The Atomic House is the name of a very special mid-century home in Houston. Westbury, an up and coming neighborhood in the 1950s and 1960s, is full of atomic era mid-century homes. At the time they were built, these homes were cutting edge displays of modern design.
The Atomic House was built for and featured in the Westbury Parade of Homes Tour in 1959. The house was actually raffled to a lucky winner that toured the homes that year. This was a common custom for the Parade of Homes and here’s an example of their “Giveaway House” from the Lindale Park area near Houston Heights. *SWOON*
Baranna Baker, collector of mid century ceramics and current owner, keeps the house as an immaculate time capsule and has restored this mid-century home to it’s original beauty. Take a look at this picture tour of a fabulous mid-century home in Houston.
The home has a flat roof and wide windowed double doors. It opens into a geometric style tiled foyer. The tile is original from 1959 and has bright pops of color.
Part of the charm of the Atomic House are the updates that Baranna made herself. These shelves for example, were her idea and executed by an architect friend in modern style. These Eames chairs are a collection of several different productions of the famous mid century chair.
The open floor plan was a unique and modern feature of the Atomic House. The original wood paneled room separators are in near mint condition and perfectly match the open shelves that connect the kitchen and kitchenette. The aqua in the kitchen was updated by Baranna, because it is her favorite color but is true to the era. The oven is in it’s original aqua from the 1960’s and works like a charm!
The shelves separating the kitchen and dining area are filled with Russel Wright ceramics part of Baranna’s mid-century ceramics collection. Even the drinking glasses are vintage! Baranna says that a portion of her collection comes from small oil towns across Texas that thrived during the 1960s.
A big portion of her vintage business is from treasure hunting estate sales and antique shops across Texas.
The children’s bedroom is particularly amazing because it was updated by the previous owner to an 80s style of kids room. When Baranna bought the house, she had a few original photos and ads of from it’s days as the Parade of Homes Giveaway House. It showed the children’s bedroom to look a lot like Baranna’s update. She used vintage children’s wallpaper covered in animals to complete the room.
Can’t get enough of this midcentury dream home? You can check out the Atomic House in person by booking it on AirBnB (sorry no longer available).
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