Back in the day, actual house plans were widely promoted in the nation’s largest shelter magazines. Today: A time capsule house for sale that was originally featured in Better Homes & Gardens as one of Six Idea Homes of the Year for 1958. And yes, it’s quite a beauty — inside and out!
This beautiful home — a 1960 time capsule home listed for sale in Keene, Texas is fresh on the market from our Retro Realtor friend Ed Murchison. And look at that price: Just $95,000.
We love this one: Despite its modest size, this home lives large — boasting floor-to-ceiling picture windows in the living room that look out over a huge patio — creating a feeling of spaciousness and a blurred line between indoors and out. And, the interior finishes — they look so well made, like they were built just yesterday!
Ed actually had the 1958 Better Homes & Gardens magazine cover to share with us. This house for sale is the model directly under the magazine’s masthead.
From the property listing:
- Price: $95,000
- Year built: 1960
- Square footage: 1,466
- Bedrooms: 3
- Bathrooms: 2
A rare opportunity to own a 1958 Idea Home of the Year!!! Built in 1960 from Omer Mithun plans, as presented in the 1958, September issue of Better Homes and Gardens magazine. This gem of a little house packs lots of architectural interest into its smart, compact design. Set on a large lot, the home opens out to a generous patio and side yard…a perfect place for entertaining. Step through the front door and into the living room featuring vaulted ceilings exposed beams, cozy fireplace and a wall of floor-to-ceiling windows affording views out to the patio and lawn. The kitchen retains the original cabinets with a cool floating upper storage cabinet. The dining room, just off the kitchen also features a wall of sliding glass providing easy access for outdoor dining. There is spacious master bedroom with its own bath plus two additional bedrooms and a second bath. The carport has been conveyed to a game room or would make a perfect home office. What a great piece of Mid-century Modern history in the quiet, small town of Keene which is a quick 45 minute drive from Fort Worth thanks to the new Chisholm Trail Parkway.
This particular model Idea Home was the smallest one of the bunch at 1,218 sq. ft., but you’d never know it because of the smart layout, handy storage and the large windows, which help to let in the outdoors — and loads of light. In addition, prior owners of the home converted the carport into a finished living space, adding 248 sq. ft. to the home.
You can see how large the living area feels because of the wall of windows as soon as you enter the home.
In a warm climate like Texas, I bet a nice large patio like this would see a lot of use almost year round.
The home is full of lovely midcentury design elements — like the exposed beams that pass through the clerestory windows in the main living room — wow! And how about that gorgeous fireplace!
The home’s kitchen and dining area is also very open, light and bright. Notice the supersized picture window over the sink. Don’t you just love those floating, sliding door cabinets? And the wood used in the cabinets themselves — gorgeous, still today.
The tall pony wall (should we call a “tall pony wall” a “horse wall”?) between the kitchen and dining area is nice — anyone working in the kitchen can hear and see what’s going on in the dining room, but when the family sits down to dinner, they don’t have to see the mess made from cooking.
Note, it looks like this house got some decorating updates in the 1980s — the window treatments all have telltale shades of peachy-mauve. Even so, we’d be tempted to keep them a long long time — like the rest of this house, they appear high quality — very expensive to replicate today. If they are goodies: Love the curtains you get!
Of course, there’s even a pink bathroom! This laminate really reminds of the pink laminate used in The Wilson House. Considering Wilsonart was based in Texas, we bet it’s the same.
Mega thanks to Realtor Ed Murchison for sharing this property with us and for Shoot2Sell Photography for giving us permission to feature these photos.
Link Love:
Tips to view slide show: Click on first image… it will enlarge and you can also read any captions… click anywhere to move forward and look for previous and next buttons within photo to move back or forth… you can start or stop at any image:
Melinda says
I love this house! Glad to see it was changed from the original plan to add a second bath.
And whoever hung the plants in the breezeway was a genius. It is the perfect touch to the curb appeal of this house.
bella says
I just love this house. I remember as a kid, riding my bike past homes that looked similar to this and wishing I could see what they looked like on the inside.
Mary Elizabeth says
What a beautiful house. I’m glad the 1980s decor didn’t creep into the baths and kitchen. So nice.
As for the original plan featured in the 1958 magazine, I think it’s possible that once home buyers saw this model, they asked their builders to expand the floor plan of the model home. So it may be that the larger master bedroom and second bath was all built in 1960.
It appears that the vanity sink area is open to the master bedroom, then you go through a door to the toilet and shower. Is that correct?
Ed Murchison says
Yes, that is correct.
Nathanael Kitchen says
This is really cool! I love the tall divider for the porch. What a great space!
Candace says
There is absolutely not way this home was originally selling for $95.000 in 1958. That’s quite an egregious misprint. A mansion in Bel Air would have run you that, but not a small, utterly ordinary (for the time) home. This would have sold for $16,000, tops, even in the LA market.
pam kueber says
Candace, the house is $95,000 today.
Ed Murchison says
Pam, thanks for the clarification!
Linda M says
I am preparing to move back to TX from the East Coast. Moved from TX 8 years ago for family reasons. Those reasons no longer need my attention. Lived in Dallas area for 30 + years and miss it so. Love MC design. I’m retired now and this house would more than meet my needs AND what a great price. All cash. Close quickly.
pam kueber says
Linda, if you are saying you are interested in this house — click on the links in the story to get to the listing and contact the realtor — or, just click on Ed Murchison’s name — he is responding to questions in this comment thread, he is the realtor.
ineffablespace says
It’s a great house.
One great thing about this house is that the personality is so strong that I don’t think there’s any way someone could buy it hoping to “update” it into something else.
I looked at it on street view, and not only is it small, I think it looks smaller than it is. There’s been a big shift since then. Houses used to settle down into their site. Now any “house of the year” would not only have to be large, large, but it would also need to look larger and more impressive than it actually is, kind of like the fake storefronts of the old west.
Jay-Are Garcia says
Help me. I’ve fallen for a house and I can’t get up. What an awesome home. If I lived in that area I would definitely snatch it up. Why can’t homes be built like this anymore. How great would it be to see these homes ( neighborhoods of them) being built instead of the blah they are building. I’m glad some of these are still in existence. Let’s hope the new future owner will respect its heritage and not go all HGTV on it.
Ronda Vallejo says
In our area, all you see is raised ranch houses. Not only are they unattractive and impractical, they aren’t good for areas with extremes in climate. Our house has the garage under the side with the bedrooms and bathrooms (standard for this type of house), so they are stifling in summer and freezing in winter. The only comfortable part of the house is the living room and kitchen. I love ranch style houses, and mid century ones most of all, but it’s very hard to find them here.
randy says
Hi Ronda – You should check out the following blog about “raised ranch” or “split foyer” homes — it’s quite fun. I don’t think anyone has posted on it for awhile, but the past posts are great reading. Maybe it’ll make you feel better about your house… or worse! It depends on your point of view I guess. Enjoy.
https://remodelle.wordpress.com/2008/07/14/split-foyer-house-style-spawn-of-satan/
pam kueber says
In 1971, my parents built a split level ranch. I adored it! That’s the house where I was able to decorate my own bedroom. It was a total groove pad.
Lynne says
“Love the curtains you get” When we bought our 1955 ranch, there were curtain treatments very much like the ones shown in the dining area. Excellent, custom quality, but an unfortunate fabric. We found that despite the pattern, if you remove the big cornice boards, you instantly knock at least 30 years off the look.
We were able to live with our 80’s drapes for four years before we re-pinch pleated our Anderson Windowalls.
pam kueber says
Great idea!
JKM says
This home is pristine! I especially like the large, covered entry court (really digging how they hung the hanging baskets), efficient floor plan, and walls of glass that make the home seem larger than it really is. I’m envisioning the carpet gone and wall-to-wall cork floors plus, although I’m sure the extra room is a benefit, I’d “unenclose” the carport. Something I also noticed is how the Better Homes & Gardens plan was expanded along the rear, whether originally or at a later date, to enlarge the master bedroom and add a second bath. It’s seamless and doesn’t look like an addition. Keene’s way out (although I live in the Dallas/Fort Worth area, I had to look it up!) but what a charming home. Thanks for sharing!
midmichigan says
I love it! The suspended cabinetry in the kitchen is especially cool. The classic sinks and faucets throughout are really nice as well. Geez, I hope the new owners don’t change it too much.