Time Capsule House For Sale

[retropia]

Unfortunately, there isn't much of a market for original mid-century-modern interiors in most of the country. (An exception might be architect-designed, high-end one-offs.) If resale value is important, you will maximize it by replacing the kitchens and baths.

Otherwise, you'll have to sell your home for less than comparable homes that have had updates, and your home will sit unsold longer.

I agree this particular house is charming, with some decorating changes.

 

[countryguy]

I think a lot of the time the basement kitchen was used in the summer when it was too damn hot to cook in the main floor kitchen....most houses didn't have A/C back then.

Gary

 

[twintubdexter]

The interior of that house SCREAMS OLD LADY! You'd need an oxygen tank to breath in there. It doesn't need gutting but stuff like those heavy funeral parlor drapes and those awful colors need to be changed. I'd call Goodwill and say "take whatever you want except the range in the basement."

"once I sell that place I'm outta here"

 

[firedome]

in Maryland

many folks had ranges in the basement exclusively for steaming crabs! Both my wife's mother and both of her grandmothers had them for just that reason. Her Dad would spend the day on Middle River then that evening, we'd eat down there too...Yum! It kept all the mess downstairs.

 

[polkanut]

I agree that the draperies and other bric-a-brac needs to go, but that basement is a treasure.  I wouldn't change too much down there.

 

[logixx]

Clutter

I often wonder how people can accumulate so much stuff. This place is full of stuff.  This ain't a time capsule, it's a museum. I couldn't breathe in there. 

 

[xraytech]

The second kitchen around here was fairly common.
The basement kitchen was either used for daily meals and canning in the summer in pre central air days since it was cooler.
Some families had the second kitchen and the family room in basement for daily use year round to preserve the big upstairs kitchen and living room and they were only used on occasions there was company

 

[whirlcool]

When we moved into out high rise unit a little old lady lived there before. It took scrubbing and scrubbing before we got the "old lady" smell out of the place. We thought the tile in the kitchen was yellow, but after cleaning it with water and an ammonia based cleaner the wax build up began to flake off in chunks. The tile was actually white underneath! She never washed the floor, just used Mop N Glow over and over again for years!

 

[danemodsandy]

Roger (firedome):

That National Homes ad is terrific - that's exactly the kind of midcentury house I like. I grew up in a Cape that was about that size, and I've always had a soft spot for smallish houses ever since. My present one is all of 480 square feet!

I'm guessing your smaller house is a rental?

 

[launderess]

Basement Kitchens

Growing up on SI am here to tell you they were *very* common with all ethnic groups. Indeed in some homes the entire basement was finished and that is where the family spent much of their time. Yes, the upstairs kitchen may have been used for daily meals, but the living room was often out of bounds. Everything covered in that horrible plastic slipcovers and or otherwise protected for "company only".

Think basement kitchens predated air conditioning becoming so common. During a hot NYC summer you really didn't want to heat up an entire kitchen to get a hot meal on the table. But since His Nibbs would be expecting such when he got home from work....

 

[rustyspaatz]

There isn't much I would change. As much as I love the W-W, I think my allergies would have to go for the no doubt, beautiful, oak hardwood that is underneath.

I would much rather have the single door Avocado westinghouse frig that is downstairs, upstairs.

The red "party-with-dope-and-rock-n-roll" rug in the basement, seems so out of place here. Must have been a one child household of whom which grew up in the 70s. I know it probably contains asbestos fibers, but I would be tempted to keep it.

With all the foreclosures, which always seem to be OVER "improved" homes, I wonder if cheap particle board kitchen cabinets, fake hardwood floors, radio-active granite counters, ugly wallpaperless decorating schemes, and those awful bloated stainless steel appliances are at a zero gain point.

I know, I agree, I've seen plenty of ignorant buyers anxious to rip out that "old stuff" and "upgrade", but I'm wondering if millennium-ugly has run its course?

 

[tolivac]

Yes,can agree that the windows are "overdraped" after second looks at the pictures.Simpler window treatments are best-and make them from materials that are easily washed at home.But do love that kitchen--would be sad if some younger stupid bozo ripped it out and put in an UGLY newer kitchen! Gosh thats real wood there-so it appears-not particle board!

 

[philr]

Rusty,

The avocado fridge downstairs isn't a Westinghouse, it's a Frigidaire.

 

What's the brand of the SxS upstairs? The badge on the door looks like some seen on GE fridges. 

 

[firedome]

Sandy...

Yes, the small house is (was) a rental, our son who's in grad school at Bing. U lives there now. Our ranch very close by is not much bigger, around 1100 sq ft, it does have a 1 car garage, but unfortunately also suffered more from "updating". The entire neighborhood of ~500 homes was built 1954-62, still has an amazing number of original owners, though that's changing quickly now.

 

[NYCWriter]

Some things are better left in the past ...

... like most of the decorating here.

Oh, don't get me wrong, I'd keep most of what I see (especially those cabinets, which look quite solid), but the carpets and the tile -- OUT.

I'm actually a fan of pink and blue bathroom tile, so that would stay.

The dreadful paneling in the basement -- OUT.

Unfortunately, there's not much of a market in the suburbs for 2-bedroom houses. That's fine for a single or an older couple. Young couples (even childless) are unlikely to buy a house with at least three bedrooms; these days everyone wants (and frankly, with all the paperwork of LIFE these days, pretty much NEEDS) a home office. And a guest room. That already blows out your two bedrooms.

 

[danemodsandy]

Roger:

You're lucky to have a cache of houses that are unmessed-with!

Here in Iowa, there's a fair amount of midcentury housing stock, from little tract houses like mine to architect-designed ones.

The trick here is finding one that hasn't been given vinyl siding, replacement windows and a completely remodeled interior. Much of this is done in the interest of energy efficiency and reducing maintenance - Winters are harsh here, and if the MidAmerican bills don't get you, the house painter's bill will.

So, there are definitely good reasons for a lot of the remuddling, but it's still a little sad to see sometimes. Ben (swestoyz) has a wonderful Prairie Style house that he's been very careful to remodel very sympathetically. It's upgraded, but not in a way that destroys the character of the house.

 

[firedome]

Sandy...

Yes, the small house is (was) a rental, our son who's in grad school lives there. Our own little rancher is not much bigger, does have a 1 car garage, but unfortunately has also suffered more from "updating" in the 70s/80s. The entire neighborhood of ~500 homes was built 1954-62, still has an amazing number of original owners, though changing quickly now. It's somehow comforting to live in the same kind of neighborhood you grew up in.

 

[golittlesport]

I want to live there!

Growing up in Pittsburgh, PA, I knew of several families with full basement kitchens. While we didn't have counters and cabinets in our basement, we did have an old Universal gas stove and Frigidaire refrigerator in the laundry side of the basement.

 

[NYCWriter]

Rich ...

... native Pittsburgher here, too.

Did you have a "Pittsburgh bathroom" too?

Yes, at the very least, many of us had another freezer and refrigerator in the basement. Many Western Pennsylvanian men are hunters, and it wasn't unusual to need a place to store an entire processed deer for the winter.

That extra oven downstairs came in handy, too. Back in the '40s-'50s-'60s, only "rich" people had double ovens in their kitchens ("regular" people's kitchens were really just too small), but we still needed that extra oven come Thanksgiving, and particularly during Christmas cookie baking season.

And yes, "updates" back in the '80s look worse to me that the '50s and '60s stuff they "updated" in the first place. The '80s really was the most regrettable decade for style.

 

[wringer_clean]

Greg,
Great house!
Loved the video.
As expressed previously, more than likely someone will buy it and rip out all the fundamental character ... what a shame.
Thanks for sharing!
psf