Announcing Atomic Ranch's Project House!

Atomic Ranch Project House architectural rendering — An architectural rendering of Atomic Ranch’s Project House shows how the builder, Mid Century Custom Homes, applies MCM principles to a new build.

Atomic Ranch has just launched a new series called the Project House. For a full year we’ll be following along as Mid Century Custom Homes and Breathe Design Studio come together to create a dream home inspired by the tenets of Mid Century Modern architecture and design.

For anyone curious about embarking on a custom Mid Century Modern build it’s an opportunity to see what it takes: from vision and budget to design decisions, inside and out. But there are lessons anyone can take away from a project like this, including remodel inspiration and renovation ideas. Atomic Ranch Brand Leader Jickie Torres shares her insight into this new series.

Project House builder's previous work — This spacious, light-filled living room shows Mid Century Custom Homes’ previous work.

**Q: Why document a new build? Isn’t Atomic Ranch all about authentic Mid Century Modern homes?**

JICKIE: A new build with Mid Century Modern style. Those can be controversial words. For Mid Century Modern devotees (like me), the highest objective is saving, rescuing and celebrating creations from the golden era of modern architecture. And there are many out there to be saved, right? Well for me, following along on this build is not about abandoning that mission; rather, it’s about a way to expand it. It’s about the chance to watch what happens when you approach a design/build with the long tradition of mid mod in mind. How does the lineage of MCM style get expressed with current day access and abilities? And frankly, not everyone has an opportunity to land the historic mod gem of their dreams—many factors can prevent that from location to inventory. But new builds are an entry point for some people. And if more builders specialized in Mid Century Modern style homes, well, new neighborhoods could start to look a lot more interesting.

Project House builder bathroom — This bathroom shows a contemporary-sized bathroom designed with MCM in mind.

Q: What excites you the most about the idea of building new mid century-style homes?

JICKIE: It’s a unique opportunity for Mid Century Modern fans to recreate everything they love about the era’s design and architecture, while getting the modern conveniences that you can’t always renovate into an old home. I wouldn’t love seeing an authentic mid mod house get stretched and enlarged or blown out so much that you lose the integrity of the home. But seeing someone create something that is an homage to the great architects of the period while building a floor plan for today? With great storage, ample amenities, dream features and room for how we live today? That can be a really exciting and intriguing thing to see.

Q: What do you expect to learn?

JICKIE: I expect that I, like anyone following along on this year-long journey, will learn how to balance old and new. There are similar design dilemmas at play here that anyone can relate to. How do I design a room that feels architecturally full, yet elegant and thoughtful? How do I fill a large space and bring in stylish comfort? What design elements can I bring into the kitchen that make it exciting yet timeless? I think we’ll get to follow along the process behind these decisions and get takeaways that can apply to our own spaces, no matter what specs we’re working with.

Project House builder exterior — This exterior from a previous Mid Century Custom Design-built home gives the same post-and-beam, indoor-outdoor connection you’d expect of an MCM home.

Want to learn more about the Project House? Get a sneak peek by previewing some of the products we’ll be using in “Best Mid Mod Products for a New Build” and “MCM Siding 101 with Eichler Siding.” Stay tuned here at atomic-ranch.com, in our print issues, and follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to keep tabs on all things Project House!