Blog

One of our favorite house renovators, House Healers, just finished another amazing and creative project (The Chinook House) and asked Modernous to put the final touches on it prior to sale. These houses are some of the most collaborative, artistic jobs we do, as the builders are truly artists and hold such a strong vision for the space. Their use of historic and recycled architectural salvage makes us giddy. Curbed wrote a story about the house and published some great photos. If you have a chance to go see it, GO. It is really inspiring.

This Craftsman-style home received a mid-century makeover, blending the styles together to ensure continuity and comfort for its new owners. Reorienting the living room toward the fireplace, finding dog- and cat-friendly furnishings, and new light fixtures gave these rooms a drastically new feel, but one that the owner said “feels like it has always been there.” We worked around a few pieces that the owner loves, including a mid century stereo cabinet and their photography collection. Most importantly, though, the cat and the dog each gave it two “paws up.”

Earlier this year Modernous was asked to help a client choose new exterior paint colors for their butterfly-roof home in Seattle. After looking closely at the home, we realized that there was really only one option for them–an unusual choice for seattle: white. Their window frames are white and anything but white would have made the windows the focal point. With a little photoshop magic, we helped the clients realize their vision for their house, emphasizing its mid-century roots by highlighting the beams with a dark brown paint. With some persuasion, they chose a beautiful rich green for the door, and we helped source new house numbers and more period-appropriate lights for the exterior. Overall, a fun project and a major change for them!

This week we staged a one-owner mid century on Mercer Island, currently on the market with Paul Hart, CBBain. The owners, who grew up in the house, were reluctant to sell and really wanted to be sure it wasn’t torn down. We worked together to make sure that anyone who saw the house would want to keep and love it as is. It became really personal for us.

The house AND the staging was recognized in Curbed as it hit the market this week.

“Whether through excellent staging or the owner’s great taste, see if the furnishings are included. They may be retro in just the right way in just the right place.”

When professionals aren’t quite sure if it is staging, we’ve done something right!