MID-CENTURY WITH A TWIST
Renovation modernizes quirky custom-built gem while staying true to its design legacy
AMISSVILLE, VA. The pink stucco house was a time capsule from the 1950s, with its original metal kitchen cabinets, aluminum bathroom tiles, wood panelling and parquet floors.
But it was in the last place you’d expect to find it: on a woodsy lot nestled in Virginia’s Hunt Country.
Siobhan and Sander Mueller, a suburban Washington couple looking for a weekend getaway, were immediately hooked when they saw the listing in 2013, even though the property was a little run down.
“We thought, ‘This house wants to be in Palm Springs,’ ” Siobhan says.
They plunged into the project with a sense of adventure; the quirky property was so different from their traditional Colonial home.
Their mission became to be good stewards of its unusual design legacy and so they hired architect Dwight McNeill to help, especially with the planned addition.
The original owner, an artist and composer who travelled much of the year and whom the Muellers have come to refer to as Uncle Buddy, had the house custom built.
It has an open floor plan, the centrepiece a 40-by-28-foot great room panelled in red-gum plywood with 12-foot ceilings.
The focal point is a large fireplace featuring exotic Chinese Chippendale motifs and trimmed with hand-carved dogwood blossoms. The wacky overscale blossoms also appear as a surround for sliding doors.
McNeill and the Muellers made contact with one of Uncle Buddy ’s relatives who still lived in the area. They delighted in seeing photographs of how the house was furnished in the 1950s and 1960s.
The house had only two bedrooms, and the Muellers wanted a couple more; they have two children, Beck, 12, and Lulu, nine. They also needed a larger kitchen and had to fix burst pipes and buckling floors and replace the septic system.
Siobhan and Sander sourced most things from the internet and soaked up inspiration from blogs.
They found less expensive versions of classic mid-century style dining chairs and leather and plywood lounges.
They played with floor plans and picked out Ikea kitchen fittings.
Although their Colonial is stuffed to the brim with the things a family of four accumulates, they appreciated the spareness of the space in the country and didn’t want to overfurnish it.
Here’s the Muellers’ take, edited from conversations and emails, on how the house came together: Q How did you approach the furnishings? A (Siobhan): I am all about the look for less. You can fall in love... but unless money is no object, you get two (good) chairs... and then surround them with cheaper things you find online. Buying furniture gets really expensive really fast. Q This house is a bit of a mix of mid-century modern decorating elements. How did you decide which direction to go? A(Siobhan): Everyone loves midcentury modern, but true midcentury modern is a little bland.
It’s woody, tweedy and masculine... We wanted to connect to the hand-carved pagoda frame and dogwood blossoms. So we added a few unexpected things, such as a Kelly green lacquered chest and some pillows with palm tree fabric, plus a few bursts of orange accessories. Q The house already had such a strong design identity. What attracted you to that particular house? A( Sander): We had been looking in the area for several years. I didn’t want the type of weekend house with deer heads on the walls and pictures of fox hunts. We were intrigued by the history of the house and the design, and the more we got into it, you could feel the character of the man who lived there. We felt a connection to it. Q How did you two collaborate on so many decisions? A( Sander):We would sit in bed with our laptops open and go through stuff. She would show me something, and I would say, “I hate it.” I would show her something, and she would say, “Maybe.” Anyway, in the end, we compromised pretty well. I love to cook so I picked out the appliances, but she laid out the kitchen. Q You replaced the small galley kitchen by expanding it into what was a porch area using Ikea components. How did that work? A(Siobhan): I used the online Ikea tool, and it’s fairly intuitive. The goal was to have multiple work and prep areas, with Sander having his own cooking area. Q How did you deal with furnishing the great room? A (Sander):It was a challenge to fill that space. We started out simply. Siobhan knew the centre rug she wanted, a Moroccan shag. She said: “Let’s get the two longest couches possible and anchor the thing and build around it.” The dining room table was a splurge. I didn’t want a wood table, so I found a metal one from Italy. It can seat 12 people for dinner. A(Siobhan): Uncle Buddy loved to entertain, and anybody who ever lives in a house leaves some of themselves there.
We feel his spirit, and we have a picture of him on the bookcase, plus a photo of the family we bought the house from. We find these to be a real connection to the past, which is something important to us about this house.
We love to cook and have people over, and our kids love having puppet shows here and game nights.
Uncle Buddy often wore a red silk kimono when he hosted parties. Last year, his niece gave the kimono to us.