Discovering MCM

Akron is full of beautiful homes that were built in the early 20th century. Every street is lined with American Foursquare, Arts & Crafts, Bungalow, Tudor and Colonial Revival homes. The house we were renting at the time we began our search was a recently renovated Colonial Revival, almost identical to the home I grew up in three blocks away (except for the fact that our rental was a duplex, adjoined on one side by its mirrored twin). Naturally, our house-hunting was dominated by lists, drive-by's, and walk-through's of these types of homes.

We liked many of these houses and have always been charmed by their rich character--hardwood floors, thick mouldings, large rooms with high ceilings, etc. Some had been carefully maintained, others grossly neglected. But the more we searched, the more they all felt the same. Nothing stood out. We started to yearn for something unique, a home that would allow us more freedom to renovate creatively.

That's when we began to notice small pockets of Post-War homes scattered throughout the area. Most of these were the ranches and split-levels we had previously browsed over or driven past without giving a second glance. Until this point, they had seemed bland in comparison to the grand structures built forty or fifty years earlier. But here and there, one would catch our attention with its natural stone facade, floor-to-ceiling windows or wide-open floor plan. Our interest was piqued.

Unfortunately, there was a slim portion of mid-century homes that we found intriguing. And few of those were for sale. At one point, we thought we had found "the one," only to learn it had sold the day before we were scheduled to walk through it (we later found out that the buyer was a friend's mother, which eased the pain). The outlook was grim on the prospect of discovering our dream home in Akron.

Then we found it.

Wait, really? That one? That weird box thing? But it has a flat roof. It must leak like a sieve! And what's with all this AstroTurf--outside?!

Eh, okay, maybe. It does have the huge windows we like, and the open floor plan. That stone wall in the living room is pretty sweet.

It was so ugly. There was no getting around that. From the street, it resembled one of those trailers you see parked next to a construction site. But once you were inside, it was so cool! The property was gorgeous. The neighborhood was peaceful. The search was over.

We were hooked on Mid-Century Modern.

(Sorry for the poor quality photo. We haven't taken any of our own yet.)