A Home Designed To Match A Mid-Century Modern Collection

Here at Degnan Design-Build-Remodel, we love working with clients on transformative projects where we take an ugly duckling home and with creativity, vision, and open-minded clients, turn it into a beautiful living space for the homeowners. A recent Mid-Century Modern conversion project in Oregon, Wisconsin, fits the bill perfectly!

Remaking A Classic For Modern Living

We met our clients Dan and Jane at a National Association of the Remodeling Industry (NARI) expo. They wanted to update their mid-century modern style home in Oregon to include a main level master bedroom suite, add an addition off the back of the house to extend the living space, and better enjoy the beautiful backyard views. Finally, they wanted to update the exterior of the home to reflect their eclectic style better.

Dan and Jane had lived in several other cities and had been through the remodeling process before. As a result, they thoroughly interviewed several companies to try to find a company that they could work with and trust, that understood their creative vision and sense of style. They chose to work with us because we shared an outside-the-box creative vision for what their home could be. After a quick check for structural constraints proved that our design ideas were feasible, they jumped into the project and our process.

A Unique Process for a Unique Home

Our clients wanted a unique design that was specific to them and met bot their aesthetic and functional needs. Their unique energy made it crystal clear from the minute they entered our office. Jane is an artist and needed her home to reflect her love and vision of nature. Dan works from home and wanted a tranquil space to conduct business. They both wanted to better connect the interior of their home to the natural beauty that surrounds it.

During gatherings with family and friends, most guests would congregate in the kitchen, which is typical. We opened up the design by blending the kitchen space with the adjacent living room. To make this happen, we removed a large square column (an unused chimney) near the dining room, which opened the view from the front door through the living room. Another structural column from a prior remodel was unable to be changed.

To incorporate the beauty of outdoors, we removed and replaced the entire back wall of the house and replaced it with an angled Andersen 4-panel wall of glass. The beautiful view of the backyard draws guests directly to the living room, completely bypassing the kitchen!

A Mid-Century Modern Remodel Inspired by a Fabulous Collection

The homeowners have an extensive collection of fabulous Scandinavian mid-century modern furniture. It features some impressive pieces, including a wall-hung furniture system in the great room. There is also a fabulous original and authentic buffet and hutch. It's a beautiful piece that is designed to be viewed from all four sides, not placed against a wall. There are a dining table and bedroom set that tie in as well.

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Senior Designer on the project, Dave Duewel, was inspired by the collection and created several different solutions at various price points for each phase of the project. Our clients chose their favorite, and after a bit of budget and product-selection tweaking, we were ready to begin.

The first step was fixing some existing mistakes in the home's interior. For example, there were inconsistent openings, one where a dropped header existed, and an adjacent opening without a dropped header. It didn't make sense, so we made them symmetrical. An abandoned chimney still had a column and a header leading to it. We removed both and opened up the space visually, and improved the flow.

A dark back hallway that could have opened out to the deck had only a small window. We created easy access to the kitchen through a new door and a deck extension. As a result, the interior of the house is put together in a way that encompasses all of the best elements of modern design.

A Private Bedroom Suite With Two Walk-In Closets

Our clients wanted to create a main-level master suite as part of the project. We used angled walls in the gallery hallway to conceal the master bedroom from view. Rather than having a doorway looking out to the dining room and stairway, we created angled walls that direct you to a private alcove between the walk-in closets, master bathroom, and master bedroom.

The design allows natural light to flood into the gallery through the walk-in closets, which have no doors. The gallery is an area that our clients use to display a portion of their art collection. The master bedroom features a Minka Aire 60" aviation-themed ceiling fan, a perfect look as both clients have their pilot's licenses. The bedside lamps by Modern Forms are a classic mid-century modern swing-arm design, bringing "hotel luxury" into the master suite.

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The house originally had two bedrooms that were too small for practical use, but when combined to create the main-level master suite, it provided just enough space to meet the needs of our clients. The ensuite contains his and hers walk-in closets and a right-sized bathroom, and the bedroom is large enough for a king-sized bed.

The master bathroom features a custom Auburn Ridge Custom Cabinet floating vanity with a custom reclaimed Cherry wood vanity top made by The Wood Cycle, with a matching set of drawers and a towel niche above. Lighting comes from a Kitchler LED backlit mirror, a pair of Mitzi Reese polished nickel pendant lights, and LED strip lighting under the floating vanity.

The master offers some custom features that add to the space's comfort and functionality, including a heated tile floor, heated shower floor, and shower seat. The curbless shower is ready for aging in place and features a hinged heavy glass shower door by Hellebrand Glass.

The end result? We transformed our clients' homes into the space they imagined by opening up the flow and sightlines, bringing their mid-century modern home design into the 21st century while keeping the classic features they love.

If you're planning a remodeling project or just want to explore the possibilities, call our award-winning design team at (608) 846-5963. We're always happy to talk to you about our process and explore the possibilities!