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Collection by Zach Edelson

Best of #ModernMonday: Midcentury Modern Today

Every Monday, @dwell and @designmilk invite fans and experts on Twitter to weigh in on trending topics in design.

In celebration of Palm Springs Modernism Week, guests hosts @CKennedyDesign, @PalmSrpingsMOD, and @PSArtMuseum joined us to discuss midcentury modern design and its continuing influence today.

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Also in La Casa di Ucello Bianca, sunlight from a clerestory reflects off white ceilings to illuminate richly hued furnishings.
Also in La Casa di Ucello Bianca, sunlight from a clerestory reflects off white ceilings to illuminate richly hued furnishings.
After searching for the perfect plot of land on which to build their dream home, a couple instead opted to purchase a "Rummer" home -- a typical example of a low-key midcentury modernist house constructed by a local developer, Robert Rummer, in the 1960s. The five-bedroom, 2,400-square-foot post-and-beam house was strongly reminiscent of California Eichlers, and exemplified the couple’s ideal layout, but was in serious need of a major renovation. The revamp maintained the great expanses of glass, wide-open interiors, and indoor-outdoor living, and added new white concrete floors installed, fixed the radiant heating, updated the kitchen and bathrooms, and new landscaping.
After searching for the perfect plot of land on which to build their dream home, a couple instead opted to purchase a "Rummer" home -- a typical example of a low-key midcentury modernist house constructed by a local developer, Robert Rummer, in the 1960s. The five-bedroom, 2,400-square-foot post-and-beam house was strongly reminiscent of California Eichlers, and exemplified the couple’s ideal layout, but was in serious need of a major renovation. The revamp maintained the great expanses of glass, wide-open interiors, and indoor-outdoor living, and added new white concrete floors installed, fixed the radiant heating, updated the kitchen and bathrooms, and new landscaping.
Though this kitchen fits in with its period surroundings, a few tweaks keep it current. “It’s functional in a way that doesn’t feel like the kitchen is in the living room,” says architect Rick Black. He explains, “One of the goals was to make the islands more like furniture than like heavy objects that go all the way to the floor.”
Though this kitchen fits in with its period surroundings, a few tweaks keep it current. “It’s functional in a way that doesn’t feel like the kitchen is in the living room,” says architect Rick Black. He explains, “One of the goals was to make the islands more like furniture than like heavy objects that go all the way to the floor.”
The second-floor bridge that leads to the front door flows from the outside in. “Tractor seat” stools designed by Bassam perch on a floor of pristine white terrazzo.
The second-floor bridge that leads to the front door flows from the outside in. “Tractor seat” stools designed by Bassam perch on a floor of pristine white terrazzo.
The original house was a single-story structure, not robust enough to carry a second floor. Fritz’s solution was to build an upper level that functions like a bridge, spanning the original structure without compromising it.
The original house was a single-story structure, not robust enough to carry a second floor. Fritz’s solution was to build an upper level that functions like a bridge, spanning the original structure without compromising it.