Mid Century Modern Home Renovation

Time has its consequence. Diligence has its reward.

Time being occupied by home tours, modern furnishing contests, and Atomic Crash Party planning has resulted in absent Mid Century Modern renovation posts. The quiet has been felt. By you. By us. Sledge hammer in hand we shatter the silence with progress.

Kitchen Window Vents:

A favorite feature of our Mid Century Modern abode are the vents beneath our kitchen windows. Found desecrated by time. Sealed tight with years of lathered-on layers of silicone and paint.

Pics of painstaking re-opening, stripping and sanding were lost in mind-melting hard drive crash. Importance of hard drive back-ups noted.

Previously posted pic offers a sense of context.

Before.


After.


Liberated. Allowed to breath.

Inside contains screens. Front of house has angled slats. House breathes. Bug-less.

Design element of orange paint on backside pays subtle tribute to adjacent reader-selected orange kitchen island.


Vents are opened each summer night, along with bedroom windows. Cross ventilation carries upon it sweet dreams.

Pocket Door:

Ambitious plan to re-purpose dining room closet brings with it lessons worth sharing:

• Wall demolition is fun. Easy. Therapeutic.

• Rebuilding is slightly less fun. Challenging. Requires therapy.

• Unintuitive order of this process inevitably results in destruction of another wall.

• Currently showing restraint.

Blast from past pic. Move-in day "before" view of project in question.


Fast-forwarding eight months reveals clerestory window restoration process.


Wall removal. Open section to become built-in office/floating desk for room visible in below pic.


Wall framed. Pocket door installed. Electrical run.


Success is witnessed in pocket door's functionally smooth operation. Arm hurts from patting self on back.


Close up of vintage double cone sconce procured from thrift shop salvage pile.

Typical price ranges from $130 - $300. Scored for $18.00. Patience and weekly thrift-diving pays. Only took a year.

Upcoming weekend shall witness drywall hanging and pocket door jamb install. Once painted, dining room joins kitchen on officially completed list. They'll party together.

Atomic Crash Party Reminder:

First-ever Atomic Crash Party embarks in less than two weeks. July 18th 1-5pm. If you live in Indy and want to see hip Mid Century Modern homes while mingling with equally hip Mid Century Modern people, you should click here to get in on this.

Cheers,

-Baz

Atomic Indy Gets a Brand Identity

Designer Chris Bowyer does it up right.

Nine months in brings an Atomic Indy evolution. A revolution to "Mid Century Modernize the Modern World". As enthusiasm for Mid Century Modern design grows nationally, so too does readership of Atomic Indy. We're grateful to those who tune in weekly. We open-arm welcome those just joining. We light beacons for those still searching. As such, timing to introduce actual logo and graphic identity seemed appropriate.

Good friend and graphic design hero, Chris Bowyer knocked out some serious mid-mod style for us. Hit him up if you're in need. If you're not in need, you should still check out his work.

So as not to cause confusion when these new elements integrate into our various touch points - let's take a tour:

Primary Logo.


Logo version ".com".


Tag line.


Profile pic. Inspired by vintage advertising. Any resemblance is coincidental. Mostly.


Twitter background.


Header for website evolution.


Speaking of web site evolutions, seems our appetite for renovation knows no bounds. Embarking on a site redesign while running congruently with actual renovation. Wicked.

Effort to help get your all-encompassing Mid Century Modern fix inspires us to provide more information and resources. We often encounter people in search of Mid Century Modern furniture and/or Mid Century Modern real estate. Added depth in the form of furniture and real estate sections will be appearing soon. No worries, renovation blog will always be center stage. Furniture and real estate will start local, evolve to regional, and climax nationally. If you're a dealer or real estate agent specializing in Mid Century Modern - email us. We should talk.

Cheers,

-Baz

Atomic Crash Party Comes to Fruition

Get your swanky duds on.

First Atomic Crash Party crashes Jami’s pad. Jami restored this mid century modern gem beautifully. Starting with vigorous persecution of vinyl siding, culminating with the adornment of period furnishings and impeccable style.

This restoration benefited from original architect residing next-door. Occasionally, advice and encouragement were offered direct from the source.

Architect in question is a personal favorite in Indianapolis’ Mid Century Modern scene, Mr. J. Parke Randall. Parke designed 13 homes in and around Indy from 1950 – 1975. He’s still rocking a passion for design and is digging the resurgence in appreciation for modern residential architecture.

Here’s the clincher. Wait for it. Parke Randall will be crossing the street and joining us for the first ever Atomic Crash Party. He tells a fascinating story recounting a conversation he had with Charles Eames about building steel framed homes. A must hear.

Photographic teaser of Jami's pad:







A.C.P #1 Details:

Date: July 18th, 2009

Time: 1 pm – 5 pm

Location: RSVP for address. Details below.

Treats: Light refreshments will be served.

Imperatives: Good attitudes required.

Discretionary: Optional donation of $5.00 per person.

Donation breakout as follows:

• $2 to homeowner: supplements refreshment and prep cost.

• $2 to Historic Landmarks Foundation: Offers support to help preserve Mid Century Modern Architecture throughout Indiana.

• $1 to Atomic Indy: Small token to cover planning/management time.

Please RSVP to Facebook invite. If you, and your other are coming please have both RSVP.

If not on Facebook, please RSVP via email with a subject line of, "Atomic Crash Party #1" Let us know how many you’re bringing.

We’re trying to be an all-inclusive exclusive group, so if you know other Mid Century Modern enthusiasts, invite them. Please have them RSVP by one of the above methods.

Atomic Crash Party yard signs currently in production to help way-find. Sign will be inspired by this Chris Bowyer designed logo:



Renovation update:

Laptop recently died with hard-drive-wiping force. Lost many unpublished renovation pics. Most were “before” pics for impending renovation post. Cool if next post just displays “afters”?

Cheers,

-Baz