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Bill Gates, co-founder and former CEO of Microsoft, is letting go of a home in his vast real estate portfolio. Some famous examples include the Stahl House by Pierre Koenig, Kaufman House by Richard Neutra, the Eames Lounge Chair, the Wassily Chair, and Fallingwater by Frank Lloyd Wright. The current owners have maintained the residence for the last 58 years, and now is your chance to own and update a singular piece of architecture that’s going for $6.9 million. Becky Bracken covers celebrity and other notable real estate for Realtor.com. Built in 1935, it was one of Albert Frey and John Porter Clark’s earliest desert designs.
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While cleaning out the home, they found some of the original furniture, old photos of what the house looked like before, and a record player that was hooked up to speakers all over the house. This time, it’s a relatively modest, four-bedroom, three-bath dwelling in Medina, WA, listed for $4,988,800. The more-than-2,400-square-foot house last changed hands in 2003 for $1,310,000, records show. The design harmonizes the house’s original mid-century character with inventive insertions. Expansive windows and strategically placed mirrors alongside internal relights accentuate brightness, creating a lively atmosphere that permeates throughout the home. This careful manipulation of space and light ensures every corner of Lark House feels both exclusive and interconnected.
Lark House: Mid-Century Home Meets Contemporary Style

In the sunken living room, which showcases a monumental copper fireplace alongside built-in sofas, the copious wood paneling feels a bit incongruous with the original, clean-lined design. Generous ceiling heights, a lighter color palette, and floor-to-ceiling windows, however, ensure the room feels airy and bright. Flat planes, clean lines, and little ornamentation characterize both the exteriors—which often feature monochromatic brickwork and pops of color—and the matching interiors of mid-century modern homes. At the time of the book’s publishing, 22 of the structures featured have been torn down, with another slated for demolition.
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Characterized by a contemporary, seemingly futuristic aesthetic and an emphasis on function, the mid-century modern movement influenced many types of design. These include interior, product, industrial, and graphic design, as well as urban planning and architecture, which remains the most well-known mid-century modern example. During the 20th century, architects turned their attention from traditional designs to more original aesthetics.
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The boxy and minimalistic exterior of the Mid-Century Modern home tends to be monochromatic and neutral, with earth tones using brick or wood-paneled siding. When soldiers returned from World War II, they built midcentury homes all across the United States—meaning, you'll find midcentury modern homes in virtually every town and state. Use rugs or plants or bookshelves to create your own dividers that suit you and your family’s needs in these architectural floor plans. You can find mid century modern homes just about anywhere in America, with slightly different variations. The originals are mostly tucked into the hillsides of Southern California – notably Palm Springs – and you'll find everything from bungalow style homes and stilted silhouettes are dotted all along the streets of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The postwar Case Study Houses program—created and sponsored by Arts and Architecture—also resulted in many key examples of midcentury-modern houses.
Although some midcentury modern styles are more ornate than others, simplicity is a key characteristic of the movement. Simple furnishings with clean lines and a muted color palette complement the homes' simple exteriors. Midcentury modern colors include warm earth tones such as orange, brown, mustard, or golden yellow. Though these are popular colors from this period, not all of these colors are found in every home of this style. Across the country, other formats of mid century modern house design came to prominence, but using more winter-worthy materials like brick to construct their signature looks.
Stahl House by Pierre Koenig
When the two took possession of the home, it had been empty for four years, the couple said. A family built it in the 1960s, and then it was passed down to two siblings, a son and a daughter. The son, an architect, lived in the home for many years, and then, when he passed away, the house went to his sister, who then sold it to Phipps and Volkov. The couple plans to use the two years they have to repay their private loan to fix up the house as much as possible and then refinance to get a traditional mortgage.
Inside Ryan Murphy's Rule-Breaking Redo of an Iconic Midcentury House in LA - Architectural Digest
Inside Ryan Murphy's Rule-Breaking Redo of an Iconic Midcentury House in LA.
Posted: Tue, 13 Feb 2024 08:00:00 GMT [source]
Pierre Koenig, Eero Saarinen, A. Quincy Jones, and the Eameses were among the modern architects who designed homes in response to it, though not all of the homes were constructed. Some have been remodeled into oblivion and some of them have been demolished, but 20 remain standing today according to Forbes. "I think the biggest thing that stood out to me was the architecture of the home because mid-century modern homes are so rare for the area," she said.
Mid-century modern homes are classics with a timeless appeal that will likely never go out of vogue. They continue to be popular due to their minimalistic, highly functional appeal and eye-catching feature pieces. Typically, it involves a lot of natural woods and neutral tones interspersed with small pops of color. In Mary Weatherford’s landmark midcentury-modern home in Los Angeles, art and architecture work hand in glove. “It’s a beautiful symphony of interwoven diagonals, verticals, and horizontals,” the artist says of the experimental structure, built in 1948 by architects A.
The house also proves just how wonderful a feature can be even without sunny Southern California weather. Probably the most minimalist among the midcentury-modern homes included here, the Farnsworth House was first built as a country house for Edith Farnsworth, a doctor, violinist, and architecture patron. Discover the timeless allure of mid-century modern home design as we explore enchanting exteriors that have stood the test of time. With their clean lines, seamless integration of indoor and outdoor spaces, and masterful use of natural materials, these architectural gems continue to captivate homeowners and design enthusiasts alike.
A few hours north of New York City, for example, pupils of the legendary modernist architect Frank Lloyd Wright built an entire town of case study homes using mid century modern design, dubbed 'Usonia'. The architectural style became popular post-World War II and drew inspiration from the Bauhaus, and later Modernist, movements. Mid-century modern house plans inspire designers, architects, and homeowners alike. Homeowners ' love hasn't waned more than half a century after this style was introduced.
Straight lines and right angles are essential to midcentury modern architecture. Although many modern ranch-style homes feature gabled roofs or asymmetrical exteriors, most midcentury modern homes have flat roofs with straight lines. Taking influences from Bauhaus and American high-prairie style homes, midcentury modern architecture was brought to the United States by European architects fleeing Nazi Germany. Some original midcentury modern designers include Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Marcel Breuer. Frank Lloyd Wright, the father of modern architecture, actually trained many midcentury modern architects. Palm trees and Pacific Ocean views aside, California’s spectacular midcentury-modern homes are one of its most memorable sights.
The house was valued at $3.4 million CAD or $2.5 million USD with an asking price of $2.6 million CAD or $1.9 million USD. One of the most significant issues the couple encountered immediately was that the roof needed to be replaced. Other issues included completely overgrown landscaping, mold throughout, and high levels of moisture from all the water that had come into the house over the years. The house was so dilapidated that the realtor had the couple sign a waiver before entering.
The stage was set for midcentury-modern design by visionary architects and designers that preceded the period. Frank Lloyd Wright is undeniably the most influential figure on the period. Hallmarks of his buildings—site-specific designs, the consideration for flow between the spaces, and his dedication to the use of wood paneling—are all prominent features of midcentury-modern homes. Since then, the movement — including architecture and interior design elements, furniture, and accessories — has only grown. To encourage this, rooms will often have multiple outdoor views and access points to nature, large floor-to-ceiling windows, or sliding doors to allow natural light to enter and encourage a sense of harmony with the outdoor spaces. You’ll also see a connection to nature in other forms, such as the use of raw materials and houseplants as decoration.
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