You know what’s so sweet about this time capsule: It demonstrates just how a little mid century modest house that looks sort of … innocuous, albeit sweet… on the outside, can contain so many well-maintained delights on the inside. Could it be that even more so than the owners of lavish mid century modern homes, the owners of unpretentious mid century modest homes poured so much love and care into their beloved little castles? Let’s look inside and be delighted.
Minnesota realtor Tim Kindem has been a fan of Retro Renovation for years — so when he had the chance to list this 1955 retro ranch home in South Minneapolis — he made sure to let us know. Pam and I both immediately drawn to the room above, each recognizing pieces from our own vintage collections.
Yup, that light is the same wagon wheel light Pam has in her office — and that retro freestanding cone fireplace looks just like mine. Thanks to some great photos of the property, courtesy of photographer Christopher Rhode from Obeo, we can see all the original features in this home. Plus, it’s clear there were updates in the 1970s — delicious, too!
We’re hoping whoever becomes the new owner loves the vintage style of the house as much as we do.
From the listing:
Price: $309,900
Square footage: 2,292
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 3The Mid-Century Modern Palace Of Your Dreams Has Come True!
The Mid-Century Modern palace of your dreams has come true! 2 brick, wood-burning fireplaces, & an orange, free-standing cone fireplace in 3 season porch. Giant lower level rec room. Bedrooms with built-ins. Stairs to garage storage. So much space. So much more. Be amazed!
Oh yeah — take a look at this pretty pink tiled bathroom with a flower power decals on the toilet. The vanity is super cute, and the pink and oak combo is the same thing I’ve got going on in my retro pink bathroom remodel. Those two little doors set into the wall have me wishing for more available wall space to add some in my bathroom. My guess is the top one is for storage and the bottom is a laundry chute.
The house also has a blue/aqua vintage bathroom with what appears to be terrazzo flooring — or a terrazzo-like linoleum. Interestingly, the sink seems to be the same one as in the pink bathroom, only this time is is set in a laminate counter instead of tile. It is also fun to note how they painted the trim to match the bathroom.
More cool vintage details await in the lower level rec room: a game room/bar area with a fun checked floor, and do I spy a fireplace on the back wall?
Mega thanks to realtor Tim Kindem from Keller Williams for letting us feature this property and Photographer Christopher Rhode from Obeo for giving us permission to share his great photos of the property here with all of you.
Still more to see in our slideshow:
Tips to view slide show: Click on first image… it will enlarge and you can also read my captions… move forward or back via arrows below the photo… you can start or stop at any image:
LauraRG says
I am in LOVE!! Love the kitchen/ dining room layout. Would be so easy to change those laminate doors back to something more in keeping with would have been original. And the stove in the basement!!! We had one in our basement when I was a kid… so handy at holidays or when we were trapped in the basement during one of our many midwestern tornado warnings.
Hope the new owner can appreciate the charm!
Sandy says
So fun to look at. Wouldn’t it be nice if HGTV featured at least one program that focused on houses like this one? Other than Rehab Addict on DIY, it’s a wasteland of people who walk into perfectly nice kitchens and gut them because the counter tops aren’t granite or the cabinets are made of oak and who reject any house that isn’t “open concept.” I can’t be the only person on the planet who wants to relax without looking at my kitchen, yet I just had to special order an appliance … because I wanted it in white. Maybe I am an endangered species after all!
Carrie says
Agreed. The other night I watched some great kitchen cabinets get destroyed on that show with the twin brothers. I mean, at least try to take them down and give them to a re-seller so someone like me can buy them!
Pam from Madeira says
Yes Carrie! I cringe everytime I see that show. Why can’t they just do a curb alert on CL or something. It just makes me want to throw up. And then they make stupid comments about being green by using some product made out of recycled whatever; which I’m all for btw, but WTHeck with the destruction & the dumpsters????
Jenny says
So totally *not* green. Any architect worth his salt will tell you that the greenest houses are the ones that are already built.
Drew says
Agreed! Why the lovely ladies that run this blog do not have a TV show of their own is beyond me. We need to make that happen! I can’t watch those shows any more as the term ‘open concept’ is akin to fingernails on a blackboard to me. Drives me to distraction.
tammyCA says
You’re not alone…I like that my kitchen is not RIGHT OUT THERE in the living room…it’s a wrap around concept with walls & great flow which I think is way better. I have white appliances too, (‘tho if I could afford cool vintage or retro colorful ones, I’d do that).
Janet in CT says
Very fascinating house and I couldn’t believe how many rooms there are in that house as it looks small from the front. Tammy, I try to post interesting appliances in the Kitchen forum, usually colored ones. There is a 40″ stove right now in San Diego and I assume that you are in CA. I hope someone snaps it up; the listing says dishwasher and sink too but are now pictured. It calls the color Harvest Gold but is most definitely GE woodtone brown, and looks to be really nice. Don’t miss the great white tile with matching brown trim, which must be stunning with a brown sink. I too cannot understand why they rip out and destroy so many neat kitchens. What a shame but maybe in the future, these people will wake up and realize what they have done! Here’s the link and I sure hope someone out west can pick up this gem. http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/app/4115560003.html
Shari D. says
It will be interesting to see how long it lasts once they actually put up contact information! And you’re absolutely right about the color. I lived with that horrid (sorry folks – it’s not my taste really) “Harvest Gold” appliances in more than one kitchen (in more than one house) in the 70’s to know that this is NOT IT! That’s definitely some kind of brown – the “GE Woodtone Brown” you mentioned is most like it. Too bad there aren’t photos of the other appliances they mentioned as well. I’m sure once they put up contact information, it won’t last long at all…..
Ree says
HGTV does make a show like that. It’s called House Hunters where new owners gut vintage houses with great glee. Last night a couple bought a very nice MCM house in Houston and proceeded to take a sledge hammer to what they considered a hideous bathroom. It was a beautiful blue tile bathroom with a flower border tile insert runner all around the room. Yep, they were going to replace it with pebbles on the shower floor, subway tile and narrow glass tiles for accent. They wanted to “put their stamp” on the house. I agree with you that HGTV should be able to find enough MCM homeowners who want to show off their houses as the vintage gems they are.
pam kueber says
I simply do not watch these shows anymore. Too painful. Such bad messages.
Jenny says
Pam, have you considered pitching a TV show for a “RetroRenovation” version of House Hunters? It would be a show for people like me who read your blog, looking for vintage one-owner or two-owner mostly-original houses to buy, then lovingly restore and live in forever. Wouldn’t have to be all 50s and 60s houses, could be 30s or 40s or 70s houses.
I would *so* watch that show. And maybe it would get realtors to stop telling their clients how the lovely little ranch houses in great neighborhoods are “teardowns”…
Ree says
Pam, I think Jenny has a great idea about your pitching a show or two about MCM houses. With the renewed interest of MCM houses and furnishings because of the Mad Men series, I think there would be enough fans to justify HGTV producing a show like this. You could be the host/adviser. I’m sure there would be no shortage of home owners who would love to showcase their houses.
Toni says
Yes! Yes! Yes! Do it! Do it!! I can’t even watch This Old House any more. Destroy a perfectly good house that could be restored and turn it into a cookie cutter house. You’d need a GPS to find YOUR house if you came home late at night. When I drive by those subdivisions of mirror townhouses I wonder ………WHY? They must be for people who only sleep there and have their life somewhere else.
Allison Hallstrom says
I’m with you Pam, I can’t watch anymore.
Shari D. says
I’m with all of you on that – but for a different reason – we simply cannot afford it! There’s not enough “discretionary funds” available in the bank account for all the BAIL MONEY it would take for my husband to get me out of jail once I go after those people!!
Hunter says
I hate it when they destroy kitchens and baths on HGTV shows. It’s easier to takke cabinets down, set them in the yard and call habitat, they’ll come get them. I sometimes turn the shows off when they start destroying fabulous kitchens and baths. A couple bought a house the other dy, with amazing tile bathrooms and can’t wait to gut them. AAARRRGGGHHH
Penny Moran says
I live in a 1951 Salem, Oregon home that I remodeled with a light hand, simply because I had planned to flip it. It still has nearly all the bells an whistles of the original, but I did re-do the kitchen, only looking for a fast sale. No granite, white apls. and retro-styling where I could. Then the bottom fell out of the market and I am in the house still, working on my 8th year!! It just makes me sad to remember the cabinets I removed! At least most of them were reused, but if I’d known I would still be here I sure would have done things differently in the kitchen. It is a GREAT kitchen mind you and I love to cook in it. But still….And I stopped watching HDTV too. Sick of the mantra “granite stainless steel, granite stainless steel, granite stainless steel” and every designer seems to be under 40. Do designers have to retire at age 40 now or what? Doesn’t anyone have any imagination anymore?
Jenny says
No. No one has any imagination any more. At least, not on those types of programs. Soooo with you on the “granite stainless steel” mantra — I just want to scream. And in some houses, it looks great. But in MOST houses, it’s just wrong, wrong, wrong.
Teresa says
Amen to your idea. Who wants to look at a ( messy) kitchen? The terms open concept, granite countertops, and all stainless steel appliances have become cookie cutter terms. I never needed a “sightline” to my living room from the kitchen, in fact I am happy to shut the door and ignore it at times. What’s the most hurtful on those HGTV renovation shows are the snarky things they all say when they see a pink bathroom or knotty pine walls. Would love to have someone with the sensitivities of the Rehab Addict, except make it for MCM…that would be Pam, IMO!
Joel says
I am almost sure that the “Terrazzo” floor in bath #2 is a poured epoxy floor. I just sold a house that was built in 1959 that had a different color of that in the kitchen, bath and basement. i had to replace the bath floor and was surprised to find that the colored chips were actually printed on a sheet of formica like material which was nailed down to a fiberboard underlayment which went on top of the normal plywood subfloor. The seams and nail heads were patched much like drywall and those areas were the only ones that got sprinkled with actual chips. Interestingly, the formica like material was printed on both sides each with a different color combo of chips. (The Kitchen, I found the original floor when I pulled out and replaced the dishwasher) for instance was white base with 2 shades of turquiose and about 15% beige chips, and all the appliances had been turquiose with turquiose ceramic tile counters). Then epoxy with gold glitter was poured over it all to make a seamless floor. You still see something similar in hospital operating rooms. I know I am being overly pedantic, but I figured this group likes to know the details of actual construction. Anyway, when I was prepping the property for the new buyers, the son of the original owner stopped and asked to see the house. It turns out it used such high end materials because it was the 1959 model for a local building company (still in business) in the 1959
“Parade of Homes” that is held each spring. He told me the name of the flooring and I wish that I had written it down, but he said it was a nationally franchised business, but quite expensive to install, and apparently is just used in commercial applications anymore. I wish I had saved some of the sheeting, as there were random scrap pieces of the chip printed sheeting i found when tearing out the bath floors used to level the fiber board underlayment, and it was interesting to see it before it was top coated with epoxy and glitter. There were pieces with various color combos that reflected 50’s color schemes too, Brick red with beige and hunter green; dark and light pink with white and beige accent chips, dark and light beige with teal and light aqua accent chips.
Kelly Wittenauer says
Thanks for the info. I don’t think I’ve ever seen one of those floors, but sounds awesome. As does the original kitchen with turquoise appliances. Too bad it’s not still all there.
Mary Elizabeth says
Joel, never underestimate the retro geek’s interest in vintage building materials and techniques. The floor that is still available is Everlast Epoxy Flooring, and yes, it is only for commercial purposes now.
Love everything about this house except the 1980’s kitchen (with the exception of the enamel double sink). The reader who said the laminate doors could be replaced is correct, but if the whole cabinet structure is MDF and laminate, that won’t help much. I can imagine a St. Charles or Youngstown kitchen in there.
My 1950s house also has an extra range in the basement as part of a complete “summer kitchen” with extra large double enamel sink (with Hudee ring), formica countertops, and knotty pine base cabinets. I think the original owners did canning down there. The cabinet shelves would accommodate the canning equipment, jars, etc.
Shanna says
Oh I LOVE it!!! It could never be too vintage for me! My husband and I bought a house that was built in 1969 that had only had one owner . . . nothing was updated! We LOVE it!
Jenny says
Soooo jealous! I’m living in a 1940s post-war ranch that was added onto in 1968 and updated occasionally (but nothing major). I’m only the 3rd owner (and the 2nd owner was my mom and dad), but it’s harder to figure out how to “respectfully” remodel it. Go with the 40s vibe? the late 60s vibe? the 70s updates? or bring it into the 21st century?
Yeah, I’m (mostly) going with the late 60s vibe 🙂
Jordon says
How adorable is that turquoise guttering?! What a cute and quirky touch. 🙂
Jenny says
I wonder if those are copper gutters — in other words, not turquoise out of quirkiness, but turquoise patina out of the aging process for copper?
Marta says
This is exactly the kind of house I hope to find for our next home. All the built-ins, the great bathrooms, etc., are just what I love about so many of the homes of ‘the greatest generation’. They understood and prized utility of function. Living in a smaller home is made easier by having ‘a place for everything’.
Drew says
Love it! Great house. The seller seemed to be either a collector/creator of those crafty wooden calendars. I see one in nearly every room and even one above the freezer! One must always know what day it is.
Jason says
I noticed those too! Lots of calendars and swag lights hanging from the ceilings…
Melissa says
the calendars were one of things that jumped out at me too!
deb says
Ah, yes… the flower power decals. I had them on my 1953 Chevy back in 1968 – gotta love ’em!
tammyCA says
Rosemary Clooney did that too, to her Cadillac in the ’60s! I remember getting the flower power plastic keychains from Citgo gas stations back then. Gas stations were always giving away fun stuff.
Puddletown Cheryl says
What a sweet house. It must be larger than it looks from the front. Lots of fun seventies updates.
gsciencechick says
I agree, it looks small from the outside but has great interior space. Love the finished basement rec area. The cabinets look like they were replaced in the 80’s.
Laura's Last Ditch--Vintage Kitchenwares says
Yes, they do look ’80s, but definitely in a good way! The original kitchen would be better, but this is definitely a keeper, I think!
Dan says
Having grown up in a very similar house (and living in one now) that kitchen is what my Mom would call a “one butt kitchen” – meaning only one person can cook in there at a time 🙂
lynda says
Fun to look at. I is so interesting how some can just keep a house exactly the same and not update. It is a little too retro for me, but really enjoy looking at the time capsule homes. Love all the built ins.