Mid-Century Modern

Olmos Park is also jumping on the no teardown band wagon, thank the Lord. We don't have that many MCMs, but there are a lot of houses that were built in the same period of time in different styles that are teardown bait. It's sad - a large, attractive one story brick home with some colonial detailing with a sort of 50s feel was torn down a few months back. This was a perfectly lovely home. The elderly couple hadn't changed much since they bought it new, and it certainly needed some updating, but all it needed was a good eye and some TLC. Actually, you know, it was exactly the sort of house that someone could have made over as an MCM homage just by getting rid of the colonial trimmings and some judicious floorplan changes. What people don't realize about the OP and AH and TH homes built in the 50s is that they have huge potential, and are built about a hundred times better than anything you could get today. Someone else I know in OP took a brick 50s home and converted it into a non-yucky, non-Tuscan Meditteranean. House looks great. And even with the heavy renovation, it doesn't stick out on the block because the scale of the home still fits.

But then, I'm preaching to the choir! Shoutout to all my anti-teardown peeps

[googie2525]

Originally Posted by jules07

Did you guys see the July edition of Architectural Digest? There's a story about a house in Alamo Height that was built to "look 100 years old" (looks "Tuscan" style McMansion to me). Said that there were two adjacent lots in AH that both had houses "which dated from the 1950's, were summarily taken down...." Makes me wonder??????????? Same ed of the mag, tho, and there's an article entitled "Echoes of Tuscany" and the place looks almost MCM rather than what is typically represented as "Tuscan".

OK, on to opinions. Otherhalf and I really love MCM (I'm a more recent convert than he is), but it looks like we're kinda "stuck" in our house for a good long while (kids love the neighborhood, and the roots have kinda planted). Our house is pretty old (almost 30 years) and we're needing to do some renovations. Although the exterior is definately not MCM (tho some of the houses in the neighborhood have little hints/remnants of it), we're thinking of re-doing the interior pretty eclectic/MCM. If we do what we want, we'll probably *never* be able to sell it (and as a Realtor, I know better than that ), but it's what we want to do. Are we as crazy as we think we are? LOL!

...ugh, why not just BUY a house that's a HUNDRED years old already, and renovate? there's no shortage of these homes in Monte Vista, Olmos Park, heck, even Terrell and Alamo have more than a few pads that are at least 100+.

But yeah, sounds suspicious, since they're tearing down half of Elizabeth and throwing up Tuscan's, and basically that entire strip from about 601 to 725 are/were mid-50's (AND where 95% of Milton Ryan's ultra-mod homes were situated - his own house was originally at 601 Elizabeth, and you should see the monstrosity that sits there now - my lord, looks like some spanish/italian vampire's sex lair!).

I'll have to buy that issue and investigate this little mystery (so I can depress myself more).

...and I say go for the wild interior, heck, if you're gonna stay awhile, why not? and when and if you ever plan on selling, do that ol' realtor thing and just slap white paint over everything (worked on me). I would avoid messing with the exterior too much though, that's a tougher fix later on.

[googie2525]

Just found a cool MCM (1955?) in a GREAT area, not on MLS yet, and very low-priced in my opinion (144K, and it being a buyers market, I bet a deal could be made, BUT this is pretty dang low for the area), it's a fixer-upper though (not nearly as bad as that O'Neil Ford I posted a couple of weeks ago though for that outrageous price (AND in the same neighborhood no less!):



Again, Moderator cut: TOS Violation just a rabid MCM enthusiast who wants folks who dig MCM to buy these homes and NOT re-muddle 'n' Home Depot-ize 'em. Cheerio!