Before, After, And After That: A 1978 Contemporary Home Exterior Renovation That Actually Gets It Right

When it comes to a 1970s contemporary house exterior renovation, the real question isn’t just how to update it—it’s how to do it without losing the original architecture.

There’s a certain kind of suburban house that shows up again and again in real estate listings—usually described as a “70s or 80s contemporary”.  It’s the one with the angles, the cedar siding, the slightly unconventional layout. And if you’re drawn to modern design, this is often where you land.

But then comes the question: What do I actually do with a house like this?

This series—Before, After, and After That—is my answer to that question. Because the truth is, for their time, these homes were a  postmodern expression of residential design—thoughtful in their forms, forward-thinking in their materials, and designed with a clear architectural point of view.

So the real question becomes: how does this house evolve?

The Original House: A Clear Architectural Point of View

Originally built in 1978, the home carried all the hallmarks of its era—a strong roofline, a slightly quirky asymmetry, cedar siding, and a façade that was more sculptural than decorative.

It wasn’t trying to convey suburban charm. It was working within a very specific design language—and that intent matters.

From the street, the house presents as a clean, geometric volume—defined by its mass, angles, and a deliberate sense of form. This isn’t the whimsical side of postmodernism. There’s a seriousness to this home’s facade.

Where the Architecture Gets Lost

The photos above show real-world updates of this home through the years that start with good intentions—but somewhere along the way, the renovation starts to go sideways.

There’s a clear attempt to break up the mass by introducing additional windows, and that move is directionally right. The facade needs that articulation.

But the scale is off. The windows don’t fully engage the volume they’re set within, and the smaller opening to the left—likely driven by the interior—doesn’t resolve cleanly on the exterior. Instead of feeling intentional, it reads as compromised.

The cool coastal palette only adds to the confusion. The combination of blue, dark gray, and white introduces too many competing elements, pulling attention away from the architecture itself.

Rather than clarifying the form, the update fragments it. If they had simply updated the siding—and stopped—it would have been a far more successful renovation.

Scandinavian-Inspired 1970s Contemporary

The goal here was to bring the house back into alignment with its original architecture— refining the proportions, allowing the facade to read as a unified composition.

The windows are brought into proper scale, fully engaging the facade rather than sitting within it. At the entry, the small transom window is removed, creating a more substantial, two-door entrance that draws attention to what was already a strong and beautifully recessed entrance.

A continuous horizontal overhang is introduced, tying the facade together while giving the entry a greater sense of authority.

The introduction of vertical wood cladding, paired with black window casings, reinforces the natural height of the structure. It allows the house to read as more vertical and composed, rather than wide or squat. Carrying that same narrow vertical cladding across the garage doors is key—it avoids breaking up the facade and strengthens that upward movement across the entire front of the house.

Within the recessed entry, the original diagonal siding remains, creating a subtle contrast against the vertical cladding— a quiet homage to the home’s original design.

The overall approach is lightly Scandinavian—simple, material-driven, and cohesive—but always in service of the architecture rather than overriding it.

Carrying the Architecture Forward

Built in 1978, this house was part of a movement  when residential design had a clear sense of direction—modern, forward-thinking, with a defined architectural point of view.

Now, in 2026, the goal isn’t to replace that—it’s to carry it forward. To make sure that design language isn’t lost or diluted, but allowed to evolve.

When that original point of view is respected, the house doesn’t feel dated or out of place. It feels continuous.

That’s the difference between a renovation—and a design evolution.

This is the third installment in the Before, After, and After That series, examining how 70s and 80s contemporary homes are reimagined —and where those ideas can lead next. The first two installments are linked below.

Before, After And After That: Defining The Entry Of A 1983 Contemporary Home

Before, After And After That: A Modest 1970s Split-Level Remodel You Need To See