Readers: This is how timeless midcentury modern design IS DONE! What a fantastic amazing mind-blowing find: After the New York Times story ran last week, I was contacted by a realtor who has listed for sale a 1962 house in Montclair, New Jersey — with original interiors, still in place, by the renowned and super important midcentury interior designer William Pahlmann.
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These interiors are a veritable primer — a treasure trove of inspiration and ideas — about how to create stunning — yet timeless — interiors for your midcentury home. Linda, the real estate agent, writes:
Hi Pam,
I loved reading the article in the NYTimes! I’m a Realtor in Montclair NJ and have a house listed that is the most amazing home that I have seen in 25 years of real estate. Built by the owners in 1962 and decorated by Wiliam Pahlmann, a Manhattan decorator w/a newspaper column in the ’60s. The house is exactly as decorated when new… It looks as if it was done yesterday! The jelly beans in the bowls in the living room are color-coordinated to the “summer” slip covers and they will change with the season!
-Linda
Now, I must admit: Until I received this email, I didn’t know anything about William Pahlmann. I am sure that students of interior design must study him. But his name does not seem to be mainstream widespread like many of the most famous architects from back in the day. By the way, I find this to be true time and time again — the names of many professionals who were incredibly influential in the world of interior design and consumer goods in the postwar era have faded — and it’s time that they are resurrected! Another of my goals!
I started to do some online research, and quickly found that Pahlmann was incredibly important in the history of interior design.
He is credited with launching the “eclectic style” that, for the most part, permeates our culture today.
That is: Mixing modern pieces with vintage and exotic pieces. I think these interiors are ALL incredibly livable. And, they look as current Today as ever!
I will write more about Pahlmann coming up. He is someone We Need To Know!
Sigh.
Basement bowling alley in 1962 Michigan time capsule house for sale — heaven! 
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What a beautiful house! It’s so bright and cheerful, yet nostalgic and warm at the same time. Take that greige nation!!
YES! Take THAT, Greige Nation, is RIGHT!
I am generally rabidly anti-wallpaper. But I *LOVE* that cheery kitchen wallpaper. Gorgeous house!!!
Fiona! Fiona! Fiona! You are in the house of the most rabidly pro-wallpaper woman (me) in the world!
+1 (for the general wallpaper love). i can’t wait until it comes back in style for everyone else. even plain coloured wallpaper works better than paint. pam— have you been to colonial williamsburg? many of the really elabourate and luxurious homes of the mid-1700s had solid colour wallpaper— the colours are so much more saturated and do not fade like paint. they still make the wallpaper there the same way it was made in the 1700s.
here is the queen in the governor’s palace:
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_TWlf_e5Ud5A/Rpe6rsTZT6I/AAAAAAAABG8/qOxeZmhce8k/s400/17.jpg
You can’t really be mid century without wallpaper. It was in all the houses of that period and even before.
YES
Wallpaper has gotten so expensive, though. I think for most of us, the best we can do is use it to accent one wall, and use paint in the rest of the room. I was thinking of that in my kitchen, but my kitchen is so tiny, there isn’t a full unbroken wall in the entire room. Tile, anyone?
Watch ebay – some great deals, still, for vintage wallpaper, if you watch like a hawk. Also check old-timey paint and wallpaper stores in your area — you might just find some last rolls there.
Sorry, I have to disagree. I have seen some really wonderful mid-century wallpapers on this site thanks to Pam, but I am living in my parents’ mid-century modern ranch house which was built in 1947 and added onto in 1965, and I can attest to the fact that not one room in this house was ever, ever, EVER wallpapered. All of the walls were white, from 1965 on. At one time, the nursery was painted pale mint green, but when I was born, my room was white.
No wallpaper anywhere! And yet the house is most assuredly mid-century modern. There is no other style it could be remotely considered.
I ADORE that kitchen wallpaper (and am not always the biggest fan either!). It instantly takes me back to my childhood, when everything in my life had to be big and bold and colorful and all about flowers! I just love it.
Fiona – thank you. For a minute there I thought I was alone. I do NOT like wallpaper. Yuck.
I was lucky to have bought a 1948 house that was wallpaper-free. However, being in California, it had it’s own issues. Somewhere along the way, they textured the interior walls w/stucco that looked like exterior walls. Would have been easier to remove wallpaper. Took a lot of work to fix those walls.
Sandi – I am in your shoes. Husband wanted SS/granite in the kitchen. Lost the battle on that. Sigh. I’ve had to incorporate the retro things I love w/the new. At least I’ve got the retro look in the bath with B/W hex tiles.
That house and that color is great. Once again I am validated in thinking that New Jersey is the true style and taste capitol of the world!
You may well be right, BB.
A great write-up, as always. I’m a big fan of this period and this site! And, as an interior designer, we didn’t study designers/decorators in school (I did a career change and graduated in 2006). I think that as mid-century design has become more popular, designers like Paul McCobb who were popular at the time, but fell into obscurity as the century wore on, are now enjoying much deserved popularity.
Thanks Pam for great photos, too.
-Karen
About my comment, meant to write, “we didn’t study mid-century modern designers/decorators in school…”
Sadly, the interior design program was just dropped from our area technical college.
I was thinking they should require Realtors to take a course in period style. It is amazing how confused they get, or how they seen to not even care. I was shown a Prairie style home that was labeled a Craftsman/bungalow. And I lost count of the number of MCM’s in great shaped that were considered “fix-er-uppers.”
Dallas Big Haired Realtor: “Now, I want to warn you, the kitchen is a bit dated, but just imagine it with granite counters and stainless steel appliances. I will be gorgeous!”
Me: “It’s great just as it is. Does it have a pink bathroom?
FWBHR: “NO, thank God, they re-did the bathroom and added a whirlpool and a separate shower. It’s all in travertine. Y’all are gonna love it.”
Me: “No, I think I have seen enough. Maybe something else.”
FWBHR: “Well, I have a darling Craftsman bungalow I can show you in Fort Worth, but nobody wants to live in Fort Worth.”
Snide comment I didn’t make: Somebody must want to live there. It had the largest population increase of the major Texas cities in the 2010 census.
I think you need a new realtor!
I have one if you are interested. I told him what we wanted and he helped me find it – and that included a bathroom with colored tile.
We live in Dallas too. The untouched bathrooms and kitchens are hard to come by, but if you keep looking and waiting…you will find one!
And Ft. Worth has a lot of awesome older homes. And personally, I think Ft. Worth has a lot more to offer than Dallas…even though I live in Dallas. Ha.
Oh and we have a Aussie/Corgi. =) Lots of things in common here.
Wow… gorgeous! And whoever lives there could sponsor a swim team!
Can.Not.Breathe.
Oh goodness. How I’d love to have seasonal slip covers! (Heck, I’d be satisfied with seasonal throw pillows!) I keep looking for the bowl of jelly beans. I would really like to know what hung on the ceiling of the green couch room. Looks like some fixtures were removed from the ceiling. I bet they were cool.
Yup. Breathtaking. Hi Kersten!
i thought maybe the holes in the ceiling were recessed can lights with eyeball trims? hard to tell in the picture, but i’d sure like to know too!
And you know? I think i’ll just mosey on over to Jersey with my checkbook….hahahaha! dreaming on!
So does all the furniture come with it? With a house that big it would take a while to recreate all the rooms.
nope
What is the plant stand in the orange living room?
Looks like a blue elephant to me (if I’m looking at the same object you are wondering about).
What a way to start my Friday! Inspired by gorgeous designs. Thanks Mr. Pahlmann!!
OMG! I just emailed my husband to ask if we could please move to New Jersey!
Hi,
I’m the Realtor with the wonderful 1962 Pahlmann decorated home! Just want to give a credit to Jeff Bogart, the person who did the photography. He spent a few hours in the house, just absorbing the “vibe” and he took such wonderful photos! There are many other photos and details that are just great including a full soda fountain with syrup dispensers and all, game room, the dressing room in the master bedroom has a lighted vanity, two walk-in closets, shoe closets to accommodate at least 50 pairs of women’s shoes (my favorite!) and a three sided mirror usually only seen in high-end dress shops of the era! I find new treats every time I walk through the house!
-LindG
It is a gorgeous home, and Jeff did a fantastic job. He is to be commended. I think just about any one of us who subscribes to this site would be more than happy to live in that home if we had the chance. With the furniture, though!
Beyond stunning – so so so so incredible.
The pictures are well done! There will be one lucky new homeowner soon.
Wow! This is a stunner!
I’d be hard pressed to pick a favorite thing. But that wallpaper in the kitchen is awfully great.
Inquiring minds DO want to know where the jellybeans are!
This one goes on the dream list for sure.
Fantastic decor and house; vitality, fun, function, color plus comfort, yet not sappy or sloppy. My favorite is the last photo of the bedroom. Also, love that big kitchen island with upholstered counter stools!
Holy COW!!! I think if I went to the open house I’d chain myself to the room divider– I want to live there!
I love so much about it, but the pool umbrellas are the cherry on top of this delicious retro sundae for me.
I think this home should be made into a museum for people who wish to be inspired by vintage interior decor and design. Everything looks brand new, like it was furnished yesterday. What a gem!! Such a rare find these days.
if only i could find similar wallpaper for my own kitchen!
Holy Guacamole! How on earth did they keep it so PERFECT!?!! Beautiful and breathtaking.
My favorite part is the curtains that match the wallpaper in the kitchen.
Sorry to be OT: I just saw that the Facebook game The Sims Social has pink bathroom-items featured….
Pink bathrooms are hitting mainstream!
i’ve noticed this in a recent magazine ad as well – for the Clorox. It’s a jade green & black tile bathroom with pink toilet (commode).
odetothecommode.com is on the ad.
It’s so breathtaking, I can’t even think. I’ve got nothin’…
Wow! That is one honkin’ big house, definitely not your father’s Chevy. I think my little ranch would fit in the kitchen. The space…. I like the tastefully paneled man cave. This house has so many custom touches, it’s amazing how the interior came through the years in such great shape and still looking tasteful, like viewing an old movie from the 60s (a la Doris Day). Wonder who built and owned it.
Sigh, is right!!
I’m so curious about the original owners who lived there…did they just decide in ’62 to never re-decorate? I always wonder what the story is. I am salivating at the SPACE & those enormous windows and green trees view, more than the decor (although, I love that bright flowery wallpaper in the kitchen).
At a million $$ I can’t imagine that anyone would keep it preserved…they’d no doubt want to change it & “horrors” put in granite!
I concur about being wary of what the new owner would do like adding granite. Ugh! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve wanted to hurl when I watch those sell-my-house, stage-my-house, let’s update-my 5(yes, five)-year old kitchen etc. type shows and the ignorant buyers and/or sellers insist on granite. I moved back into my parent’s home. Though it’s 100 years old, we have fabulous timeless Formica.
I meantthe house is 100 years old. The Formica is @ 50 years.
Irene, I just moved back into my parents’ home too, and all our counters are Formica, too The kitchen Formica counters are at least 50 years old if not older, and the bathroom Formica counter is 45 years old. Both looked great when new but could use replacing; trying to figure out what to replace them with… I don’t think I want to do Formica again. It’s the black edge I can’t stand, and bullnosed Formica is just wrong aesthetically.
I feel like it is the Armstrong 1950s interiors book come to life! I just love the green and white happy living room. Now where did I put that 1.4 million…
Amazing how up-to-date many of the rooms look! I love the Asian pieces…turquoise ceramic elephant side tables in living room and bedroom, the tall red lacquer hutch/cabinet in the dining room, oriental screen over the bed in the master. Colors are great, too. What a find. I also am SO curious about how it came to remain untouched through almost half a century.
Delish! Not quite my style – but certainly tasteful. I would love to have the light fixture over the dining room table & I love the cheery kitchen. And a lap pool – oooh!
Yes – who was the family that this house belonged to?
I too am dying of curiosity about how this time capsule came to be. The stories are usually as interesting as the design.
“Modern” or “Post-Modern,” it is a beautiful home that has obviously been meticulously maintained by the same family for more than four decades. You can feel the love, care and pride just from the photos, and they made me smile.
Great house. It’s awesome that the found a style they liked and maintained it so faithfully for all the years. Please convince them to sell the house furnished!
According to Architectural Digest Jan 2000: Pahlmann himself described his often astonishing mixtures of unrelated styles and periods and his palette of saturated and frequently clashing colors as “modern Baroque.”
As far as the jelly beans, not only would I want to know where they are but how old they are. lol
Wow, fantastic! That Moroccan tile floor is fantastic…the office…Wow!
Everything is great, but I agree with you those floors are my favorite. Wow.
WOW! What a great place!
I want to thank this website, blog and reader comments for the help I have been getting to restore the house we just bought in the SF Bay Area. Speaking of kitchen wallpaper, I am putting Bradbury and Bradbury Googieland gray in our kitchen to replace the lime green and yellow that was there ( and on the ceilings!), thanks to the ad on your website. It has a touch of pink which I just love! I’m not daring enough to do more pink. I have always taken down wallpaper and painted, but these walls were begging me to put wallpaper back up. I’m putting new shag back in where the worn out funky lime green shag was in the dining and living rooms. If the original linoleum was in better shape, I’d keep that but it was too cracked up and sadly, there is nothing like that out there anymore. I’m replacing it with Mannington Adura Vibe tiles which look kind of retro and contemporary. I never thought I would go for vinyl!
I’m also looking at light fixtures from Rejuvenation and some cool starburst towel bars that you featured. Thanks so much!! I would have never found this stuff on my own!
hey Kelly…have you installed the Mannington Vibe? I need to make a decision soon for my high traffic huge entry area that leads in to my 1950s re-done kitchen (Salsa Red Marmoleum floor, white cabinets & charcoal boomerang Formica) and am considering the Vibe pattern, all Graphite, in a “checkerboard” layout. Have you laid your floor yet? No one in my area has used this product yet so I’m nervous….I would appreciate any feedback….K
Kathy, I would love to see photos of your kitchen. We are supposed to be putting in a Red Amaranth marmoleum floor and I’m suddenly getting cold feet, worrying about so much red … I would love to see what yours looks like. Is there any way to see a photo of your kitchen? Thanks!!
It is being installed currently. We are using the linen color in the kitchen/den/laundry areas and so far I like the look. I will say that if it’s an area that will get a lot of natural light hitting it, you will notice that the tiles oriented one direction look a little shiny and the others look more dull given those shallow grooves on the surface. As a result, they look like a slightly different shade of color. We are using the graphite color in the main entry area which is not installed yet, so I don’t know if that effect would be as strong with the darker color. Overall, I’m happy with how it looks.
Super cool! Here is an article from Architectural Digest about William Pahlmann:
http://www.architecturaldigest.com/architects/legends/archive/pahlmann_article_012000
Eye candy times ten…..wow, let’s make an offer………….
What a gorgeous time capsule! I love hearing that Pahlmann advocated the eclectic style. It gives me hope for my kitchen which has “horrors” …granite. While granite is trendy and my husband and I installed it years ago before I became a fan of retro, it has served my family well and I diligently work to decorate my kitchen in a way that honors both mid century and current style. And let’s not forget…someday granite will the be retro material, worthy of admiration by those who appreciate the decorating taste of former generations. This is a great article, kudos to the realtor who shared this find with Pam! Hopefully there are more of these homes out there that we can ooh and aah over.
I love it. I’m not a fan of inground pools, but if I had $1.4M for the house it would be small money to remove the pool. Gorgeous home. I wonder if children or pets ever lived there? I mean, how did they keep it so pristine for 40+ years?
Gorgeous! I was so excited to see this post this morning, and filled my coffee cup before I perused (slowly) the photos. I savor this stuff!
That last bedroom is my favorite. I love grass cloth and SO want to do a wall in my home with it. You can tell that every detail and every room in that home was carefully thought out and designed. The colors are fabulous! No bathroom photos?
AHHHHHHHmazing!! They should turn it into a bed and breakfast!!!..lol..I wonder how many other gems are out there that have gone untouched. Should have been the Draper’s original home. “sigh”
The Draper reference is spot-on. I can see this house being “cast” for a Mad Men location.
Oh, my! It IS breathtaking! I love the serene blue and yellow bedroom, and the kitchen wallpaper is truly timeless. If you click on the realtor’s link, there is a nice video and you can see the JELLYBEANS that match the green sofas! Awesome home and a treat to see. Thank you!!!
All I can say is, the owners must not have had either kids or pets. How is it possible to keep a place in that condition for such a long time?
This place looks great, inside and out.
GASP!
Great house.
As a dealer in mid century modern objects, I’m quite familiar with Pahlmann’s designs, and he was certainly a giant in his field.
He was using color combinations Lily Pulitzer was using in clothing during the same period, bright, mixed, and always tasteful.
I’ve had the pleasure of owning items he selected for homes over the years, as well as an entire David Hicks interior in Florida I purchased a couple of years ago.
Wow! I love all the green furniture and the carpet in the first picture is to die for! I think that is the best house I’ve ever seen in New Jersey!
I LOVE those chairs in the dining room and that cream rug with the orange and blue stripe!!
Yes, the rugs are fabulous! I bet that William Pahlmann designed them all!
I’m in love with the yellow striped hanging light fixture in the breakfast room. I found a metal light fixture at a garage sale over the weekend. It’s black.
I would never have thought stripes, but I’m inspired now. Maybe that turquoise/teal color that’s so current as well as retro these days.
So inspiring!
Jan
I am dying over that kitchen wallpaper!! Love it.