Home tours: Check out these midcentury modern homes around Charlotte

Mari Pressley
·4 min read

Do you love the idea of home improvements like hardwood flooring, large windows and skylights? Well, you’ll want to feast your eyes on this home tour with a midcentury twist.

This 12th annual Mad about Modern home tour, which will make seven stops, will take place on Sept. 30 and run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

This midcentury modern home extravaganza features Charlotte’s best homes from the time period and some inspired by them. It will include a VIP ticket option and car show for the first time.

Midcentury modern, a minimalist style of architecture that originated between 1945 and 1970, uses “modernist principles” to build homes that typically have cantilever designs, sleek and simple lines, and flat or angled roofs.

With the new VIP option, you’ll have the luxury of a guided tour of the homes via shuttle bus.

And its classic car show at the Charlotte Museum of History will feature restored examples of cars you would have seen on Charlotte roads during the midcentury modern era.

“The tour is part of our preservation mission, and we hope it encourages people to preserve these historic spaces that contribute to our city’s unique streetscapes and character,” president and CEO of the Charlotte Museum of History Terri L. White said in a statement.

Where are the tour locations?

Garinger High School, 1100 Eastway Dr., Charlotte, NC 28205

Neighborhood: East Charlotte

Built in 1959 and designed by local architect A.G. Odell Jr., this “high school of the future” is one of the longest continually operated schools in Charlotte.

What to look for:

  • Important artifacts

  • Recent renovations

2100 Valencia Terrace, Charlotte, NC 28226

Neighborhood: SouthPark

This 1959 midcentury ranch home designed with California contemporary style features original wood floors, wood paneling and fireplaces.

What to look for:

  • A new custom-built pool and cabana

  • Unique decking

  • Custom planters in its garden space

534 Lansdowne Rd, Charlotte, NC 28270

Neighborhood: Lansdowne

At this split level home built in 1967, new owners have renovated within the existing footprint to combine classic midcentury style with modern living.

What to look for:

  • Large windows

  • Seamlessly blended indoor and outdoor spaces

1401 Stoneyridge Dr, Charlotte, NC 28214

Neighborhood: Coulwood West

Beautiful hardwood flooring and paneling stun in this midcentury modern time capsule from the late ’70s. To make the space look even closer to what it was in 1979, this home has been staged by Fos Restoration, Bird Dog Vintage and Charlotte Vintage with midcentury furniture and decor.

What to look for:

  • Midcentury furniture staging

  • Stonework

1220 Scotland Ave, Charlotte, NC 28207

Neighborhood: Eastover

This home – built in 1981 — is a fresh take on midcentury modern design with natural oasis vibes. You’ll get your first taste of both the postmodern era and the owner’s love for art and nature with its skylights and elevation changes.

What to look for:

  • Unique lighting

  • Glass-paneling railings

  • Recently renovated decks and gardens

1116 Louise Ave, Charlotte, NC 28205

Neighborhood: Belmont

This home, which was built in 2022, recently won the George Matsumoto Prize from NC Modernist. As it is heavily influenced by midcentury modern architecture, owner and architect Marc Manak has used skylights and large windows to maximize light and connect the home to the street outside.

What to look for:

  • Asymmetrical roofline

  • Massive windows

  • Displays of contrast between light and dark and smooth and rough.

Virtual tour of a home in Waxhaw

This 1968 home’s midcentury structure is most visible via its large original brick fireplace and cantilever roof. The current owners, who were looking for a modern house for their young family, have come to love its large windows, which blend seamlessly into its wooded surroundings.

What to look for:

  • A wine cellar

  • A movie theater room

  • Changes in elevation

Antique Automobile Clubs of America Car Show at 3500 Shamrock Dr, Charlotte, NC 28215

As the growth of automobile culture and the ability to build homes both contributed to the midcentury era in Charlotte, members of the Antique Automobile Clubs of America’s Hornet’s Nest Region will showcase restored examples of cars manufactured from 1940 until 1980.

This vintage car will be on display during the Mad About Modern 2023 home tour.
This vintage car will be on display during the Mad About Modern 2023 home tour.

Mad about Modern Tour 2023

When: Saturday, Sept. 30, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Cost: Tickets are available for purchase via madaboutmodern.com. General admission tickets are $35, or $30 for museum members; and $200, or $175 for museum members, for the VIP tour experience.

Proceeds will go to Charlotte Museum of History’s mission of saving and sharing Charlotte’s history.