Lore and Lure of Mid-Century
A recent project staging an architectural beauty in Charlottesville, Virginia raised the usual questions about preparing older homes for sale.
The jury of seller, real estate agents, home stagers, and family, had different opinions on what to change or retain in this family property for sale for the first time since being built in 1957 in the university town just east of the Blue Ridge mountains.
Do you leave dark wood trim and flat-front kitchen cabinets, the highlight of Midcentury and Craftsman homes, or paint them and the bookcase the light wall color to make the room appear more spacious? Do you meet buyers' desires for updated kitchens, baths, fixtures, and lighting or honor the integrity of Midcentury Modern by keeping the authentic originals? Do you revert to exterior color combinations that made Midcentury bold with their contrasts and shocking with their bright blues, greens, oranges, and yellows on entry doors; or tame the curb to not offend, or appeal?
Midcentury morphed modern the way the Victorian era morphed into Queen Anne's, with design exaggerations, unsymmetrical facades, creative interiors, and furnishings meeting the same terms, at the same time preferring simple and clean lines.
The good news is that even if you live through the impossible decision process and dare to honor some authenticity in preparing your Midcentury property for sale, you can still pay homage with new fixtures and furnishings, because modern is new again. There is no shortage of leggy tufted chairs and sofas; Scandinavian minimalist bureaus and cabinets; statement table and floor lamps; Charles and Ray Eames-style chairs; and teak wood-inspired accent pieces including style flavors in triangle, oblong, and -- let's just wait for boomerang to return.
In the photo above, this Charlottesville gem has a wall of windows that no unpainted trim could ever diminish. The windows reveal a large, naturally sloped backyard of mature trees that take your breath away as soon as you step through the front door. Walk outside around the house and down landscaped steps to the deck for entertaining or letting the trees and grounds reduce stress and promote healing.
These features are less likely to be found on new home sites, yet meet today's buyers' need for seamless spa-like settings drawing natural surroundings from the outside in. Inside, a fresh coat of paint in a soft buttery white (and not gray, perhaps overused as a standard); and use of green in furnishings brings leafy luxury into living spaces. Midcentury-style table and floor lamps brighten an otherwise dark room. Staging the empty space gives life to the property and never detracts from the unique features of the house.
A new generation of home buyers may be drawn to Midcentury Modern (MCM) because the era's furnishings were plentiful and inexpensive for a while in antique stores when the same young adults had little cash and mounting debts. With increasing popularity these furnishings have become as expensive used as purchased new. The lure is undeniable, and you can have it, too, at a store near you.