I had the best time at the Nevada Preservation Foundation’s Home & History tour on May 8. My speech went really well — and I had such fun doing it — no nerves whatsoever talking in front of 250 people about this topic I love, “Love The House You’re In.” And then, the really fun part: Touring 10 mid mod houses clustered in two mid mod Las Vegas neighborhoods. Over the next several weeks, I’m going to milk this trip for all it’s worth — there’s a lot to cover!!! — by giving you a peek into some of the fabulousness we all saw, with a dash of Las Vegas midcentury modern history thrown in. First up: A look inside the first house I visited, the home of Jack LeVine — a realtor and blogger who was one of the The Very First People that I “met” when I started the blog eight years ago. He has been one of the biggest boosters of midcentury homes in Las Vegas for many years!
A 1954 Desert Modern home:
Here’s what the Nevada Preservation Foundation said about his 1954 house:
Built in 1954, this custom home is a prime example of Desert Modernism, a style that was popularized in Palm Springs during the mid-century. The stacked stone fireplace and window shadow boxes, high ceilings and exposed beams, and shadow block wall surrounding the property are prominent features of Desert Modern architecture. The Mondrian inspired kitchen was created by the current homeowner after the De Stilj movement in painting, a style that was popularized starting in the 1920s.
Above: A very happy spot in Jack’s house is the kitchen. The cabinets are original — and to my eye, the doors seem to be made of Weldtex.
Jack gives full credit to his partner, Mark Adams, as the designer, decorator and the creative force who actually gets things done around the house. For example, he said, Mark did all the painting — including the Mondrian of the workshop and the kitchen cabinets. “(I’m only allowed to do demolition and clean up 🙂 ),” Jack said!
Oh and the kitchen countertops: Yum yum, glitter laminate!
Any friend of Gumby is a friend of mine!
Above: This is a shot of the beamed ceiling in the living room. Weldtex is also used in between the beams. A nice touch — adds texture without taking over.
Above: Mark repeated the Mondrian theme in the workroom, painting a wall of cabinet doors in different primary colors and white.
In the living room, Jack’s pride and joy was this room divider. Very cleverly: He installed it in the “stackback” area of a valance that once would have hidden traverse rods spanning the patio doors to the back yard. So, the tip/takeaway here: If you have a vintage room divider like this, consider using it as wall art instead of a room divider, assuming you have the right spot to do so. And remember, it’s wise to get the wiring in any vintage lighting checked out by a pro.
Of course, inside the house there were other cozy nooks … vintage lighting .. vintage furniture and decor … to feast your eyes upon.
Lovely living room seating area. Behind the plants at the right: A mirrored wall — a brilliant touch to bring out that corner!
Oh, another tip/takeaway: These plants are lit from below. Great visual impact!
As you may be aware, Las Vegas and much of the west has been in a severe drought situation for several years. So there’s lots of ‘xeriscaping’ — landscaping sans lawns and thirsty plants. I literally gasped with delight when I saw that one half of Jack’s backyard was covered with astroturf — and featured its own mini put put golf course! I love it!
Heading to the other half of the back yard: A built in barbeque area, of course!
34 different designs of breeze blocks!
And my favorite favorite favorite part of the whole house: Jack has been collecting breeze blocks — aka decorative concrete blocks — for years. He says that so far, he has 34 distinct designs! And again — brilliantly — has created a display along the concrete block wall that defines his back yard. Some of the blocks come from old Las Vegas hotels that were torn down! I took photos of each of the blocks individually, and some time in the near future will do a story. But cropping them etc will be “some therapy” – ack!
Retro Renovation readers are kinda obsessed with breeze blocks; my stories on them are among the most popular in terms of search etc:
- 15+ companies that sell decorative concrete screen blocks – comprehensive list (be sure to check the comments, too)
Of course, enjoying the outdoors is a major benefit of living in a desert climate like Las Vegas. Jack’s outdoor patio is divine. I love the slatted roof!
And out front, dig the carport.
The first time I wrote about Jack:
Above: This is not Jack’s house — this is a listing of his that I wrote about in 2008 — that’s how far back we go!
The house had “nine Moes in a row”. I will guess this is the first time that I ever saw this Moe honeycomb lighting.
- See more of this 2008 listing: A 1966 Rat Pack time capsule house in Vintage Las Vegas
- Moe honeycomb lighting: Moe honeycomb lighting: The full line, from a 1968 catalog, plus 4 hilarious room shots
Midcentury housing in Las Vegas — Interest has grown exponentially
I have known Jack for so long — we started blogging around the same time, and he has been a realtor even longer — so I asked him to describe current interest in all things midcentury in Las Vegas today versus 10years ago. He said:
The interest in all things “mid-century” has grown exponentially in the last 10 years. The millennials love it, and the boomers are coming back to our childhoods. We have dozens of great neighborhoods – full of minimal traditional, ranch, rambler, cinderellas, cottages and more. The true “desert modern” homes are fewer and further between and are highly sought after.
I believe it! I LOVED all the mid mod neighborhoods I saw on the tour, and mind you, I was racing so I couldn’t even really soak it all in. Viva Vintage Las Vegas!
Link love:
- Jack LeVine’s website — Very Vintage Las Vegas
- 2016 Vintage Vegas Home & History tour brought to us by Nevada Preservation Foundation
Carolyn says
Obviously not enough room here to comment on everything I’d like to but will call out the hanging lamp room divider – highly doubt I’d ever find one but could adapt by having several telescoping lamps in a row – ? Breeze blocks – never hear that term, only decorative concrete – who knew?!
Any-hoosis – could it be the surge of interest in the last 10 yrs can be attributed to post-WWII homeowners having to give up housekeeping and now this treasure trove is coming available? And it’s still available because it was made to last, Mom kept things nice, we were taught to respect our belongings (or suffer the consequences), and kids were outside most of the time? And they didn’t just throw things out until it was absolutely, positively unsalvage-able (in other words, they never threw anything out!)? Just my theory.
Can’t wait to see what the coming weeks will bring! In the meantime, I will click on the links!
Violet says
Interesting, isn’t it? I think America has seen the last of these. It’s extremely unlikely that any “time capsules” houses of the current era of home design and decor will still be standing 50 years from now.
The virtues that kept homes intact with their decor for decades; thrift, stable jobs, intact families and marriages and so forth are gone from the general populace.
Much of our merchandise is tawdry throw-aways from China; none of it will last except as NOS tucked away in drawer or garage.
Everyday 21st century design is largely derivative and won’t be preserved outside of a few digital images (even paper magazines have become few and far between).
I guess the point is to enjoy it while we can; your kids and grandkids won’t be able to.
Retroski says
A sad perspective! I think the handmade and better made things will last, and there’s usually a group of “lovers of the old” in every generation. It probably won’t be the same for our kids and kids’ kids’ but there are definitely those among the Gen Xrs and Millienials who value the “Greatest Generation” values of thrift and strong families, hard work, etc, so I don’t think it’ll totally go away. Living simply and homesteading are gaining tread so thankfully not everybody buys into the “tawdry made in China” mentality.
Carolyn says
Violet, to address what Retroski mentioned, not only living simply and homesteading but handcrafts will make a comeback. I think it’s a cyclical swing of handmade to machine-made to materialistic dump and move back to handmade via sites like Etsy and Pinterest. You only need to look to this site to see young people embracing quality and putting their own spin on it.
To that I say “Yea & Yippy!”
Heather Hope says
“…Jack and Mark just hosted our local Flamingo Club – a monthly traveling cocktail party in the Vintage Vegas ‘hoods – on Saturday night.”
Thank you, Heidi Swank, for one of the best things I’ve read today! Along with the whole post, that is 🙂
tammyCA says
Oh, my that light room divider is divine..yes, an art piece. Also, adore those pretty “9 Moes in a row” from the listing. Glad to see mcm is alive & revived in Vegas..it will always be in my mind the kind I see in the swanky, cool decor & architecture of the ’60s movies, “viva Las Vegas”, “ocean’s eleven”, etc.
Debbie in Portland says
The workroom and the kitchen make me start humming the theme from “The Partridge Family”. 🙂 What a happy house!
Melinda says
So much to love here! Mondrian kitchen, built in planter and breeze block – I can scarcely contain myself.
Jay says
Wow, the breeze block display has elevated a mass produced concrete item to a sculptural level; I think it would be interesting to see them lit at night. Also a nice collection of patio furniture. Glad to see that a lot of the MCM housing is still standing in a city known for tearing down and rebuilding.
Heidi Swank says
Jack and Mark just hosted our local Flamingo Club – a monthly traveling cocktail party in the Vintage Vegas ‘hoods – on Saturday night. They had each block lit from behind. Very very nice effect.
Jamie Longson says
I just picked up two of those outdoor wire chairs for $8 each – I just need to find some cushions and a table now 😉
Karen says
And I picked up 2 of the outdoor wire rocker chairs with pads for $10 each. Would love on of the aluminum umbrellas like Jack’s! No need to worry about them flipping inside out in a wind (I hope).
Marc says
Great job Jack!
Mod Betty / RetroRoadmap.com says
OMG Breeze Block Envy!!! What a great idea!
Thanks for sharing Pam – glad you had a great time!
Mary Elizabeth says
Of everything in Jack’s house, I love the kitchen the best! Just wonderfully creative and unique. Good for him, promoting mid-century houses.
Mstark08 says
If you’re on a Mac I think you can batch process the crops pretty easily. I’m approaching some time off in a few weeks and would be happy to help.
pam kueber says
Thanks for the offer! I think Kate will get the assignment at some point — she is on a Mac and yes, wicked fast!