Maybe it's nostalgia, but the kinds of homes built during the so-called modern architectural movement in the 1940s, '50s and '60s are making a comeback, according to Magnolian Heidi Ward, a Coldwell Banker real estate agent who specializes in "Mid-Century Modern" homes. "It has a huge following," she said.
Also known as Classic Modern or Northwest Regionalism, the style is characterized by a minimalist approach that includes: large, exposed wooden beams, tall ceilings, big rooms with lots of windows, an obvious connection between the inside and outside of the homes, and a simplicity of design that extends to plumbing fixtures and cabinetry.
Some of the homes still exist, but Ward and her husband-builder, Rick Ward, have taken a different approach. They buy fixer-uppers and convert them to the old modern style.
The couple's current home in the 2655 38th Ave. W. is an example. What used to be a cookie-cutter copy of the one-story, rambler-style homes on either side had one bedroom and a partially finished basement, but the couple took the house down to the main floor and started over, Ward said.
They kept the same footprint and added a second floor, two more bedrooms, and a kitchen area that was reconfigured to an expansive size, she explained. "My husband and I collaborated with the architect." The goal was to "pay homage to Mid-Century Modern," Ward added.
FLOPPING ON FLIPPING
"This is our third house," she said. "We bought this house ... with the idea of flipping it." That's what the couple did they with a Queen Anne home and another Magnolia, both of which they lived in while converting them to the modern style, Ward added.
But there was a problem with the latest project. "I fell in love with the neighborhood," Ward explained, adding that the family plans to stay and that her 5-year-old son is set to go to school soon at Catharine Blaine.
Aside from her real-estate commissions, the couple makes a living flipping homes an average of one a year, she said. "We like to find ugly ducklings in nice neighborhoods and maximize their potential," is how Ward put it. "This one was kind of a nail-biter because we skipped a cycle," she added.
As a real-estate agent, Ward has looked at hundreds of homes in her career. "The ones I was really drawn to were the ones with the modern design," she said. "Thankfully, I married a guy with the same aesthetic."
THE 360º CONNECTION
Ward and her husband aren't alone in their fondness for the Classic Modern style. So is Richard Corff, an Eastside real-estate agent who launched an organization called 360ºModern three years ago to promote the old modernism, as opposed to Contemporary Modern architecture.
Contemporary is different than classic because it uses more metal roofs, synthetic sidings and metal structural support, according to the 360ºModern Web site (www.360modern.com). The Wards got involved with the organization when they were redoing their first home, she said. "I ended up being the first designated agent for 360∞," Ward added.
Ward has since joined Corff as a principle in the organization, which - those two included - currently has 10 real-estate agents involved in promoting and selling Classic Modern homes in specific geographic areas. Ward's territory is Magnolia, she said.
"They are not just real-estate agents," Corff said. "They are [Modern] experts." Not all agents are, and that's one of the reasons Corff started the organization, he said.
And it was in Magnolia that he found a painful example of how easily homes from that era can disappear. A Modern Classic neighborhood home with a wonderful view went on the market.
The home was owned by a couple in their 90s who had gotten to the point where they needed to move into an assisted-living facility, Corff said. "One of the most important things to them was that the house not be torn down." That didn't happen.
The home - which was designed by one of the region's premier Classic Modern architects - was marketed in "a very quiet way as a tear-down" because the land and view were more valuable than the house itself, Corff said.
But keeping the house would have affected the bottom line, he said. "And I would agree with that." Still, the place could have been fixed up, and Corff figures it wasn't because the real-estate agent was unaware of the value of that kind of home. "I would have preferred expanding what was there [with the same footprint]," Corff said.
The home eventually sold after an extended amount of time on the market, and it was torn down in weeks, he said. It was replaced with "an ugly McCraftsman or McMansion," is how Corff put it.
The agents with 360∞Modern all work for big-name real-estate brokerages as well, and they sell all kinds of homes. But the agents also specialize in Classic Modern homes, and 360∞Modern's business has doubled every year since the organization was formed in 2004, Corff said. The goal is to help owners and agents understand the real value of "modern" homes, he added
The Wards are certainly true believers. "We only do modern," Heidi Ward smiled. "That's kind of our thing."
Staff reporter Russ Zabel can be reached at rzabel@nwlink.com or 461-1309.
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