14 time capsule wallpapers & floors

More photos from the weekend’s fabulous time capsule house estate sale — today focusing on floors and walls. To start — this typical 50s slate porch or foyer flooring. I adore this type of flooring, and it is still available today at a reasonable cost, because it’s so old-fashioned.

Yowza, here is the downstairs powder room. You know that I love it. It has very 70s wallpaper — on the walls, the closet doors and the ceiling. It’s kind of interesting to see the mod wallpaper and toilet paired with the classic American Standard 50s sink.

Grey Kentile asphalt tiles in an upstairs half bath. I love how the tile is ‘coved’ to work its way up into a baseboard. I am pretty sure this is Kentile because there was an old brochure in the kitchen. I noticed that even though the brochure called this “asphalt tile” it also mentioned “asbestos fillers” — so be cognizant of this issue in your own homes, readers. Get informed, consult with a professional, and decide how you will handle this tile.

More of the fabulous fabulous kitchen floor.

And more.

The upstairs kitchen again, with a better look at how the “two floors” meet. As I took this picture I was standing here:

The upstairs kitchen dining area. Notice the simple pull-shades on the windows, which themselves are classic picture windows flanked by casements.

A downstairs bedroom / reading room. Mod orange wallpaper with wood trimmed in harvest gold paint. The lighting fixture was all swirly orange-and-yellow-and-white. I have to dig further to see if any of my shots really captured it properly, drats.

Lovely wallpaper in an upstairs bedroom. The color — so pleasing. Perfect feng shui color for a bedroom.

Peek a boo. This featured flat panel mirrors in many, many places. I heard that a fancy New York decorator was involved. Yes, to flat panel mirrors! Outside the door on the right is a porch with gorgeous views. There were lots of porches everywhere, too.

Wallpapered ceiling in the big yellow tile bedroom. Fabulous detail. The graphic mix is perfect, too — the angularity of the tiles countered by the simple floral in the wallpaper. I have been reading my feng shui book again, closely. Trick to achieving harmony: Pairing opposites. As evidenced here.

This garden trellis wallpaper was used on the walls and ceiling of the main stairway.

Last but certainly not least – the blue and gray bathroom downstairs. Ha! Many of you are sick of hearing me say “wallpaper your bathroom walls.” Now I add to the litany: “…and the ceiling, too!” This wallpaper is particularly gorgeous – so light and airy but with just enough metallic gravitas to punctuate the gray tile and royal (navy?) blue trim. The tile, by the way, appears to be old…maybe a kind of rubber…that was later painted. Like, this is the original 50s bathroom – they just repainted the tile and added the wallpaper in the 70s. I guess I’d better show the floor, too:

More Kentile – this time, blue. More of those classique American Standard fixtures. And I must say, I love this color combo. It’s one I haven’t seen yet, and it’s quite pleasing.