✦ What Can We Learn from the 1950s Split-Level Home?

This article forms part of the Decorative and Applied Arts Encyclopedia, a master reference hub providing a structured overview of design history, materials, movements, and practitioners.

Exterior view of a 1950s split-level home with wood siding and simple roofline
The home’s unbroken roofline and single-material wood siding create a calm, cohesive street presence—hallmarks of well-resolved mid-century design.

The 1950s split-level home, as seen in this Better Homes and Gardens feature, teaches us several enduring lessons about residential design—lessons that remain highly relevant today:

1. Zoning Matters

By separating living, sleeping, and recreation across three connected levels, the split-level created functional zones without wasted space. It anticipated today’s demand for flexible, multipurpose spaces—such as home offices, playrooms, or quiet dens.

Takeaway: Good layout doesn’t require more square metres—it needs better flow.

2. Design for Family Life

This home was clearly built for families, with practical materials, visual supervision, and space for both togetherness and solitude. The lower-level recreation room lets children play freely without dominating the house.

Blueprint-style floor plan of 1958 split-level home
The home’s smartly divided floor plan separates sleeping, living, and recreation zones across three staggered levels

Takeaway: Family-centric design means more than extra bedrooms—it’s about creating harmony between shared and private space.

3. Privacy from the Street, Openness to the Garden

Unlike many modern suburban homes that face the curb, this house turns inward. Its most open spaces face the backyard, not the road, maximising privacy and connection to nature.

Exterior view of a 1950s split-level home with wood siding and simple roofline
The home’s unbroken roofline and single-material wood siding create a calm, cohesive street presence—hallmarks of well-resolved mid-century design.

Takeaway: Orient your home to embrace its environment, not just face the street.

4. Light and Volume Without Sprawl

Vaulted ceilings, exposed beams, and large glazed walls give this modestly sized home a sense of space and drama. These choices reflect a deep understanding of proportion, light, and volume.

Nighttime view into illuminated living room through glass wall
At night, the living room glows like a lantern through the glass wall, revealing its warm palette and modernist furnishing.

Takeaway: Smart use of height and glass can make a compact space feel expansive.

5. Unified Simplicity

The exterior’s continuous wood siding and unbroken roofline avoid the visual chaos seen in some contemporary builds. This home balances character with coherence.

Takeaway: A restrained, consistent material palette enhances both beauty and value.

Mid-century modern living-dining room with vaulted ceiling, glass wall, and red chairs
Mid-century child’s bedroom with wooden floor, modern chair, and dresser
Downstairs family room with vintage TV, play furniture, and wood panel walls

✦ A Blueprint for Today

In many ways, this split-level is a quietly radical design: it rejects excess in favour of function, and replaces ornament with proportion. Its blend of form and practicality offers timeless principles for architects, designers, and homeowners alike.

📌 Whether you’re restoring a mid-century home or planning a modern build, there’s a lot to learn from this 1958 gem:

  • Zone with purpose
  • Connect to the landscape
  • Prioritise people, not just aesthetics

In short, the 1950s split-level home isn’t just a relic—it’s a blueprint for better living.

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