Today, we talk about how to plan for a remodel that can grow with your family.  One of the things we can still do while we all #stayhome to flatten the curve is dream about and plan for the future.  So let's get into the details of planning a great remodel for (and with) your kids! 

Grab my Free Download: How to Make Extra Space in your house Right Now with Nooks Right Here!

In today's episode you'll hear ...

• The three best ways we can engage with design while we are all stuck at home  during #shelterinplace [1:19]
• What makes designing for families with kids different than designing for anyone else (hint: its that parent's are working harder than the rest of us and need their homes to pull serious weight) [2:59]
• My little rant about how you don't need a formal living room (ever) but you might want a living room and a den in a household with kids or teen [5:05]
• How ... and why ... to plan for change when you design a remodel for a household with children [7:36]
• The ideal bedroom to kid ratio for your lifestyle.  This might surprise you [9:05]
• How having your kids help you with design uses one of my favorite green remodeling principles (go bold with the easily changed things) [15:40]
• Why painting is the best DIY remodeling activity to get your kids engaged with ... or try yourself ... and how it may have turned me into an architect! [16:35]

Don't miss my interview with Wisconsin Public Radio!  Check out the podcast re-broadcast here!

Find show notes at www.midmod-midwest.com/304

One of the many weird side effects of our collective corona virus precautions is that almost every kid in the country is home from school right now.  Families are having to come up with new routines, creative kid spaces, and fresh inspiration to keep everyone active, happy and stimulated (and hang on to parental sanity if possible).  

This week I share some kid-focused advice that could come in handy for parents who are working to keep their kids happy and engaged right now.  

Your kids needs have likely changed during the Covid-19 quarantine. Working parents with kids in school may have had a smooth nightly parade of dinner, baths, reading and bed time. But when you have all day every day with your kids in the house you need to rethink the routine.  It can help to have multiple areas or stations around the house to move to during the course of the day.

Grab my Free Download: How to Make Extra Space in your house Right Now with Nooks Right Here!

In today's episode you'll hear ...

• What we can learn from Montessori classrooms about setting up great spaces for child exploration and self directed learning in our homes [3:14]
• By the way this totally ties in with my episode of last week - how our home need more "away spaces" or "nooks" in each room to allow for plenty of together time and apart time. 
• Gather some ideas for how to surprise and delight your stay home kids. They love ideas that are outrageous or subversive like breakfast for dinner and camping in the living room! [4:56]
• Learn how you can help your child set up a "feel good place" for positive discipline time outs that can help sooth high tempers or overtired outbursts [6:53]
• Age appropriate design thinking activities for your kids ranging from toddler to teenager [9:08]
• Use the Design Thinking framework created by the Stanford D-School to help your child go through a great design process from start to finish [13:15]
• How to involve your whole family in a good home improvement project [14:04]

Don't miss my interview with Wisconsin Public Radio!  Check out the podcast re-broadcast here!

Find show notes at www.midmod-midwest.com/303

This week's episode gets into the why of our homes' need for places to gather and places to spread out and get away from each other. 

Typical American homes were designed around the idea that we'd leave them for part of every day to go to work and to meet our social needs in the community at large.  Right now ... we can't.  So the house needs to do all the work that we typically outsource. 

Tune in to learn about how to make an open concept home work for you, why we need "away" rooms to keep certain activities separate from the whole household and how you can find or make places like that in your home right now! 

In today's episode you'll hear ...

• How everyone loves to hate on the open plan concept for houses - but they're actually way less common than we think [1:58]
• The importance of the Third Place in our lives - somewhere that is neither home nor work - and how our houses have to fill in that gap right now. [4:58]
• Some cool MCM and African American history - Learn the background on Collier Heights, a historically black neighborhood of super cool modernist homes outside Atlanta, Georgia [6:08]
• What Sarah Susanka can teach us about having not so much more space but the RIGHT space in our homes, especially an away room! [8:33]
• How to create an Away Room as part of your remodeling masterplan OR just make one out of the spaces you already have in your home! [10:32]
• Plus, I'M GOING TO BE ON THE RADIO NEXT WEEK. Details at [18:15]

Find show notes at www.midmod-midwest.com/302

Whether you are sheltering in place, safer at home, or just staying home, you might be starting (continuing) to feel little stir crazy. I have too. Here are some prompts to help you imagine improvements to your MCM house and some ideas for manageable DIY while you #stayhome!

I want to make this clear.  I am NOT trying to productivity shame you right now.  

But if you're looking for some non-scary ways to keep your mind and hands occupied right now, Season 3 of the Mid Mod Remodel podcast is for you. 

Jump straight to the three step MCM Room Recipe cheat sheet right here.

In today's episode you'll hear ...

• Why this season is going to be all about what you can contemplate or DO to improve your MCM home while you stay put [1:19]
• Disclaimer: this is not about productivity shaming you! I'm just offering some pleasant MCM remodel distractions ... if you happen to be in need of such a thing [3:34]
• How to use this time to think about your big picture goals for your home - you'll never have more insight into if your house can fulfill all your needs than right now! [5:18]
• The Mid Mod hack DIY project I'm working on right now [7:38]
• An overview of this coming season and what you can expect: advice on making space in your house for togetherness and apartness; design with and for your kids; Office spaces and Mudrooms in MCM homes; DIY projects to tackle in this #stayhome season and how to pick your next project! [9:32]
• Some bonus resources for navigating your new at-home life. It includes [12:20]

Find links and complete show notes at midmod-midwest.com/301!

In all my years of helping homeowners plan remodels, I've seen two factors that really determine whether someone will feel happy with a remodel during and after it's done. 

You need  a can-do, positive attitude, and you need real clarity about  what you want to get out of your remodel.  

Today, I'm telling the tales of two clients. One couple who was (in my opinion) not really ready to remodel, because they just couldn't agree about what their future home should be. The other is a couple who had one of the best remodel design processes I've helped with ... because they knew what they wanted - and what the house would need - right from the start.

Which remodel story would you rather be?

This wrap up season two of Mid Mod Remodel.  But I'm not leaving you hanging!  Don't miss the free, hour-long masterclass THIS WEEK to learn my step-by-step formula for planning a winning MCM home update. Sign up for your time slot here!

Find links and complete show notes at midmod-midwest.com/208!

Wait. You do use Pinterest to strategize your remodel plans, right?

Here's the thing: Pinterest can be your best friend, or your most stressful frenemy when you are planning a remodel. It all depends on how you use it. Here are some quick and easy tips for how (and when) to use Pinterest to plan your mid-century home update the right way!

In today's episode you'll hear ...

• Pinterest is more than a fun way to kill time on your phone ... it is serious business for professional designers. Learn from the pros and use Pinterest to mastermind your remodel [3:29]
• Use the smart feed to your advantage and teach Pinterest to go find you great inspiration around the internet by following accounts that pin things you want to see more of [5:33]
• Don't forget to ORGANIZE your boards. Putting anything you like into a rando board called "house ideas" is a recipe to never remember that good idea again! [7:16]
• Don't get ahead of yourself. It's fine to de-stress by pinning kitchen backsplash tile while you wait in line but keep your eye on the ball and START the remodel process by looking at the big picture - your "why" - Pinterest will remember your good detail ideas for you until its time to really get into the nitty gritty! [10:38]

WAIT, ONE MORE THING!

• READY TO REMODEL is about to be a real, live boy/course. I invite every single one of you to get the goods by coming to a free, hour-long masterclass next weekend to learn my step-by-step formula for planning a winning MCM home update. Sign up to get the (four) time slots as soon as they are nailed down!

Find links and complete show notes at midmod-midwest.com/207!

Someone once said that a really good declutter of your life is as good as a remodel (and so much easier and cheaper). 

Now as an architect, I don't know that I totally agree with that. 

A remodel can improve your layout, add natural light, introduce in beautiful new surfaces and generally custom fit your home to your life. A solid decluttering job can't do any of those things. 

However, sometimes a serious declutter is as good as an addition. 

Pare down your stuff BEFORE you plan your remodel so you don't waste valuable time, effort, and MONEY making more room for your things instead of creating a home you love.

In Today's Episode you'll hear ...

• Real talk: you're going to need to declutter before your remodel anyway ... you'll have to get ALL of your stuff out of the way before you can start swinging a hammer for demolition! [1:45]
• Two fun stories of my rolling stone past: that time I lived in a tent for five months, AND that time I lived in hostels along the Mediterranean coast for five months ... and what both adventures taught me about living with less [2:37]
• Parkinson's Law applied to stuff in your house [4:45]
• Two quick tips to make your kitchen bigger ... overnight! [6:31]
• A little shout out to all our friend, Marie Kondo, with my thoughts on why her methods don't always work for Americans [9:17]
• My personal decluttering hero: Marla Cilley, aka FlyLady and her magical 15 minute burst theory of doing everything [9:53]

Find links and complete show notes at midmod-midwest.com/206!

Today I want to share a really powerful organizing tool with you: the bullet journal method! 

Earlier this week I asked the Mid Mod Remodel Community how they stay organized and on track of their home updates. What I heard back is that mostly they feel like they don't.

I get it.

Planning a home remodel ... on top of everything else you have going on in your life ... can seem like a lot. Keeping track of your progress and moving forward consistently is even harder. 

I make this so much easier on myself with the bullet journal method. You can, too!

In today's episode you'll hear ...

• When I asked my community of mid mod remodelers how they stay organized and on top of their home update projects ... they mostly said they don't. If that's you too, you're not alone! [0:55]
• Don't worry you do NOT need to be a great artist, or have infinite time to curate your work, in order to get the best out of a bullet journal ... stick to "minimalist bullet journal" for your inspo searches. [2:30] 
• The basics of the system and philosophy, developed by Ryder Carroll [3:13]
• A quick overview of how to set up and use your bullet journal [4:31]
• How I plan my life (and home remodeling goals) with quarterly plans and daily/weekly "big three" lists a la Michael Hyatt's Full Focus Planner [7:24]
• How to get started planning any home update by taking a survey of your home. Use my DIY Home Assessment workbook to get all the important info in one place [9:25]
• A whole host of ideas for how to organize a remodel with a bullet journal [10:21]
• TEASER: I'll be including a mini training on exactly how to use a bullet journal as one component of my upcoming Ready to Remodel Course. If you want to be notified about all the updates ... get on the waiting list here!

Find links and complete show notes at midmod-midwest.com/205!

Loving and reviving MCM ranches is more than my job. It's a personal crusade. I'm on a mission to help as many new homeowners as I can with the process of moving into, and adapting, an existing mid-century ranch to suit their lifetime needs. 

The saddest thing that can happen to a recently sold MCM home is to be bulldozed to make way for something bigger, newer, and worse. But it's ALSO really tragic (to me) when ranches are viewed as nothing more than starter homes. After all, many ranch houses are still home to their ORIGINAL BUYERS. 

With a little love and careful updating, they can be the forever homes of the millennial generation too. 

The more mid-century ranches - and ranch owners - I can help, the more that impact resonates through American housing.

Let's make it happen! 

In today's episode you'll hear ...

• How I moved backed to Madison, WI to reunite with my hometown ... and fell in love with the idea of reviving an MCM ranch. [1:58]
• What happened when I went looking for the book on how to update a modest mid-century ranch (spoiler alert: it didn't exist) [4:11]
• Why MCM ranches are are a key component of US housing stock [6:48]
•  The story of how I came full circle from swearing off anything to do with suburban housing based on my youth in mcmansion central on the north side of Chicago to committing myself to a crusade on behalf of reviving MCM ranches. [8:24]
• The worst thing that can happen when a mid-century house is sold ... and the best [12:51]
• A tease for my new Digital Course: get ready to clarify your desires, analyze your house, find the resources you need, and put it all together into a laser-focused vision to help you get the remodel you want with the budget you have. Find the waiting list below [14:59]

Find links and complete show notes at midmod-midwest.com/204!

Remodeling a house isn’t your day job. So how do you get the energy to take on a huge project like a remodel in on top of all your other commitments? Set yourself up for SUCCESS by giving yourself the satisfaction of an early, easy win with the Mid-Century Room Upgrade recipe.

Today, get the formula for an easy mid-century room upgrade for any space in your house.

I’m going to focus on updating a living room as a handy example, but stick with me to the end and we’ll see how this recipe can be applied anywhere with a little creativity. After we talk about the living room specifically, I’ll extend the idea so you can find out how to go wild with it in your own home.

If you want an easy PDF to walk you through this recipe as it applies to the Living room, PLUS two additional rooms, grab it from midmod-midwest.com/roomrecipe!

IN TODAY’S EPISODE, YOU’LL HEAR …

• Remodeling is a long haul endeavor. Here’s why you need to give yourself a couple of satisfying and easy “wins” at the start of the process. [0:45]
• The basic mid-century room upgrade recipe [3:38]
• Why I like to start with the coffee table. (Hint: its the focal point of the living room which is the focal point of your home) [3:51]
• A little digression into mid-century modern color history. Basically it means you get to cherry pick your favorite micro era! [5:15]
• How to pick a great conversation piece to round out your room [7:06]
• Apply this recipe to any space in your house with just a little tweaking. Once you have the basics in place, start to elaborate and grow it! [7:57]
• Takeaway: you don’t have to make a vocation out of remodeling to find it fun and satisfying. Use the mid-century room upgrade recipe to break the ice on any project! [9:44]

Find links and complete show notes at midmod-midwest.com/203!