how they did in furniture stores in the 1960s and ’70s,” Mike says. The warehouse grew from a restoration hobby Barry and his wife shared into a large-scale restoration company and retail store. With years of restoration experience, Barry and Mike…

THE PHOENIX RISING A-FRAME A new-build Lake Tahoe cabin evokes the cozy cool of an A-frame mountain getaway. Find out why this particular roof is one of a kind. COOL AND COLLECTED IN CAROLINA Take a closer look at this 1960 Mid Century Modern home in Charlotte, North Carolina, that’s almost entirely furnished and decorated with gorgeous vintage pieces. GO GREEN WITH HIP HOUSEPLANTS Bring the outdoors in with greenery set off in mid mod style. Find a guide for bullet planters, other containers, and our favorite plant varieties to add some botanical life to your home this winter. NOW’S THE TIME FOR RETRO CHEER No need to go overboard, but a little retro cheer won’t do any harm. Gather tasteful holiday inspiration, and learn how to make a DIY…

Like elegant lines arcing across a blueprint, the story of this home intersects with three of the biggest names in 20th-century American architecture and building: Frank Lloyd Wright, Aaron Green and Joseph Eichler. Some key features we value today—indoor/outdoor living, open-plan layouts and, even more important , fair housing practices—were all ideas espoused by Joe Eichler. The three-bedroom, two-bath house is in Palo Alto, California, and was designed by Aaron Green. Green (1917–2001) was a protégé of Frank Lloyd Wright’s, and like his mentor, followed the theory of organic architecture. He was so close to Wright that he ran Wright’s West Coast practice in San Francisco in addition to his own architectural practice. Over his six-decade career, Green designed more than 200 residences, as well as public buildings such as…

ROLLING WITH THE EXPECTED WASN’T exactly Verner Panton’s style. This Danish designer pushed limits, experimented with new materials and rebelled against the status quo. Personality shone through in his innovative designs that explored new possibilities and even stirred up controversy. Panton started his studies at Odense Technical College and then applied to the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts. While studying architecture there, he apprenticed at Arne Jacobsen’s firm from 1950–1952. Panton was there for the creation of the revolutionary three-legged Ant Chair. REDEFINING THE NORM Panton founded his own studio in 1955, and over the next five years he set the stage for the space age in furniture design. He threw tradition away, along with the assumption that chairs needed legs and a back. Even those foundational elements could…

A hat-tip to the master of relaxation. LIKE MOST DESIGNERS, SERGIO RODRIGUES was driven. He worked himself hard, creating over 1,200 designs in his long career and earning international acclaim. Ironically, he devoted all of this effort to a relaxed lifestyle. When Rodrigues graduated from the Faculdade Nacional de Arquitetura in the early 1950s, he was ready to create his vision. He helped open the Moveis Artesanal Paranaense in Curitiba, Brazil. The modern art and furniture store was an artistic success, but the pieces didn’t find their way into homes. The store was a commercial failure, but he used that failure as a chance to learn. ESSENTIAL IDENTITY In 1955, Rodrigues tried again. He founded Oca Industries, a furniture company in Rio de Janeiro. He could have named his company…

CUSTOM CABINETS COME ALIVE in the hands of Paul Jeffrey, a furniture designer and owner of Paul Rene Furniture. The company is based in Phoenix, Arizona, but Paul’s influence as a designer and visionary has reached far beyond the state and spoken to Mid Century Modern lovers everywhere. His understanding of the modernist category informs his work and makes him a leader in the industry. “What I like most about Mid Century Modern design is not the aesthetic so much, but rather what the body of work stands for,” he says. “In my opinion, the Mid Century Modern aesthetic expresses the highest purpose of art and design culture.” His words are lived out in his company, which also combines art and design in each project. THE JOURNEY Today, Paul is…

Finding the right home for your family often requires an eye that can see past what is and envision what could be. Built in 1958, this home located in the Silver Lake neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, was pretty rundown by the time its future owners encountered it. But with an MS in Interior Design from Pratt Institute, owner Francesco Luparello of Parell Design Studio and his husband, Richard (Rick) Frey, Chief Creative Officer of Marketing for CW TV, were inspired to renovate this forgotten space and bring it back to its original state. ABANDONED TREASURE After six months of searching, Rick and Francesco happened upon the house of their dreams in 2001 and decided to take a closer look. “We drove by this house and basically broke in because…

Robert Rummer is a big name in mid century homes in the Portland area, responsible for developing hundreds of single-family homes in the region in the 1960s and ’70s. Inspired by Eichler designs, Rummer homes feature open spaces and an abundance of windows, letting their owners enjoy their lush, leafy surroundings. HOME HISTORY The owners of this 1971 Rummer home in Beaverton, Oregon, were aware of their home’s pedigree when they purchased it a decade ago. “The homeowners love the home and were also very aware of the particulars of a Rummer: open spaces, smaller square footage for a suburban home,” says Garrison Hullinger, founder and principal designer of Garrison Hullinger Interior Design. This knowledge informed the homeowners’ wish list when they brought Garrison in to make some updates to…

In the early 1920s, Palm Springs was a quiet village in the Coachella Valley. By the end of the decade, Palm Springs had blossomed into “Hollywood’s Playground,” a respite from the chaos of Los Angeles that adhered to the famous “two-hour rule,” a stipulation of studio contracts which required that stars be within two hours of the studio at all times. This influx of celebrities brought with it numerous opportunities for architects to design luxurious hotels and resorts throughout the region. HOTEL HISTORY The El Mirador Hotel, built in 1928 by cattle baron Prescott Thresher Stevens and designed in the Spanish Colonial Revival style by Los Angeles architects Walker & Eisen, was the first “Grand Hotel” to put Palm Springs on the map as one of the most luxurious destinations…

MID CENTURY MODERN INSPIRED FURNITURE is a wonderful way to integrate the style into everyday life. No one understands this better than Marie Burgos, the founder and CEO of Marie Bur-gos Design, a bi-coastal, full-service interior design firm, and the visionary behind a home décor collection called Marie Burgos Collection. FOUNDATIONS Marie’s foray into furniture designing began after she created bespoke pieces for clients and saw a wider demand for her pieces, which embody the modernist sensibility. “Mid Century Modern pieces are about creating harmony in an interior,” she says. “The style is unfussy, simple and elegantly luxurious-looking at the same time.” No one is better suited to design unique furniture pieces than Marie. Creativity is a family inheritance. Her family, who hails from the island of Martinique, has a…

WITH DISTINCTIVE CURVED LINES AND FOUR DRAMATIC TOWERS, the Pan-Pacific Auditorium serves as a shining example of Streamline Moderne architecture. The structure was located in the Fairfax district of Los Angeles and designed by architects Plummer, Wurdeman and Becket in 1935. Behind the stylized façade was a large wooden auditorium that hosted all sorts of events including shows, concerts, conventions and even a performance by Elvis Presley in 1957. But perhaps the structure is most recognized from the 1980 film Xanadu, where the exterior played a rundown auditorium that eventually gets renovated into a flashy nightclub. After the opening of the Los Angeles Convention Center in 1971, interest suddenly dwindled in the Pan-Pacific Auditorium. It went through years of neglect and turmoil, then sadly burned down in 1989. Today, the…