Midcentury-modern living room with exposed wood beams, a cream sectional, and windows overlooking greenery.

How Midcentury Principles Elevate a Compact Modern Home

Midcentury living room with exposed wood beams, garden-facing glass doors, and an oversized abstract artwork.

This house in Santa Barbara, CA, set on a small lot near the cliffs of Santa Barbara maintains a low-slung building envelope inspired by the residential precedents of Marcel Breuer and the Eames Office.

Combining abstract color panels with vernacular materials in a modern frame, strong sections maximize interior daylight and give physical variation to the ceiling planes and room volumes.

The ceiling heights range from 7’-8” to 12’ through the profiles of two shed roofs. Wide-open public spaces extend outdoors and contrast the intimacy and built-in furnishings of the bedrooms and tv room. A rugged materiality and simplicity is suggested with interior walls with exposed fir studs and wide plank boards, and the exterior is painted reinforced fiber cement board. 

Midcentury-inspired interior with exposed timber beams, abstract art, and a sculptural leather-and-wire chair.

Wood-paneled dining area with exposed beams, built-in display shelves, and a round table with cream chairs.

Midcentury living room with vaulted timber ceiling, brick fireplace, built-in bench, and leather seating.

Midcentury-modern home entry with a red door, wood paneling, yellow surfboard, and bicycle.

Midcentury modern home with glass walls, patio loungers, and a long pool beneath mature trees.

 

Originally published in Mid-Century Homes
Photos by William Abramowitz

 

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Are you planning on buying or selling a home in the area? bouHAUS properties is here to help you navigate coastal Orange County's exciting real estate market. Specializing in mid-century modern and modern eclectic homes, the team's success in built on their passion for rare,one-of-a-kind properties that exemplify the best that the OC has to offer.

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