Editor’s Letter
Midcentury Modern homes are always in need of a renovation. No matter the pedigree or the recently completed project, it’s just the nature of owning a home that’s more than 60 or so years old. The modern masters knew it even then when creating these marvels. Ludwig Mies van der Rohe said, “Architecture depends on its time. It is the crystallization of its inner structure, the slow unfolding of its form.”
Thus we as stewards of these homes continue to let them slowly unfold their form. Whether in the sensitive restorations, the careful updates or the humble ways we personalize them for the way we live (and let’s be real, the maintenance), a modernist’s work is never done.
Besides, as Charles Eames said, and the headline of this letter alludes to, “art resides in the quality of doing.” We MCM fans are addicted to the doing, and even when the last project is wrapped, we’d be looking for the next design we can tinker with.
So it’s no light task, this annual Renovation Guide that we create. We bring in our best experts to help teach the crucial lessons every homeowner must learn. We tour impressive examples of renovations in action, and we cull a breadth of resources to equip you with extensive information to help tackle the many choices that stand between you and your upgraded midcentury dream home.
It’s a particular honor for me to step forward from behind the scenes where I’ve been these past years and become the steward of Atomic Ranch. And like any project I’ve tackled in my own rancher, I do so with excitement and honor to carry the torch I received from those who poured their heart and soul into this special home before me.