Houzz Tour: Midcentury Beach House Opens Up to the Outdoors

This article originally appeared on Houzz.com.

Paul Huggett and Ron Gagliardo didn’t plan to change a thing about their midcentury modern find two blocks from the beach in Seattle. But after three years, things started falling apart in the 1951 home, and they were forced to reconsider. They saw an opportunity to capitalize on the existing open floor plan to create an indoor-outdoor entertaining space.

“After” photos by Cindy Apple

Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Paul Huggett and Ron Gagliardo
Location: Seattle
Size: 2,200 square feet (185.8 square meters); three bedrooms; two bathrooms
Year built: 1951
Budget: $100,000 to $150,000

Midcentury modern architecture is rare in Huggett’s hometown of Atlanta, so when he moved to the West Coast he seized the opportunity to buy a house that embodied the 1950s.

“I didn’t think we were going to renovate the house at all. We loved the character it had,” Huggett says. But then the kitchen cabinets, slathered in several layers of paint, started falling apart.

By Jennifer Christgau-Aquino – See more Home Design Photos

BEFORE: The couple loved the brick fireplace, large windows and high ceilings, but they saw an opportunity to update the living space, including the kitchen, to maximize their home’s entertaining potential.

Their contractor, Joey Fentress, had experience with midcentury modern homes, had a lot of great ideas and was onboard with keeping the home’s original layout intact.

AFTER: They wanted to create better flow between the indoor and outdoor spaces, especially since the home is so close to the beach and the weather is fairly temperate year-round. They replaced one window in the living room with a door leading to the front yard.

“We love to entertain, living so close to the beach. We wanted to open up the windows so you had a big entrance into the house,” Huggett says.

Photo by Proform Construction LLC – Look for midcentury home design pictures

Because they didn’t want to change the window configuration, their options were limited. Huggett found a Seattle manufacturer that designs doors on pivots. He asked the company to create a giant window that would rotate just like a door but didn’t require the same framing.

The result is a giant window with a pivot that allows it to rotate open, but when the window is closed, it maintains the original configuration.

Pivoting window: HH Windows

Photo by Proform Construction LLC – Search midcentury home design pictures

Now there’s a connection with the front yard, where Fentress built an ipe deck. “It has created a really fun entertaining house now, and it feels larger. The only thing we did is really update the windows in there,” Huggett says.

A change in flooring also visually expanded the space. The dining room, living room and kitchen had been broken up by a mix of hardwood, carpet and linoleum; the couple installed a light oak hardwood throughout. They also replaced the front door; glass panels match the frosted, rippled glass in the window between the door and the fireplace.

Photo by Proform Construction

BEFORE: The homeowners wanted to keep the kitchen’s 1950s vibe and layout but get rid of what didn’t work.

Photo by Proform Construction LLC – More midcentury home design ideas

AFTER: They replaced the deteriorating white kitchen cabinets with custom-made oak flat-front cabinets and had custom shelves made to frame the original block windows.

The wall is now an architectural feature that unifies the asymmetrical design of the windows.

Photo by Proform Construction

BEFORE: The original upper shelving between the kitchen and dining room was another feature they wanted to update. The old shelving was low, which made for awkward conversation and sightlines between the two spaces.