‘before’ street view of our new project. you can sort of see a clean lined ranch house behind all the overgrowth.

One of the realities of this business is that we get to see all kinds of houses in all states of repair – the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Unfortunately, these days there seems to be an over abundance of the latter.  When an opportunity arose for Arlen and me to purchase a 1950 Art Moderne style tract home in an established post war neighborhood, we jumped on it.  Never mind the fact that it smelled like dog and looked like – well, let’s just say that those films they showed us in grade school about the effects of nicotine on the body didn’t even come close to what the stuff can do to a house…..

The fact remained that this was a really cool house with poured concrete walls,  radius curves,  large open spaces, and very modern lines (at least on the inside – the exterior is rather plain).  To us, it was a blank canvas and a home well worth not only saving, but bringing back to its modern roots.  So our journey begins, and will be chronicled here until we finish and put the house on the market for the next lucky owner – sometime early this summer.

In the spirit of full disclosure, here are some before pictures.  If you are like us, you will see that the potential stands out way above the ugly.  Stay tuned to see how we transform this dowdy ranch into a classic modern space inside and out………

a lovely, welcoming entry……or not?

not able to wait even a minute, the makeshift roof over the patio has already been removed. Looks better already!

check out the awesome fireplace and the curved walls. not sure what to say about the groovy shag carpet and wall color…..good thing that smell does not transmit through photos!

the fireplace surround has great lines. the mirror has already been taken down and somehow the room looks larger without it!

back/side view. it’s a subtle ‘art moderne,’ but check out the curved window openings!