KC MCM For Sale - 123 NW Greentree Lane

One of the things that really sealed the deal when we were considering buying our home is the surrounding neighborhood.  Our neighbors are great, it's a quick drive to downtown Kansas City, a quick walk to beautiful parks and trails, and there are a handful of Mid-Century Modern gems scattered throughout.  On a walk this past Sunday, CT and I noticed that one such house - really more of a diamond-in-the-rough than a "gem", per se - is going up for auction soon.

It's two houses down from the first house we toured in this area (blogged about here).  That house ended up selling at auction as well, then unfortunately was flipped to entice a generic buyer.  We are hoping for a different fate for 123, and we're trying to get the word out to fellow MCM enthusiasts in the area that could restore the home to it's former glory.

123 was designed and custom-built by it's only owner since 1958. It's very large (around 3,000 sq.ft.) with 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths and 3 living spaces. The basement walks out to a large patio surrounded by green space.  Admittedly, it needs A LOT of work...but with an opening bid price of only 15k, there would be room in a budget for a thoughtful and significant restoration.

The MLS photos aren't great, but they give an idea of this house's potential: 

Renovation Update 4: Dining Area

The first room we finished during renovation was the dining area in the upper level of the home.  While it is a small space, it was probably the most work to complete.

Amongst the grainy MLS photos, there were two that gave us an idea of how the space connected to the rest of the home before we went to tour it in person:

A few days after closing, we took a couple of pictures showing the space without the previous owner's furniture.  With hopes of finding wood flooring under the dirty carpet, CT had cut away a section, unfortunately revealing sub-flooring.  These photos give a clearer view of the Mondrian-esque wall feature (why?), the black railing behind the door to the deck (Why?), and the oddly configured closet and shelving (WHY?).

After taking out the rest of the carpet, CT began the rest of the demolition, tearing out the above mentioned eyesores.

Next, CT's mom painted over the slanted black ceilings with bright white, and CT insulated, framed, drywalled, and painted the angled wall.

CT then moved down to the flooring in the dining space, which turned into a bigger hassle than we originally imagined it would be, as matching something new to the existing engineered hardwood in the living space was next to impossible.  We selected a size that was comparable, but were unable to match the color perfectly, as we were buying through a discount flooring website called Really Cheap Floors.  We don't mind the transition now, but it is perhaps something we will consider changing in the future so that the dining and living areas have a more seamless transition.

The last and biggest project CT took on in the dining area was the built-in shelving.  We wanted a bold feature that would carry the accent blue we used on the exterior to the interior, as well as display our collections of books and handmade ceramic pieces.  CT built and painted the shelving in our garage, then installed the three pieces into the available openings.  He then had to add drywall in between the two shelves on the left where there had previously been a closet in order to even up the space between each unit.

Then came more painting, adding trim around everything, and the installation of a modern light fixture from West Elm.  They no longer carry the fixture, but while it was still available, I was able to get a screen shot of it.  At the bottom is an Instagram photo of our space that West Elm shared on their website:

Here's the space pre-furniture and a closer look at the odd light we replaced:

And finally, our completed dining area, with a new West Elm rug and light fixture, and furnished with a vintage Garrison table and chairs found on Craigslist for under $200, two of our Brody bentwood chairs (blogged about in this post), a Lane bench (really a coffee table, but it's substantial enough to sit on and looks great under the large picture window) that CT picked up in a West Bottoms thrift store, and the cutest Mid-Century bar cart I bought at River Market Antiques.  As not to make this already long post longer, I'll detail the origins of the art and collectibles in another post.

New Addition(s) 1: Blue Danish-Style Chairs

The first Fridays of each month in Kansas City have become a great opportunity for vintage loving shoppers to snag goodies, especially in the area known as the West Bottoms where many old warehouse spaces have been turned into flea market-style shops.

One of these shops, Bella Patina, has a great Instagram feed that I just happened across last Thursday evening.  They had posted the picture below in preparation for their First Friday opening at 8:30 a.m. the next day:

As soon as I laid eyes on that gorgeous pair of danish-style chairs, I had a feeling CT and I needed them in our lives, so I perused the feed further until I found this picture, posted a week prior:

Needless to say, my mind was made up.  Our home just wouldn't be complete without these blue beauties.  I'd never seen one other chair with quite the same design (much less a pair of them), and the blue upholstery not only looked to be in good condition, but also a close match to the blue we have used as an accent color throughout our renovation.

The thing about these First Friday openings in the West Bottoms is that they are much anticipated.  With this month coinciding with the Labor Day holiday, the shop would undoubtedly be shoulder to shoulder with patrons by lunch time, so waiting until I got off work to check out the chairs wasn't an option.  They would be long gone by then.  Luckily, CT doesn't teach classes on Fridays and since he was going to be in the area that morning, he promised he would stop by to take a look.

At around 11 a.m. on Friday, I checked in with CT to see if he had made it to Bella Patina.  "They were sold" was his quick response.  I was so disappointed, but not terribly surprised.  Well designed Mid-Century furniture gets snatched up quickly, and I knew these chairs, specifically, would be coveted by many in the area.

When I got home from work, CT and I went about taking care of outdoor chores and chatting about our respective days.  Suddenly he said, "Hey, I have something to show you in the garage..."

Guess I should have asked him to specify after his earlier text WHO the chairs had been sold to.  Love my guy!  And can't wait to find the perfect spot to showcase our new/old additions. 

Renovation Update 3: Entryway

After focusing on the house hunting process and the progress we've made to the exterior, I'm finally ready to say welcome to the interior of our home!  The most logical place to start is the entryway, right?  We were surprised when we first entered the home at how big the entry space is, considering no MLS photos were taken.  It's interesting to see and hear people's reactions when they first walk through the door, considering the front of the house looks like a traditional ranch.  The sloping ceiling, the living room split, and the giant windows facing the wooded backyard make the home feel large and open, even though in regards to square footage, it's not a large house.

Almost every inch of the entry has been changed, at least a bit, since we took ownership in May 2014.  For starters, CT's mom painted all the walls either white or a light slate gray.  The previous owner had very different tastes, painting the walls and some ceilings black (!), cherry red, pea green, and a greenish gray that we felt made the space feel darker and enclosed.  Two things we left intact and that really add to the Mid-Century feel of the entry are the slate floors and the globe pendant, which we assume are original to the house.  A few before pictures: the first taken one of the few days after taking ownership; and the next, after painting the walls.

There was carpet covering the stairs going up and down, which CT removed, uncovering beautiful wood which he sanded and stained.  We knew we wanted to bring some of the accent blue from the outside of the house inside, and decided the first place should be the metal base of the stairs leading to the living space.

CT also rebuilt the railings that lead upstairs and separate the living space after removing the chunky black ones that were previously in place.  He stained the spindles and painted the handrail white.  The first picture is obviously "the before"...note the cherry red painted brick.  Yikes.

Removing carpet from the stairs leading to the lower level of the house also meant removing the carpet in the hallway at the bottom.  CT then tore out the black and white tile found underneath the carpet so that he could grind and polish the cement floor for a seamless transition into the two bedrooms.

On either side of the front door are glass block accents (one door-sized, one window-sized) that allow nice light to filter into the entry.

To the right of the glass block is a Mid-Century dresser/buffet I bought at an antique store.  CT painted the casing white after fixing some of the veneer that had broken off.  A few decorative items of note on the dresser are a ceramic pot handmade by our college professor and a couple of found-object robots that our friends at Nerdbots created.  There is also a postcard featuring an "airplane view of Kansas City, MO" that I was thrilled to find while thrifting because our house is in the flightpath of the downtown airport, which is depicted in the illustration.  On the gray wall to the right of the buffet hangs a starburst clock that my mom bought for me years ago.

We scored six Brody bentwood chairs on Craigslist for $75 and decided to use three of them for seating in the entry.  

Between two of the chairs we decided on a new piece which we purchased from West Elm.  It has great Mid-Century lines, and I love the varied surface heights for added interest.

Because we're both employed in the arts, we're still looking for the perfect piece to hang above the buffet.  But to complete the design of the entryway, at least for now, CT recently hung his friend Scott's amazing collage in the hallway leading toward our bedroom.  Check out his work here!