Before and after: The revival of a midcentury home in Houston

The most dangerous time for a house is just before its 50th birthday.

"At 50 years, it's considered to be historic but, before that, it's not that new and it's not that old, so nobody cares about it," says Dave Seeburger.

In 2012, Seeburger quit his job in the oil and gas industry and started renovating old houses, mostly bungalows in the Heights. But when he saw a crumbling midcentury ranch house in Woodshire with some unusual architectural lines and a low pitched roof, he knew it was different. At 62 years old, the house had aged out of the danger zone, but its worn condition still made it a tear-down target.

"The home was just so unique and impressive for the area. Inside it was all fairly original, which I like because that means there's less of a chance that someone else went in and messed things up," says Seeburger, who is the president of real estate investment/development company P&G Homes. "We wanted to maintain everything that we could while making it livable."

Outside, Seeburger and Houston interior designer Jamie House added onto the front facade wall so that the edge of the roof didn't extend so far past the body of the house. The exterior brick has seen better days, so after repairing them as needed Seeburger painted the house white to keep everything consistent. The original front door was restored and painted a bold turquoise, with House adding a vintage Schlage starburst knob backplate she found on eBay. To play up the mod sensibilities, House scoured the Internet for '50s-style exterior globe lights, eventually hanging a trio from Austin's Hip Haven in the entry.

Inside, the floorplan offered challenges but lots of space - 3,300 square feet - to work with. The living area was divided by a wall and two different floor levels, so Seeburger opened it up as a single room to give the house more flow.

Rather than dictate the placement of furnishings, House removed the original pendant lights that were in the former dining room and installed them in the large master closet, which had previously been an office. Seeburger also added a pair of doors on each end of the kitchen - one in the former pantry to transform it into a combination storage space and mud room, and another facing the front of the house, where the newly extended exterior wall created a small courtyard.

For the flooring, House was inspired by the architecture school at Texas Tech, where she studied, which was built in the same time period and still had its original cork floors.

"Cork is a little different, but it's more in line with what might have been in the house originally, plus it's renewable and affordable," says House.

The kitchens and bathrooms were gutted then updated with contemporary fixtures, using clean lines to connect the look with the midcentury vibe.

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Before and after: The revival of a midcentury home in Houston