When Chad and Grace Jensen bought their ranch-style home in Overland Park, the design had been mostly untouched from its original mid-century feel. During the last four years, the couple has worked to revive the style of the home to bring new life to its design and vibe.
The home was a custom build in 1963 by the original owners who lived there until 2012. While the Jensens took out a partial wall and switched the locations of the living room and dining room, they kept the rest of the floor plan intact as they desired to honor the original layout.
“We want the overall vibe to be communal, welcoming and inspiring,” Chad says. “We like to challenge the thought of form, texture, and color in traditional settings. We want people to see a clock but also be introduced to untraditional forms. The design is somewhere between mid-century atomic and bohemian. We call it atomic boho.”
With nearly everything in the home being updated in some way, they have painted all the rooms and refreshed the windows and bamboo wood floors. In the kitchen they restored the cabinetry and removed wood paneling.
The artwork on display includes many of Chad’s own pieces. He says each piece that comes into their home has different lines and shapes than the other pieces in the home, from the sputnik chandelier in the dining room to the various lamps, clocks, and tables throughout. They even have a couple of record players on display.
“Nothing comes into the house unless it has a personal connection to the family,” Chad says. “Every piece has a story that collectively illustrates interest, personality and feeling. Personality is poured into every surface.”
Outside, the back patio features brick flooring, a barn quit, hanging lights and a privacy wall. The couple says the creation of this outdoor oasis was their pandemic project.
The next task is finishing off the basement, which will be designed to include a movie theater, a place to display his collection of action figures, a gym and play space for the couple’s two children.
Overall, Chad says the design of the home was very modern for its time, including a laundry room on the main level, double sinks in the bathrooms, and the master bedroom at the front of the home that includes a large bathroom.
Grace says her favorite feature of the home is the vaulted ceilings, and Chad says his favorite is the original master bedroom doors with their Japanese influence.
Chad and Grace completed nearly all the work on the home themselves with the only exception being the electrical. With about 1,800 square feet on the main level and about 1,600 square feet in the basement, the family enjoys the sense of closeness the home provides. The couple plans to stay in the home for years to come and hopes their children will find inspiration there.
“We want creativity to be normal and ideas to be unfiltered,” Chad says.
