Designed by prominent midcentury designer and builder John Joynt in 1941, this Tucson territorial-style home had retained much of its original charm. Aside from an efficient floor plan with a strong indoor/outdoor connection, its built-in shelves, beamed ceilings, concrete floors, and brick walls had all remained in place. “It has a lot of the choices and design moves that you would expect from a midcentury home,” says architect Darci Hazelbaker of local firm Hazelbaker Rush, who took an almost surgical approach to carefully remove any elements that obscured the original design.

“We felt we could bring back the aesthetic that once existed in the house, and complement it with a modern update,” says Hazelbaker. “Renovations of historic homes are always intriguing to us as we enjoy honoring the sense of past and place of the previous owners who lived there, while making necessary updates that address present-day realities.”

Before: Kitchen

The firm’s intervention was primarily one of removing layers of paint and lackluster ’90s-era cabinetry, in order to draw attention to the original structure. Any additions, says the firm, were “delineated as ‘new’ and treated like a furniture element.” These include a free-standing modular kitchen unit by Vipp, an elegant custom-designed bathroom vanity, and closet and office storage via Vitsœ Universal Shelving by Dieter Rams.

After: Kitchen

“The goals for the clients and for us was to maintain and pay homage to the spirit of Joynt’s original design while updating the functionality and materiality. The aesthetic goals were to create more bright and empty space within the home,” says Hazelbaker. “The family is minimalist. They do not have lots of stuff and did not want a lot of storage to accumulate things.”

Before: Living and Dining Room

In the case of this remodel, less is more. “Many times, better solutions can emerge from respecting the existing conditions and working within those spatial constraints, instead of feeling like everything has to change,” says Hazelbaker. “Small moves can have big impact.”