Hey there.  We’re Jenn and Jack, 2 mid-century modern enthusiasts who just bought our dream home — a 1957 custom contemporary outside of Philadelphia.  It needs quite a bit of work, both physically and cosmetically, so we’re going to use this blog to document all the ups and downs as we try to do right by this amazing house.

 

Jack is the fixer-upper extraordinaire — handy, hard-working, but also smart enough to know when to bring in an expert to get the job done perfectly (especially important in the case of this special house).

Jenn is the vision and design half of the operation — she can’t swing a hammer to save her life, but she loves to obsess over paint chips and fabrics.

As we work on our amazing place, we’re keeping 3 principles in mind:

1.  Fix it right – given the age of the house, and that we plan to live in it for a very long time, there’s no cutting corners when it comes to fixing anything.  If it’s structural, it has to be done well so that the house functions well for decades to come.

2.  Stay true to the original design – as much as possible, we want to keep the original design elements of the house.  Anything we need to work on that affects the look of the house — windows, fixtures, etc — will be updated in a way that still fits with the overall intent of the design.  (So you will not be seeing Colonial doors or Tudor styling anywhere in here!)

3.  Leave room for today – while our home is a 1957 time capsule, and we love everything about it, we need to remember than it is 60 years later and we’re allowed to live in a modern way.  The house speaks for itself, and we are more than our house; we are well-rounded people with tastes and interests that go beyond 1957.  So we’re allowed to make decorating choices that reflect what we love, even if it means those choices are more rooted in 2014.

So we hope you’ll stay a spell, mix up a martini, and enjoy reading about our crazy journey.  Cheers!