David Smith - Modern Real Estate

David Smith - Modern Real Estate Realtor specializing in the marketing & sales of mid-century modern, contemporary & architecturally-significant residences & assisting buyers for them.

Offering clients a unique value proposition of 30 years combined education and professional experience with particular emphasis and skill in matching client needs/lifestyles, design choices, down-sizing and the efficient, expedient disposition of furnishings with an eye to maximizing return including estate situations.
—University of Cincinnati DAAP (College of Design, Architecture, Art and Plann

ing); Bachelor of Science in Design.
- Interior Design and Architectural History education and professional experience.
— Mid-Century Modern expertise in the area of architecture, design including interiors, furnishings and decorative arts.
— 20 years buying/selling furnishings and decorative arts.
— Keen aesthetic sensibility
— Long-time,18+ year OTR resident and community member familiar with the urban lifestyle. Cincinnati Modern stands apart in the area as a real estate team who specializes in the assisting those who see the value of modern, unique and architecturally significant homes. Our experience as well as an extensive web and social media presence which receives thousands of hits a month from buyers and agents seeking unique homes offers our clients the valuable expertise and service. The experience in selling unique allows Cincinnati Modern allows us to see and find the value in all properties, regardless of style. Please let us know how we may be of assistance. I’d be pleased to hear from you so that we might discuss your real estate needs and next steps. I am happy to assist you any way that I can. I look forward to hearing from you!

from the cincinnatimodern archive.That breeze block wall. 😍 A defining interior feature of this 1960 post-and-beam mid...
09/04/2026

from the cincinnatimodern archive.

That breeze block wall. 😍 A defining interior feature of this 1960 post-and-beam mid-century modern home designed by Robert Kettell.

This distinctive Cincinnati modern home in August 2018 for substantially over asking price. Specialized architecture deserves specialized marketing. Ask me how.

Architecture matters. Strategy wins.



Follow for modern homes, architecture, design, and Cincinnati real estate.

A little modern eye candy for your Tuesday: Casa Gilardi, Luis Barragán’s extraordinary final house in Mexico City.Com...
09/01/2026



A little modern eye candy for your Tuesday: Casa Gilardi, Luis Barragán’s extraordinary final house in Mexico City.

Completed in 1976–77, Casa Gilardi is a masterclass in Barragán’s use of color, natural light, water and landscape. The house was organized around an existing jacaranda tree, while its celebrated indoor pool becomes part architecture, part sculpture, with saturated blue and red surfaces transformed throughout the day by changing light.

Barragán would receive the Pritzker Architecture Prize in 1980, recognition of an approach to modernism that could be rigorous and deeply emotional at the same time.

Would Casa Gilardi make your modern architecture bucket list?


MYTH: Original bathrooms always hurt a home’s value.Not necessarily—especially in a well-preserved Mid-Century Modern h...
08/31/2026



MYTH: Original bathrooms always hurt a home’s value.

Not necessarily—especially in a well-preserved Mid-Century Modern home.

Original tile, cabinetry, fixtures and other period details can be part of what makes an architect-designed home special. For the right buyer, authenticity isn’t something to renovate away—it’s part of the value.

The key is understanding what should be preserved, what should be updated, and how to market those original features to buyers who appreciate them.

Case in point: this wonderfully intact bathroom in Cincinnati’s Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Boulter House.

Would you KEEP IT or UPDATE IT?

📷 Photo: cincinnatimodern

Architecture matters. Strategy wins.



Follow for modern homes, architecture, design, and Cincinnati real estate.

from cincinnatimodern archive: the 1965 Leiter House, one of architect Ben Dombar’s standout mid-century modern reside...
08/28/2026

from cincinnatimodern archive: the 1965 Leiter House, one of architect Ben Dombar’s standout mid-century modern residential designs in Cincinnati.

A great example of the architecture that makes Cincinnati’s modernist legacy worth celebrating—and preserving.

Sold December 2021.

to a grrrreat day in May 2019. 😏🐯Some throwbacks need no explanation.
08/27/2026

to a grrrreat day in May 2019. 😏🐯

Some throwbacks need no explanation.


| Board and BattenMore than a siding treatment, board and batten is a distinctive architectural detail found on many M...
08/25/2026

| Board and Batten

More than a siding treatment, board and batten is a distinctive architectural detail found on many Midcentury Modern homes—adding rhythm, texture and strong vertical lines to otherwise clean, simple forms.

It’s one of those details that can instantly give an MCM exterior its character.

Would you preserve original board and batten—or update it?


🏡 The 1963 Sculptured House by architect Charles Deaton is one of Colorado’s most iconic examples of mid-century moder...
08/24/2026

🏡 The 1963 Sculptured House by architect Charles Deaton is one of Colorado’s most iconic examples of mid-century modern architecture.

Designed by Deaton as his own residence, the futuristic home—better known as the Sleeper House—was never actually occupied by him, and its interiors remained unfinished during his ownership.

Its dramatic sculptural form later found fame on the big screen in Woody Allen’s 1973 film Sleeper. Subsequent owners eventually completed the interiors and expanded the original design.

More than 60 years later, it still looks like architecture from the future.


Honoring an enduring legacy of design, art and architecture.Charles and Ray Eames changed the way we see—and experienc...
08/21/2026

Honoring an enduring legacy of design, art and architecture.

Charles and Ray Eames changed the way we see—and experience—the world around us, bringing curiosity, optimism and wonder to everything they created.

August 21 holds a poignant place in Eames history: Charles Eames died on this date in 1978; Ray Eames followed exactly 10 years later, in 1988.

Their influence remains as relevant and inspiring as ever.




Repost:

to two giants of 20th-century architecture and design—born on the very same day.Father and son Eliel Saarinen (1873–19...
08/20/2026

to two giants of 20th-century architecture and design—born on the very same day.

Father and son Eliel Saarinen (1873–1950) and Eero Saarinen (1910–1961) were both born on August 20, leaving an extraordinary legacy that helped shape modern architecture, furniture and design.

Two generations. One remarkable design legacy.

Which Saarinen design is your favorite?


| CLERESTORY WINDOWS 🪟A small architectural detail with a major impact—and one of my favorite features to find in a Mi...
08/18/2026

| CLERESTORY WINDOWS 🪟

A small architectural detail with a major impact—and one of my favorite features to find in a Mid-Century Modern home.

Beyond their function, clerestory windows can give a room that unmistakable MCM character and are often a clue that there’s thoughtful modernist design at work.

Once you start noticing them, you’ll see them everywhere. 👀

What architectural term should I feature next?


Address

2105 Grandin Road
Cincinnati, OH
45208

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Thursday 9am - 7pm
Friday 9am - 7pm
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Sunday 9am - 9:15am

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+15134032832

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