celebrating 10 YEARS of cincinnatimodern

our new Charley Harper license plate (proceeds used to benefit the Glen Helen Ecology Institute, a Harper favorite)

After 10 years of working with the coolest homes and people in town, we feel we have the ability and the ‘license’ to generalize.

Things we have learned about moddies:

·      They often drive VW’s (or Audis)
·      They wear interesting glasses.  ‘Hipster’ before the term was coined
·      They have Charley and or Edie Harper artwork
·      They tend to be open minded, and interesting to talk to
·      They have very creative children (or are the creative children of interesting modern parents)
·      They have an affinity for cats (the modern pet?)
·      They have a lot of chairs (we first learned this from Chris Magee)
·      Their appreciation of flat roofs outweighs the fear (and they have their roofer on the speed dial)
·      They have all, at one time or another, stopped to pick up something interesting out of the trash

our VW fleet with 'ohiomodern' license plates

Other random observations:

·      Children love modern architecture and design
·      Good design never goes out of style
·      You will regret a trendy or contemporary ‘remodel’ ( think mauve, brass and vessel sinks…)
·      Reproduction furniture can be just as good as the real thing if good quality and used for everyday living
·      Super ‘ugly’ vintage formica (and tile) grows on you
·      It used to cost more to frame a Harper print than the print itself cost
·      They don’t build them like they used to

Thank you for all for a fabulous 10 years, and for your continued support!

~Susan and Arlen

spring market update

It may not feel like Spring, but the market is hotter than hot.  If you want to buy a house, this is what you have to do: talk to a lender, get a prequalification letter and let us know what you are looking for.  We will set up a search, and when there is something you want to see, schedule to see it the day it goes on the market.  Seriously.  There is no more waiting around, no more low balling offers.  Multiple offers are back and you can have an advantage by working with experienced agents and a great lending team. 

We know what it takes to get deals done and we have assembled a team of top notch professionals (lenders, inspectors, title company) to streamline the process.  No need to reinvent the wheel.  We’ve been there.  We’ve done that. 

And our advice for wannabe sellers: get your house on the market.  Now!  Inventory is super low and buyers are out in force.  It is a market that we have not seen in several years.  Internet presence for new listings is of utmost importance.  NEVER list with a company or agent who does not put your 15  (great quality) mls photos up immediately with your new listing.  We put all of our listings on a pedestal for everyone to find.  Our visual tours get thousands of views, and we make custom brochures for all of our listings.  And guess what – listing with the best does not cost any more!  We do all this for the same percentage as other agents. 

We are known for our gorgeous, eye-candy modern listings.  But we have built our business by selling all types of homes in all price ranges.  We are happy to work with all buyers and sellers – we only ask that you are loyal to us, follow our advice, and really want to buy or really want to sell (or both). 

To all of our success in this new market!  

~Susan

do a little, save a lot

the cf3 ask the experts panel: lou batsch, chris magee, susan rissover, david smith, judith kuhlmann, fritz kuhlmann, and TV personality and producer Jay Shatz. photo by wendy magee photography

The cf3 Ask the Experts Panel Discussion last week touched on a lot of different topics, but we barely had time to scratch the surface of a big issue with midcentury homeowners – energy efficiency.  Energy costs in the 1950’s and 60’s were not really an issue.  Keeping your house cool in the summer – before central air conditioning was widely used was probably the biggest challenge.  In the winter, you just cranked your heat up. 

our kitties harper and miller are very curious watching katey setting up the blower door test during our energy audit.When we listed the Garber house last fall, we were inspired by their recent energy audit.  The house already had a lot of energy improvements by the previous owner (insulated windows, extra roof insulation), and the subsequent owners wanted to kick it up another notch.  We called the non profit Greater Cincinnati Energy Alliance and scheduled our own audit.  We were kind of clueless as to what else we could do to improve our efficiency and comfort, so we turned to the pros. 

Much to our surprise (and relief), our original 1956 thermal pane Anderson windows were not a significant source of air infiltration.  But there were many other culprits.  Our rim joist was not sufficiently insulated.  Honestly, I did not even know we had a rim joist.  We also sealed our exposed ductwork with mastic and put a new vapor barrier in our crawl space.  Our new roof will have added insulation as well.  And as icing on the cake, the government provided matching funds for most of the recommended improvements - lots of little things that will hopefully add to our overall comfort and energy savings for years to come.

our mastic sealed ductwork. this is what an insulated rim joist looks like! overall, between the first blower door test and the second after the improvements, we experienced a 30% reduction in cfm., which is greater than the desired result!Our favorite improvement by far is our new LED recessed lighting.  I did not realize that recessed lights are a major source of air infiltration (especially in a post and beam house like ours with no insulated attic space)!   Not to mention that they are energy hogs, burning 65 or 75 w incandescent bulbs.  I am not a fan of the quality of light from CFL bulbs (and was resisting the conversion), so was thrilled to hear that there was an alternative that burns at only 9.5 w, and lasts for 20+ years.  The initial outlay was big, but the quality of light is outstanding.  They were easy to install in our existing cans, are crisp and white and look fantastic. 

we ordered the lights on amazon, and arlen was able to retrofit out existing can lights in minutes. we even have them over our bathroom sinks and the lighting is great for putting on make up (the true test)!

The overall recommendation from the cf3 ask the experts panel was to consult professionals who in the long run can save you money.  In this case, we did just that and were very pleased with the results.  

~Susan 

if you missed the cf3 ask the experts panel and would like to watch it, click here.  It's about an hour of informative suggestions for midcentury homeowners and collectors. Thanks to Allie and Tyler Weaver for recording it.  

the show of shows!

lots of changes.....

 our previous home in madeira (where we lived from fall '91 - fall '97) meeting an untimely demise in december 2011. check out that gorgeous birch tree in the foreground and read the post script below.

There is a fine line between preservation and progress.  Cincinnati Pubic Schools is in the final stage of their massive Facilities Master Plan in which all schools in the district will either be surplused, razed and rebuilt, or remodeled.  The whole issue has me torn as well.  As an architecture buff and preservationist at heart, I hate to see the old buildings come down.  But in the case of many of these old schools (the 1949 Art Moderne North Avondale Montessori a case in point) interesting architecture and history cannot make up for a lack of function.  Sometimes it is just time to move on.

Our kids are still fairly young – 15, 20 and 23.  But in the past 3 years, their preschool (circa late 1970’s with addition from the 1990’s) has come down, their grade school (the aforementioned North Avondale Montessori) has been replaced with a brand new building.  The original SCPA building (attended by our youngest for 4-6^th grade) is being turned into apartments, and Walnut Hills High School (alma mater of Arlen and our two older kids, and Tenley’s current school) – a stately 1930 interpretation of Monticello by architects Woodward and Garber - is undergoing a complete renovation and partial rebuild.  The pool where Kirsten holds a school record has been filled in.  When all is done, only the exterior, the auditorium, and domed library will be recognizable. Even Silverton Park where they used to play is gone -  now the site of the new Silverton School.

So with so much of our children’s history being ‘erased,’ it was particularly distressing to hear that our previous home – the one we moved to when Trent was 3, and the one we first brought our baby girls home to when they were born – was seriously damaged in a fire about a year ago.  It’s taken me this long to be able to write about it.  There is nothing quite so sad as a burned out house.  This sturdy 1956 midcentury ranch seemed indestructible (it even had a bomb shelter under the front porch), but it could not stand up to the damage of fire and smoke.  Shortly after we took these photos, it was torn down and was listed as a prime Madeira building lot for sale.  We drove by to take a look and I could not resist the urge to walk around the newly cleared ‘lot.’  Even picked up a couple of souvenirs from the freshly churned dirt – a piece of the grey bathroom tile and a piece of pool tile.  These and pictures and memories are all that is left of the home where we all became a family.  

snapped these pics on my phone shortly after we heard the news of the fire in january '12our once gorgeous back yard. the owner filled the pool in shortly after he bought the house from us :(

I wanted to take this opportunity to pay tribute to this classic ranch – the kind so plentiful in Cincinnati and so often overlooked.  We saw the potential under all of the hideous wallpaper.  Making this house into a modern home was truly a labor of love.  And while we must admit – we were originally more drawn to the pool than the house – we truly enjoyed our 6 years of classic midcentury ranch living!  They really don’t build them like this any more!  And Cincinnati is loaded with granny ranches like this looking for a new lease on life - and hopefully with a happier outcome :)

~Susan

these 'before' photos are from August 1991.  the 'mondrian-esque' front window spoke to us, as did the cool modern fireplace and brick wall in an otherwise plain house.  through layers and layers of wallpaper and nicotine was a solid house with great bones. please, enjoy the slideshow.  especially the wallpaper :)

and here are a few 'after' photos.  we stripped the wallpaper and carpet, refinished the wood floors, and painted everything white - instantly giving the house a more modern gallery type feel.  we also replaced small windows in the master and LL family room with walkouts, removed the concrete staircase off of the kitchen (no small feat) and added a multi level deck to bridge the house and the pool. made a few missteps along the way - looking back wewould not have removed the powder room tile and crane sink (d'oh) - but it was the early '90's - glad we didn't do worse!  I only wish we had more and better photos.  this was before digital photography....and my wide angle lens!

~ Post Script ~ Arlen drove by the ‘lot’ yesterday and there was a bulldozer on site, getting ready to build a home for another family.  And next to the bulldozer, lying on the ground, was our big beautiful birch tree that we had planted as a sapling and survived the fire in perfect condition. The very last remnant of ‘our’ house….