Loads of character and original vintage charm can be found in this 1955 time capsule — an amazing mid century house in Fircrest, Washington — offered for sale by realtor Diane Lucas of Keller Williams Realty. Diane contacted us directly just before posting this listing — sounds like word is out that we are famous for our time capsule houses — we now have 80 in our archive! At just 1,300 sq. ft., this modest-sized mid-century house packs a big decor punch: Its features include curved glass block walls, slate flooring, angular brick exterior, a fantastic original steel kitchen complete with vintage Kenmore sink-dishwasher combo, a pink bathroom — and more. Click on through, we have 24 large photos in our gallery –>
- Price: $199,900
- Year built: 1955
- Square footage: 1,294
- Bedrooms: 3
- Bathrooms: 1
Luxury abounds, circa 1955! Fabulous architecture still intact after 58 years. Beautiful clinker brick exterior blends with stylish slate planter box and slanted wing wall. Original front door! Breathtaking living room with slate flooring still looks beautiful. A huge picture window lights up the living room while the curved glass block wall brings in softly diffused light to the dining area. It’s magic.
Kitchen is all original including a Kenmore combination sink/dishwasher unit. The top opens up and dishes go inside. It needs a rack and a little work but SO WORTH SAVING! We hope someone will spend a little time and bring it back to working condition.
Red formica is on the back kitchen wall and the counter is stainless steel. Metal kitchen cabinets with FOUR lazy susans and a flour/potato/bread drawer.
The crown jewel of the kitchen is the Westinghouse stove! Notice this is the back side of the fireplace and includes a storage niche.
Bathroom has a glass block wall and beautiful dark green slate flooring and original tub, sink and toilet. Tile extends around all three walls and the fourth wall is all glass block. All three bedrooms have new carpet and all interior paint is new. Laundry room is located just off the kitchen and also has a door to access back yard and patio. Not only does this house have new carpet and paint, there is a new electrical panel and a new roof. And of course there is a new hot water tank. Don’t miss the pencil sharpener hanging under the cabinet. No 1955 house is complete without one. The artistic patio is complete with metal accents. Glass block wall is behind the bathtub. Door leads to laundry room. Entire back yard is enclosed. This is a beautiful neighborhood in desirable Fircrest. Don’t miss this Mid-Century Gem!
Mega thanks to Realtor Diane Lucas from the Rich Lucas Team, Keller Williams Realty for allowing us to feature her photos and information about this fantastic mid century home.
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:
Mary Elizabeth says
Oh, and I forgot the entryway. So lovely a line, with maybe a planter there under the picture window?
Gary says
Spectacular!!! After the kids are all grown, that is precisely the kind of home my wife and I hope to spend our golden years enjoying.
julie G. says
Love, love, love the real glass brick. Not that 80s plastic kind either.
Janet in CT says
Just wondered if anyone is familiar with that exterior brick. I have never seen anything like it – looks like there are some jaggedy black ones sticking out. That is the only think I don’t care for about this house as those bricks look kinda dangerous. Otherwise the house is just divine!
pam kueber says
There’s a word for this way of laying brick, which I can’t remember….
Jeff says
I think the overall look is called “crenelated” when you have the random bricks (clinker or other styles) protruding from the static surface.
Kellie says
I think it is Clinker brick?
Robin, NV says
The brick is called clinker brick. It says so in the listing. 😉
Janet in CT says
Yeah, I remember the discussions of clinker brick but I had thought it to be a rough black looking brick. I didn’t realize sometimes it was laid to stick out like that. But everything else about the house seems to be top-notch!
Robin, NV says
Clinker bricks can be any color – depending on the clay used. They’re fired hotter than regular bricks, so the bits of clay with higher silica content vitrify into glass (producing the irregular, sharp look). According to the wikipedia article, they don’t insulate as well as regular bricks, so they are mostly used as decorative touches. They were popular in the Arts and Crafts movement, so a bit rare to see an MCM dressed in it.
But yes, they always look sort of jabby and scratchy to me.
Sandra says
“Clinker” refers to the sound it makes when you tap two of them together. They sound lighter than regular clay brick. I’m not sure if they’re also lighter weight, but they might be, since they’re used as a facade, rather than as structural.
lynda says
Very beautiful home. Here is a definition of clinker brick.
http://www.historicalbricks.com/clinker-bricks.html?gclid=CMWD3uHlo7sCFdBlOgodLjIArA
I think this description fits the brick on this house.
lynda says
and a little history on clinkers
http://www.oldhousejournal.com/exteriors_savvy_clinker_bricks/magazine/1495
Janet in CT says
Wonderful home! I love the dishwasher but doubt it would ever be functional again. But I would still keep it for the looks! I cannot figure out the bathroom. Is it a reflection or are the two lights over the sink mounted right through the mirror? I also couldn’t find that elusive pencil sharpener! Love it!
Jay says
Janet, go to the realtor’s listing where you will see many photos of the property including the utility room where the pencil sharpener is mounted.
pam kueber says
hehe
I should start a gallery just of the photos from time capsules with the rooms where the pencil sharpener is! You all CRACK ME UP!
Robin, NV says
Hah! I was just thinking that I wish I had a pencil sharpener installed in my house like my grandma did. Hers was attached to the end of the counter in the kitchen. I’ve always thought my house should have one since the original owner was a school teacher and the neighborhood kids were always coming over.
pam kueber says
I guess we need to do a story: Where to get authentic retro style pencil sharpeners….
Kate says
I have one in my basement too! 🙂
pam kueber says
🙂
Dino says
I have a sharpener in my basement too, in the pink furnace room with the original 1960 furnace! Great time capsule house btw!
Anne-Marie says
It is such an odd detail- yet so important. I have fond memories of my grandfather sharpening pencils on his (mounted at the foot of the stairs as you entered the basement). To me, they represent a certain slowness, precision, attention to detail.
Janet in CT says
That is exactly where it was in the house I grew up in. I wonder where it went as it is no longer there. One house we rented while we built ours had one there too but it didn’t work well at all. I think as they get old, they get sloppy inside and cannot do a good job any more. I think I have fond memories of it regarding having one at school too. Always love seeing one in a house!
Mary Elizabeth says
Regarding pencil sharpeners, there was always one in my house mounted on the kitchen wall. I was always getting in trouble in grammar school for getting up in the middle of a test, lesson, etc. to sharpen my pencil. With undiagnosed ADD, it took me several years to learn the “etiquette” of school–you don’t just sharpen your pencil when it needs it, go to the bathroom when you have to, or go out into the hall to get a drink from the fountain when you are thirsty. I can’t believe the teachers in those days kept you after school for getting out of line–even on the first day of Kindergarten. So when I was grown up and teaching middle school and one of my ADD kids would jump up and move toward the very noisy pencil sharpener, I would interrupt the lesson and tell all the kids it must be time to line up and sharpen their pencils. That way they all got it out of their system at once.:-)
Robin, NV says
Oh my, I must be sentimental today, your post made me a little teary eyed. I still use wood pencils at work. I prefer the feel of them.
@Janet in CT – the innards need to be replaced every 2-3 years. You can remove the jacket on the old school sharpeners and replace the blades easily.
Goodness, there are a lot of vintage pencil sharpeners on ebay. Some of them are quite cool looking too.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Metal-Tower-Pencil-Sharpener-6-Hole-APSCO-Sears-and-Co-Desk-Wall-Box-/200999115721?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2ecc7b1bc9
Jay says
What’s a pencil sharpener? No just kidding. We had one growing up, my father mounted it in the basement and it was still there when we sold the house. I discovered one in my furnace room in the basement of my current home. In this computer age it’s still a very handy device!
Janet in CT says
Pam, maybe a story and people can submit photos of their pencil sharpeners!
Gayla says
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ThePencilPusher
I have a little (ahem) addiction to pencils and received a vintage electric sharpener from this site for my birthday. It puts a perfect point on a pencil!
Christa says
I had no idea this was a thing! My 1958 house came with a pencil sharpener! It’s in a utility closet, screwed down to the top of the safe. Yes, the original owners had a safe installed. Their children wanted to take it but the base is poured into the slab. If you want to steal my safe, and attached pencil sharpener, you’ll have to use dynamite 😀
TappanTrailerTami says
Wow Pam – why use the words “retro style”? When anyone uses the word “style” in relation to an item – I think “replica” vs. the “real thing”!
Just did an eBay search using the following search terms: “vintage Boston pencil sharpener”. Boston brand were the BEST pencil sharpeners! Right now, there are 272 listings on eBay for them! You might have to add that to the carousel search!
Gorgeous house, love it!
jeanne says
My dad was a teacher and we had one in the basement. I miss it! I still use #2 pencils for doing projects (like Kate’s putz houses).
Hillary says
My house came with a pencil sharpener mounted inside one of the utility room cabinets. It’s now my pantry, but the sharpener stays.
We toured a house for sale that had a pencil sharpener mounted on the door frame next to the toilet. I guess they were big crossword fans!
Anastasia says
I’d have never known what that was until you all pointed it out, lol! ‘Nother brick in the wall, ‘nother blob on the wall for me, lol!
Gavin in the UK says
Just noticed the pencil sharpener, it’s in the laundry room under one of the wall cabinets.
Mary Elizabeth says
This is fantastic. It is so unusual that the owners (and agents) go for the right kind of updates, i.e. the electrical system, roof, etc., and leave the good vintage features alone.
My favorite features are the flooring, the pink bathroom, the kitchen sink/dishwasher, and the fireplace. Looks like the fireplace has two openings.
Robin, NV says
Regarding doing the “right” updates and leaving everything else alone – I just replalced my old single pane, aluminum framed windows with double pane aluminum windows. I wanted the original look with better insulation. My contractor argued with me that “aluminum windows sweat in the cold” and that I’d be sorry I put them in. Well, it got down to almost -10 last night and they only sweated a teensy bit. I’m so pleased with them. I got the look I wanted AND insulation.
Janet in CT says
Bravo, Robin, for sticking to your guns. My husband is like your contractor and argues with me over everything. Some people just don’t get it, how important it is so alot of us to keep things as close to original as possible.
mitchell says
Same thing here with the aluminum frames. I’ve slowly been replacing sliding doors+windows here and the glass place thinks I’m nuts when I special order aluminum frames. Like I’m gonna put a white vinyl frame (or worse yet, brown) in my mid-century house! 🙂
Roundhouse Sarah says
Aww, what a cutie!
James Owens says
Awesome awesomeness!
Wendy in St. Louis says
I would also move right in! Perfect size and fantastic details.
Gavin in the UK says
Oh my goodness that is gorgeous. I’d just move right in without changing a thing. Lets hope, as usual, that it finds a sympathetic buyer…