Mid-Century Not-Quite-So-Modern

As I peeked in the window of the heavily carpeted split level 1950s house I saw fantastic potential. Noting the soaring wood-beamed ceilings, square repeat motif, and clean lines, our home search was over. The criteria had been specific- great neighborhood, an inviting downstairs for the kids, a huge yard to garden, and a kinder mortgage than the house we were leaving. A month later with half-round trim pulled out and hardwoods newly refinished, I sat on the hearth realizing that Grandma Mina's beloved couch worked fine in the last space as a funky "white elephant" element, but trumpeted out its emerald-green-ness in this small space. Our lovely hutch, carefully chosen when we married, now stood looking like a chubby country cousin. Gesturing to our inherited Swedese chair I said to my husband, “We need new furniture to match that chair. Almost everything else has to go. I am so sorry." He turned a bit pale, perhaps calculating the costs we had spent so far in getting the lower level up to habitable snuff, the new furnace to replace the oil monster and the lilting two story deck to shore up. But I stand my ground. This space has amazing potential. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but with the right furniture and design elements (not to mention our handyman to help us finish the trim and put in a full light door to the deck), this living room will embrace the "modern" part of its 50's roots and be the clean, attractive living space it was always meant to be.

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