I know I often say this, but this 1976 time capsule house for sale in Salem, Oregon, listed by Ty Hildebrand, may be my favorite 1970s time capsule house ever! Thanks to reader Wendy for this time capsule tip! The lines and angles of the house are amazing. The setting and views, too. The house appears to be in amazing, move-in condition — I wouldn’t need to change a thing! And, given that I am the world’s #1 lover of wallpaper, I am in heaven. I spoke to Ty on the phone on Friday, and he told me that the original homeowners used a decorator in Portland, Oregon, who was known for her genius with wallpaper. He also says the wallpaper is so strongly adhered that prospective buyers still looking at the house are considering stucco-ing over it (gasp! horrors!) rather than removing it.
I will bury that thought deep away in my psyche and instead say: Hooray: 40 terrific photos — captured by Cal Curths of HD Open House — sharing this slice of high-style 1976 design, still here for us to admire.
From the listing:
- Year built: 1976
- 4,207 s.f.
- On 3.31 acres
- Two bedrooms, 3.5 bathrooms
- Three fireplaces
- $550,000
And so I diverge: On Commenting:
So here’s the deal, dear readers: It’s beginning to seem like America is running out of time capsule houses from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s — and that time capsule houses from the 1970s are now popping up all over. This transition is going to mean a lot of wallpaper (often with matchy-matchy pinch pleats) … crazy-wonderful tile … bittersweet kitchen countertops… and burnt orange, rust, and lime green shag carpet. The 1970s are my favorite era, because designers pushed things to the limit. They pushed things beyond the limit. However, I know a lot of folks cannot get their eyes around 70s style (yet. Buwahahaha, my evil-righteous plan is to change that). But, I do ask this: Given my commenting rules, which center on civility aka The Golden Rule, I ask that if you don’t like (e.g. if you h***) the wallpaper, or whatever, that you simply skip that in any comments. I do not approve, or delete, comments that are critical, when such criticism is not invited. I ask permission to feature all these time capsules. We are, therefore, invited in. So let’s all be super courteous — comment as if we are standing in the home with the original owners — grateful and gob-smacked for the opportunity to see these wonders! Thank you for your understanding!
Let’s take a look at some of my favorite spaces:
Above: That family room (?) with all the gleaming woodwork, colorful yet soothing (yes: soothing!) wallpaper, matching pinch pleats, and cozy carpet — complete with marlin — perfection!
Above: Yes, a kitchen like this, with high-quality wallpaper adhered to the walls — and the ceiling — so it doesn’t fall down, is my dream. I love this flooring, too.
Above: The sunken living room is lovely. And I love all the main rooms of the house seem to have views in multiple direction. Love me the rusty-orange carpet… the Flintstones rock wall… and note the lacquered ceiling int he dining room. Hmmm…. Are all the walls in this space lacquered?
Above: I think this is a bedroom. Rust carpeting! And that wallpaper! And that fireplace!
Above: I think this is the bathroom that does with that bedroom. But, it could also be off the kitchen — note the floor. I spy wallpaper on the sixth wall (e.g. the ceiling) in this room, too.
Above: The other bedroom, with coordinating bathroom.
Above: A wet bar tucked somewhere. In bittersweet. Be still my 70s heart.
The slide show has more photos — takes on all the exterior angles… the dramatic foyer… and the sweeping views. All that said, once inside, I’d crank up P Funk and never leave the house.
So what do you LOVE about this house, dear readers?
On a scale of 1-100, where are you on digging ’70s design so far?
Link love:
- Ty Hildebrand and his team.
- Photos by Cal Curths of HD Open House.
- See all our Time Capsule stories here.
Cheryl says
Oh my stars!! This home is stunning.
I certainly remember my own wallpapered extravaganza. And the shag carpet. Loved it. Loved it so much that I did it in 2 houses. Even used the same color of shag carpet.
Andi says
I am surprised how much I love this house! The wallpaper in the wood-paneled room is absolutely breathtaking, with everything I love. Rich colors, an exotic motif, large dense pattern. Could look at that forever and never tire of it. I also wouldn’t touch anything else, it was beautifully thought out all the way around. Hope whoever buys it feels the same!
Bonnie says
Mike Brady himself could have designed this beauty!!!
TraceyC says
I love the sunken living room and the sleek kitchen cabinets. I love the wallpaper on the ceiling, too. A friend of mine in junior high lived in a pretty “mod” 1970’s house with the wallpapered kitchen ceiling. I love “MOD”!!! Always begged to go to the “Mod Shop” in town to buy beads for bracelets and funky colored piggy banks or colored notebook paper (lime green was a fav) or anything else new and funky:) Yeah for the ’70’s.
Mary says
This is EXQUISITE! Would not change a thing. I wish I could find comparable new wallpaper patterns today. Buying vintage is expensive and usually not available in lots large enough for a significant project.
I would not call this a time capsule. I would call it timeless design.
Thanks for sharing!
Lilly says
The house we lived in during the 1980’s was decorated in a similar manner. They are really not as hard to live in as some might assume. The use of pattern repeated from the walls to the curtains etc etc. isn’t as overwhelming as it might come off in a photo.
With the wallpaper in the kitchen, I found the repeated dark spots in the pattern made it a bit much. Is there a way to tint or stain high quality wallpaper? A color wash over that pattern might be enough to make it not so busy.
Portfan says
LOVE it!!! What blows me away is how inexpensive it is! Especially with all of those architectural/design details and beautifully proportioned rooms. I don’t think I’d change a thing… Eh, maybe some of the carpet because some spots look dirty but not because of the design or colors.
I should add that I do live in a modest 70’s house and I love it. We’ve kept the original handmade orange tile (I cannot imagine how expensive tile like this would be nowadays!) and have even added some additional 70’s details like groovy wallpaper in the powder room.
mag says
The carpet might look great with new pads, and being restretched.
ineffablespace says
I think that there is an essential misconception about what a time capsule is, to the non-aficionados of vintage design, at least.
I posted a number of photos of my parents house at the time my father was getting ready to move out, and I posted it as a time capsule. Everything was between 30 and 45 years old, decor wise.
Some of the opinions were that we would never be able to unload the house with the full complement of all the dated items in it, and a quick fix would be to remove All the window treatments, remove All the hardware and “freshen it up” with cheap hardware and curtain panels, from Home Depot. They actually used the word cheap. They also recommended removing all the LR furniture and getting something inexpensive, so that “at least one room looked up-to-date”.
(All of the living room furniture was Baker, Henredon, Milling Road, or antique. The “dated” mirror was actually from the Federal period).
Those were the more helpful comments.
One person commented that she would not look twice at a house like this because if the owners had “Neglected to Update and Maintain” something as “easy and inexpensive to update” as furniture and decor, she could only imagine how neglected the roof, the plumbing, the furnace and important things like that were.
The house had a brand new roof, a newer HVAC system, and had been meticulously maintained for 45 years.
When I posted a side by side comparison of a house the same age that belonged to a friend’s father, that I was helping her to sell–a house that had been neglected since it was built–
the person came back and said “I see no difference. All I see is Old. In both cases”. And this was the same problem I had with that friend. She thought the house I grew up in was old, her house was old, same thing.
The reality of it was that my parents’ house sold before the listing went up, and the other house sat for over a year, sold for about what I had suggested she list at and needed to be gutted, which I had suggested she market it as (handy man).
I am not saying this because my parents house was something so fabulous. But it was a true time capsule, very well maintained, but what a lot of people who saw it thought was “old” “dated” and nothing else, and assumed condition problems as well. And some people could not (or would not) differentiate between the time capsule, and the gut job–to them they were the same thing.
And clearly, they are not.
pam kueber says
As I recall another reader, quoting a grandparent, saying some time ago: “Ain’t nothin’ wrong with old as long as it’s clean.”
Lynne says
LOL! That was me! I can’t believe you remember that! It was my elderly neighbor that said that. I was very pregnant and we were moving into our “starter home” . It was old-but it was clean!
pam kueber says
Well there you go!
Ramona Dahl says
What a great home for a big family or a extended family. So beautiful, thanks for sharing this retro time capsule.
Stephanie says
OMG, I love the 70’s!!! Green, orange, and brown are my jam.