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.
Matthew says
When we bought our c. 1940 Colonial Revival, the entryway had a slate floor exactly like the one shown in this post. When one of the tiles popped lose, we discovered the original hardwood was still underneath, so we ripped up the slate and restored the wood.
Maggie says
Lovin’ all these rooms, but I also must compliment you on your photography, Pam. Your camera skills have gotten so good over the years of this blog — these shots are quite wonderful, esp. the bathroom pix, and I know those are difficult because you’re in such a small space. Kudos!
pam kueber says
Thank you, Maggie! If I had more time, I’d study photography or at least, work at it even harder. It’s fun. Fortunately, my husband bought me a pretty good camera – for Mother’s Day last year. For once, I “needed” something. Well, as much as you can “need” such a thing….
Brad says
Hey, we’ve got this flooring in our 1958 foyer. How does one clean/preserve it?
pam kueber says
Hi Brad, as mentioned above, this old flooring can have asbestos in it. We don’t make reco’s here on how to handle the issue — please consult an expert / pro and make your own decisions. Also, if you look on the Fast & Easy pages, such as Flooring, on the New/Start Here page in the Navigation bar, or on the Terms of Use page at the bottom, you can see I also list some EPA websites that you can use in doing your research.
Virginia says
It’s official, this is my inspiration house. Every detail is so perfect, and the overall look is so balanced.
Either the owners had impeccable taste or they used a very good designer. Either way, the flawless execution is just stunning.
Also official: The wallpaper love is infectious. Used to hate it, but Pam has made me a believer.
sumac sue says
Wow, this house has something for everybody. It all looks in great shape.
Alice says
That kitchen…knees are weak, pulse is rapid…..wow!
Jane (aka) Elvis says
What a trip! Thanks for the fab photos, Pam. I desperately love that orange bathroom: I’d love to do something so over the top like that in mine!
Keep retro reconning and passing the great photos along!
pam kueber says
Several readers have asked about the exterior of the house. As I think I mentioned yesterday, part of what made this so interesting was that the house was an old Victorian. Like, 1900 or so, I’d say. Parts of it still showed the Victoriana — the entire exterior, for example. And then there were crown moldings, gorgeous wood floors, turned balusters and of course, all the little rooms going off this way and that. Then – the house was renovated in 1952, I think that’s when the owners finally selling the house and holding the estate sale moved in. So, the two kitchens and bathrooms were done then… Then, in the late 60s or early 70s there seems to have been another update. That’s when so much of that groovy wallpaper and the downstairs kitchen floor went in. So, it was a big mash-up really.
ulysses101 says
*sigh* – your post reminds me of all the wonderful quirky things I loved about my grandparents house growing up – seafoam bathroom tiles and all 🙂
Caffeinated Katie says
My grandfather worked for Kentile for many years and their tiles definitely have asbestos in them. There was a class-action lawsuit many years ago against Kentile on behalf of the workers, including my grandfather, because of the asbestos and how sick the workers became when they got older.