All Photos/exterior/building type : mid century

Exterior Mid Century Design Photos and Ideas

To the front, the gardens are laid around a central lawn with a circling driveway which provides parking. There is also a garage for family cars.
Extension with full height steel frames glazing
The goal was to be able to squeeze a full bathroom, kitchen, living room, storage, as well as a sleeping space that would accommodate a king-sized bed into the cabin's original tiny footprint.
Wexler and Harrison's original plan was to create affordable vacation homes for a growing middle class. When this home first went on the market with the others in 1962, it was competitively priced between $13,000 and $17,000. Today, the kitchen has been restored following guidelines from its original configuration, and the landscaping was updated in 2001 with Wexler's oversight.
Setback from the street, this extremely private one level property has sliders with outdoor access, solar panels, and mountain views from every room.
The front garden area is terraced with custom Cor-Ten steel retaining walls with an oxidized patina. The plantings are inspired by the couple’s love for Palm Springs.
Perched below the Griffith Observatory and overlooking Hollywood is a lush lot crowned with four towering olive trees and a 1965 home designed by modernist architect Craig Ellwood. When a young couple purchased the home in 2018, it needed substantial work. For a historic restoration, they called on Woods + Dangaran, a local firm fluent in modernist history. The team completed a meticulous restoration of the home while keeping original components like the linear shape, open plan, and expansive windows. One of the most striking features is the original koi pond (a feature deemed so essential that its preservation was a condition of escrow) that is now crossed via a bridge that leads to a new lap pool—perhaps the biggest intervention on the property.
The goal with the Lodge was to simplify the original structure to focus the experience on the natural setting and framing the coastline's exceptional views.
Architect Erling Berg introduced a playful circular motif at this corner, and it’s repeated inside the entry.
For the redesign, they recovered the exterior in stucco and painted it black for more consistency. “We wanted the exterior to really marry the lot in a way,” says Blake. “We wanted it to be unique, but to also really compliment all of the trees and open space.”
The couple initiated the renovation, despite not knowing much about Rummers, or remodeling. “We were novices,” says Fay, who researched the architectural features of Rummers to be able to restore its key features, like the roofline.
“With the restoration and reopening of The Sea Ranch Lodge, we are excited to honor the vision of the original developer and original group of architects including Al Boeke, Lawrence Halprin, and MLTW (Charles Moore, Donlyn Lyndon, Whitaker, and William Turnbull) – stewardship and respect of the land, sustainability for The Sea Ranch and creating a gathering place for all Sea Ranchers,” said Kristina Jetton, General Manager, The Sea Ranch Lodge.
Risa Boyer Architecture guided the whole house remodel of this 1955 Portland home. Lillyvilla Gardens executed a new landscape plan for the property, including this updated entry sequence, while Boyer added more glass to suit the midcentury façade.
This Eichler is wrapped with vertical western red cedar. One of the reasons Klopf Architecture selected this material is because of its low-VOC stain. It matches the color of the original siding, which had sadly seen better days.
Klopf Architecture, Arterra Landscape Architects, and Flegels Construction joined forces to refurbish this Palo Alto Eichler. Standout features include a fully opening glass wall, an outdoor living area with a kitchen and fire pit, and furniture by Kayu and Primary Pouf.
This circa-1958 Eichler in Silicon Valley makes a mesmerizing first impression with its combination of ipe wood and neon-yellow resin. A garden, courtesy of landscape designer Bernard Trainor, fosters the illusion of more space.
Oakland–based Building Lab effortlessly connected the patio to the living and bedroom areas just beyond the striking wall of windows.
Klopf Architecture's modest 72-square-foot addition at the front of the home blends in with the original structure while giving the owners a greater sense of openness in the master and hall bathrooms. Inside, the re-imagined great room now features dining space.
Klopf Architecture updated this Eichler with a radiant floor heating system, re-stained paneling, and a new office/guest room filled with Eichler hallmarks like dark bronze door handles.
In the South Bay, San Jose–based BLAINE Architects expanded this Eichler by transforming the old carport into an atrium. A folding glass NanaWall system allows the owners to watch their kids in the playroom from the kitchen.
The front façade received fresh white paint and new landscaping. The blue door was painted "Flaming Torch" from Behr, a vibrant orange.
Deciding to buy a home comes with its own unique set of pressures. Oftentimes, it’s seen as a seal of adulthood, an acceptance of permanence, and perhaps most importantly, it also means that you’re about to spend a large sum of money; it makes sense that no one wants to go about it in a casual way.
Glenn Lazzaro and Azin Valy wrapped up a remodel of their 1965 midcentury chalet in White Lake last year.
As you approach the Hilltop House from the covered breezeway that adjoins the garage, it is possible to see through the carefully placed windows to the greenery on the home’s other side.
The Villacarillos freshened up the exterior with a sleek two-tone facelift. The wood siding is painted Sherwin-Williams Caviar, and the brick is painted Sherwin-Williams Pure White.
The eaves are finished with cumaru, a Brazilian teak, and a new mahogany front door warms up the black-and-white facade. “It reminds us of places we’ve been on vacation,” Ron says of the wood. The design team swapped the soffit and porch lights with midcentury-inspired fixtures.
The front corner of the renovated building is dedicated to a commercial space, while the rear is a one-bedroom apartment with a studio and private exterior patio.
The brick shell of the 1,863-square-foot building was painted matte black, which "makes the roof float in a wonderful way and accentuates the white framing of the windows," says Ali.
Rather than expand their midcentury home, Anthony Marks and his partner built a guesthouse on the unused half of their double lot, in Denton, Texas. The gated fence borrows from the material palette used for the dwelling. “It’s like an introduction, or preview, to what lies beyond,” says architect Michael Gooden.
A hefty portion of the budget addressed the exterior, including new siding ($30,000), exterior paint ($4500), and windows ($14,000), or less flashy, but important, interventions, like new interior drywall ($8300) and updated electrical work ($14,450).
Located in a quiet neighborhood of Christchurch, on New Zealand’s southern island, the Fletcher House by Hall and Mackenzie Architects is in pristine condition nearly 60 years after its 1963 completion.
1965 archival image
VonDalwig Architecture connects the dots to give a 1967 home in Bedford, New York, a new lease on life.
Front door and reading nook
Addition with cantilever
Rear exterior
The 1956 home sits on a tree-filled lot in Connecticut, and was originally designed and built by local architect Cyril K. Smith, who studied under Louis Kahn.
A generously-sized, comfortable deck lines the water side of the cabin.
The “River Cabaan” is just steps away from the Wilson River and a 80-minute drive from Portland, Oregon.
Aalto was not only responsible for the architecture and the furnishings—he also designed the landscaping.
An exterior view of Maison Louis Carré as it delicately integrates into the surrounding landscape.
A side view of the home.
Aalto designed Maison Louis Carré with an immense lean-to roof made of blue Normandy slate, "pitched in imitation of the landscape itself". The facade is built from white bricks and marble, while the base and parts of the walls are Chartres limestone.
The original door was removed during the renovation, restored, and then replaced toward the project’s completion. The carved wood door is 11 feet tall, and Uzcategui says it adds “a distinctive element essential to the home’s history and sense of style.”
The glass-wrapped, upper-level addition came to Uzcategui as an epiphany as he stood on the roof of the home. The “tree room” now grows out of the original brick structure as if it was destined to be there all along.
The home’s original footprint, circular front driveway, and original brick facade were preserved.
As the midcentury era was winding down, architect George Smart was commissioned to design a low-slung brick and glass house at 2300 Timber Lane in Houston’s River Oaks neighborhood. The home would go on to serve as the clergy house for St. Luke’s United Methodist Church for 49 years.
The trapezoid-shaped addition hosts a new master suite on the main level.
The team preserved the deck, but installed a new railing.
The pared-back approach of the remodel begins with the front entry, where horizontal bands of orange-toned cedar were replaced with a refined wood screen.
Located in the sylvan enclave of Innis Arden about an hour north of Seattle, this home soaks up the natural beauty of the Pacific Northwest. This beautifully maintained midcentury home was designed in 1962 by Seattle–based modernist architect Ralph D. Anderson—who was an early advocate for preservation in the region. A soaring, double-height wall of glass in the living room brings a sense of the home's forested surroundings to its interiors. Character-filled elements of the home's midcentury roots remain—including a slightly sunken living room, a circular staircase, a tongue-and-groove ceiling, wood paneling, and a kitchen countertop crafted of salvaged teak from a 1960s battleship. Updated elements include a renovated kitchen, which kept the original salvaged teak and updated appliances as needed.
In 1950, landscape architect Bill Davies tasked Canadian-born architect John Kewell to design his home in Silver Lake. The charming two-bedroom, one-bath house has been carefully maintained over the years, with minimal updates save for a bathroom remodel in 2014. This has allowed the original home’s connection to the outdoors and midcentury modern design to remain, along with its siting—it sits partly cantilevered off the hillside to take in stunning mountain and city views framed through massive panes of glass.
Built in 1952, this home was designed by architect Albert P. Martin as his own residence after having apprenticed with Richard Neutra. Martin set the home atop challenging hillside terrain and took full advantage of the site's sweeping reservoir views with floor-to-ceiling glass and outdoor patios. When the three-bedroom, three-bathroom home hit the market in 2014, actress Kristen Wiig snapped up the property for $1.7 million and tapped Taalman Architecture and The Archers for a thorough renovation. The design team preserved the original elements of the home for authenticity while upgrading the facilities to meet modern needs.
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