Atomic Ranch Fall 2025

FOR MODERNISTS, home is often a far from perfect place. Home many times means a long list of things that need to get done. Home can be mid project, learning to live with upturned floors, or missing cabinets. Home is a budget for things that are happening or need to get done. Home can be a wish, something you are always keeping an eye out for or hope that you get to have one day. But home is also a dream. It’s a vision. It’s a promise. And for me fall is the time that makes me most introspective about home and what you work so hard to make it be. And like the seasons of the year, our relationships with home are sometimes good, sometimes not so good. Sometimes…

IT’S ONE THING to embark on a renovation and make decisions on the right flooring, hardware and lighting. It can feel altogether more daunting when you consider that all your choices have to work together in harmony and look right! We culled some advice from our interior design experts to share some of their trade secrets for creating a cohesive home. “ROOMS ARE like a capsule wardrobe; you want everything to work together. But you also need to make sure a room is visually dynamic. Think about incorporating five different elements: print or pattern, texture, color, shine or metallic and something living like greenery. This ensures that your space is stylish and not staid.” Christine Ho Breathe Design StudioAustin, TX “PAY CLOSE ATTENTION to undertones. You can vary the value…

MY WESTERN STYLE USONIAN RANCH is tucked onto its lot among four grand ponderosa pine trees near the northeast corner of the Arapaho Hills subdivision developed by Edward B. Hawkins and Clyde Mannon between 1955 and 1964 in Littleton, Colorado. Designed by architect Bruce R. Sutherland, Downey House, named for its original owner, is framed by a curvilinear driveway that ends beneath a two-car carport positioned across the face of the house. Random-range ashlar masonry of native red sandstone forms a massive rectangular chimney at the southeast corner of the house. A second sandstone masonry wall carries the carport roof, with the main entry hidden beneath. It is the native landscaping, though, which takes advantage of an expansive 25-foot setback that makes Downey House truly special and attracted my attention…

ONE OF THE BEAUTIES OF renovating Mid Century Modern homes is in the synthesis of past and present design sensibilities. Many MCM homes were created with main living spaces carefully sectioned off, clearly delineating each area into its own private space. However, contemporary preferences lean towards open and shared spaces, creating more subtle separation to allow for greater overall connection and cohesion. These updates, when done respectfully, allow for the best of the original design to shine through. The homeowners of this 1963 home in Atlanta, Georgia embarked upon their renovation with very practical goals and concerns for their kitchen and dining area. They contacted Whitney Jones, Lead Interior Designer at Copper Sky Design + Remodel to help accomplish their plans, as well as provide guidance on style. “The homeowners…

MIDCENTURY MODERN STYLE ADAPTS to its location. Palm Springs mid-mod homes are adorned in dazzling breezeblock to disperse desert air, Washington state MCM houses are replete with walls of soaring glass to better see the evergreens, and out in the Midwest, MCM often leans into practical brick, perfect protection from the area’s freezing winters and uncomfortably humid summers. But this typical Midwest material doesn’t figure much into a Bloomington, Indiana home. Instead, the house is covered in stunning California redwood, a testament to the California transplants who originally built the house. GOLDEN STATE “We salvaged the original stone, glass, and all the interior and exterior redwood, which our team meticulously refinished and preserved,” says Loren Wood, builder and owner of Loren Wood Builders. “The new homeowners wanted to maintain the…

WHEN YOU THINK OF a mid-century Palm Springs getaway, you probably imagine a home with bright pops of turquoise, yellow and orange with bubble lamps, lots of chrome and funky wall art. When interior designer Heather Cohen and her husband Jordan were looking for a Palm Springs getaway for their growing family, they opted for a different—but still deeply mid-century inspired—approach that causes everyone’s shoulders to drop as soon as they walk up the front entrance. A DREAM TEAM When Heather and Jordan bought their 1958 Krisel home in the Racquet Club Estates neighborhood of Palm Springs, one of their first moves was to reach out to Steven Shields of Shields Residential for expertise from someone who knows and respects Palm Springs Mid Century Modern architecture. Steven says of his…