LIVING IN Berkeley, California, in 2021 felt like sitting on the front lines of a shifting world. The Covid-19 pandemic had upended daily routines, and the West Coast fire season added instability to isolation. For one young family living thousands of miles away from their support system in Indiana, the stress was especially palpable. While they loved the Bay Area for its climate and culture, the couple began to look for a second home that would offer them variety and a chance to build memories.
The couple’s Midwest housing search led them to Bloomington, a place the husband recalled fondly from his studies at Indiana University. With its blend of college-town energy, scenic beauty, and proximity to family, Bloomington seemed like the ideal mix of urban convenience and rural charm.
The call came on a Saturday evening, shortly after the family returned from the beach. According to their Realtor, a house that was about to go on the market was a must-see. Sure enough, after a 30-minute FaceTime tour, the couple was ready to submit an offer.
From the living room of their 1,600-square-foot Bay Area townhome, the couple pictured all the potential the midcentury modern home held as a totally different space. Namely, natural light, warmth, privacy, and room for outdoor activities.
“This house had a lot of character for the Midwest,” says the wife. “Even over FaceTime, you could tell there was so much detail, thought, and care put into the home.”
Perhaps the couple felt a connection to the place because the first owners were also transplants from California. Built in 1960 by the Martin family, the house is a true architectural gem—designed using plans from a 1959 Ladies’ Home Journal issue. The property remained in the Martin family until 2018, when it was sold to another California couple who left it relatively untouched. The home has certainly stood the test of time over 65 years, but like any aging beauty, it needed a little TLC to bring it into the 21st century.
When it came time to find the right contractor to tackle the renovation, the new owners knew they wanted to hire someone who would honor the house’s legacy. Enter Loren Wood Builders, a company that specializes in large-scale renovations of architecturally significant homes, many of them in the midcentury modern style.
Loren Wood and his team have worked on homes around Bloomington, including one just across the street from this property. Wood had visited the house in the past and already had a grasp of the project scope. His connection to the house and the neighborhood made him the perfect fit for the job.
“It’s a real treat to work with a house like this, one that has such a rich history and amazing original architecture and construction,” says Wood. “This house was well-designed, well-built, and well-maintained for over 60 years.”
The first thing Wood and his team did was stabilize the home and bring it up to code. It had aging mechanicals, bad wiring, and flooding issues. In fact, in the early stages of the project, a giant rainstorm left several feet of standing water in the basement. From California, the homeowners felt helpless. Wood’s team came to the rescue and remediated the damage.
“We weren’t even under contract yet. Loren went above and beyond before the project even started,” says the husband. “The amount of care, concern, and detail Loren and his team put into our home without being asked was amazing.”
From the start, the goal of the renovation was clear: Stay true to the home’s original design and respect the spirit of the architecture while also updating it for modern living. “This style is very different from our Berkeley home,” says the wife. “This was our chance to create a space that’s warm, and cozy, and fun.”
Throughout the process, Wood and his team worked closely with the homeowners to ensure the updates reflected the period in which the home was built and maintained its original details and character. The features significant to the 1960 design—like the expansive glass windows, symmetrical floor plan, and radiant floor heating—were meticulously preserved. The materials, too, were painstakingly preserved and reused. The stone and California redwood remain as primary fixtures of the design both inside and outside the home.
Among the many challenges in renovating the old house, the kitchen stood out as a top priority. “The kitchen, laundry room, and bathroom were all one
room,” says the wife. “I could see the toilet from the stove. I knew that had to change.”
Unfortunately, being built on a concrete slab meant the plumbing was set in stone, making it impossible to move key elements without costly and complex alterations. The owners knew they couldn’t relocate the laundry room or bathroom, so they had to find another way to create separation.
The solution came through the creative partnership of architecture and design, led by teams from Indianapolis firm Haus and California-based 3 Hill Designs. The fix? A clever hidden door in the kitchen, a feature that provides visual separation from the intermingled laundry room and bathroom without compromising the structure. A grain-matched walnut door now blends seamlessly with the rest of the cabinets and walls, going unnoticed to guests and anyone who doesn’t know the trap door exists. This late-stage idea transformed the area from an awkward, cluttered space into a set of elegant, functional rooms that align with the home’s aesthetic.
Redwood and walnut surfaces abound in the kitchen, flanked by a quartz backsplash and floating shelves. The kitchen island connects directly to the dining table bench and is constructed of walnut sourced from just beyond the sweeping glass doors. “The walnut came from dead trees that were on the property,” the wife explains. “They were at risk of falling and potentially damaging the house, so we had them milled and kiln-dried to make furniture for the home.”
Another modern design decision that stands out in the kitchen—and is mirrored throughout the entire home—is the lack of knobs and handles. Instead, sleek push-to-open drawers and doors were installed. This sleek aesthetic was key for the homeowners, who wanted the kitchen to remain streamlined and easy to clean, especially with a toddler in the house.
Upstairs, the symmetry and balance of the home continue, with bedrooms on either wing mirroring each other. The homeowners sacrificed some closet space to increase the footprint of the bathrooms. Light tile and white counters balance the warmth of the redwood, with ample natural light flowing in through the original casement windows.
Outside, the setting is stunning—a serene, private retreat that feels tucked away from the world, despite being in a neighborhood. The back patio features a uniquely designed firepit area. Sunken bench seating enhances the privacy and reduces visual clutter while nodding to a key 1960s design staple.
The biggest challenges of this renovation are also the ones Wood is most proud of. “Often when you are gutting a house, most of it goes. There’s no risk of collateral damage,” Wood says. “Here, we had to work around the existing conditions, like glass and soft redwood.”
Not to mention keeping some pesky houseplants alive. Wood nurtured species that had been growing in a built-in planter box alongside the staircase for many years. The potted plants had to be moved for the span of the renovation to protect them.
Those plants are now back in their rightful home near a room adorned with a black-and-white abstract-print rug that’s also been on the property for years. Above the greenery is a catwalk connecting the two wings of the home, which was refinished with redwood found in the basement during construction. To the untrained eye, the edge detail may look like trim, but it actually functions as a vent system for the radiant floor heating.
Unique elements like this, successfully brought to life by Wood and his team’s craftsmanship, caused the renovation budget to “balloon a bit.” But ultimately, the homeowners decided the magic was all in the details.
“The reason we put so much into the house is because we had complete trust in Loren and his team,” the wife says. “Even though managing it remotely wasn’t always easy and quality control could be a challenge, we were 100-percent happy with the results. Loren took some liberties with the design—things we wouldn’t have even thought of, like curving the edges of the trim. In the end, everything he did was exactly what we wanted.”
Moving in October 2023, the couple found a peaceful escape from life as they knew it on the West Coast. After living in their new-to-them home for more than a year, the family has made Indiana their full-time residence.
