“Luckily we didn’t have the money
to do all the renovations we wanted right away,
because we ended up falling in love with many of the
original aspects that we had considered changing.”
Gabriel and Amanda own a stunning house, designed by architect John Erwin Ramsay, in North Carolina. “Own” may not be the right word, though: To me, Gabe and Amanda clearly have taken on the role as “caretakers” of this house with so many original features. Above: Holey Jetsons, one of my newest favoritest kitchens ever. Continue on for the story and 27 more photos of this beautiful home.
Gabe writes:
We spent about year looking for the perfect house, and in 2007 while working out of town Amanda did an internet search for a nearby county. As soon as she saw it she called Gabe and told me she’d found our house!
We weren’t looking for midcentury, but it was looking for us. During our first visit we were surprised to find the door was unlocked.
We stayed for hours planning out exactly what we would do once we owned it. We had to have it!
Luckily we didn’t have the money to do all the renovations we wanted right away, because we ended up falling in love with many of the original aspects that we had considered changing.
During the five years we have lived in our very original, mid- mod we have fallen in love with this house over and over.
We can’t imagine living anywhere else.
With the help of George Smart of (trianglemodernisthouses.com) we located our architect and discovered our house plans were stored in the N.C. State University School of Design Archives.
Since this discovery we have worked to locate and document other works by the same architect, John Erwin Ramsay AIA, of Salisbury, N.C.
We started immediately collecting pieces from the 50’s 60’s and 70’s. This passion for authentic pieces has continued to grow. We eventually sold all our furniture and accessories to be replaced with vintage pieces.
Yes, everything has to be vintage… even the can opener, umbrellas, and pot holders. We love going out as close to period as we can on everything! and even have a closet full of vintage clothes, purses, jewelry, hats, ties, etc.. p.s. even a pink ’62 Caddy and ’60 Ford truck.
(The 1962 Caddy is Amanda’s, and it is a mostly original survivor car.
And it is the original factory color, “Laurel”. Elvis would just call it pink!
The 1960 truck is ruff but it has such character! I have enjoyed it so much more than anything new!…Rust Rules!
(BTW the dogs are “Ellie” (white) and “Lucy” (black).)
We were always drawn to old, simpler times as well as simple clever design… I’m an artist and a musician so I’ve always been enamored with interesting lines, colors and the practical / impractical Design for the sake of Art and usability.
Some specifics about the house.. it was built in 1954, it is 4 bedrooms, 2 ½ bath, 3000 sq feet and sits on 5 acres. We purchased it from the original owner and had the privilege of his sons visiting us a few years ago.
We learned so much about the house from this visit, including that the terrazzo flooring was laid by 2 men they flew in from from Italy …..
How do you even begin to do that without the internet?????
Check out my house sign I made and custom mail box stand my dad helped me make out of steel tubing!
The mailbox is period, I just took it apart, restored it and painted it to match the house.
The stickers on the bathroom tile are original and feature teams from the 50’s and their old logo’s some aren’t even around anymore like the Washington senators!
The boys who stuck these on as kids ended up visiting us and checking out what we’ve been doing. (They posed for photo during their visit, above, from left: Barry and Mark Levin.) They remember sticking them there.
Some other great features: Check out the Thermador double ovens and warmers.. Original CRAZY wallpaper overhead in the background!!!!
… the Herman Miller desk and drawers set..
Big umbrellas by the pool.. (pool unrestored but a whopping 25′ x 40′.
We love living with and using our mid century pieces every day. It has become so normal to us living this way that it is sometimes funny when someone starts commenting on one of our period staples like the double Thermador ovens or the vintage toaster. It makes you stop and think about the fact that some of that stuff and this house is approaching 60 years old! Boy they don’t make ‘em like this anymore.
Portaits of Gabe and Amanda: By © Kyle L. Pearce 2011 Kyle Pierce Photography
Wow. Gabe and Amanda, it is clear that you are Livin’ the Dream. Thank you so much for sharing! xoxo
Kevin Eaton says
This is just FANTASTIC. I’m so happy for you!
RosemaryMartin says
Everything is so fabulous! It’s impossible to compliment just one aspect of this amazing home. It really is a national treasure. Thanks for sharing it with us.
Kyle Pearce says
This is truly a great house, I have seen it in person and meeting the Gabriel and Amanda was a real treat. They are very gracious and friendly and the house and its contents are an extension of there wonderful personality’s. Before I did the portraits of Gabriel and Amanda that you see in the article they allowed me to do a photo shoot in the house. We had a great time and we had planned to shoot for about 5 hours that day. After about 9 hours we ran out of time but the ideas for shots were almost endless. Here is a web gallery of some of the shots if anyone is interested http://www.klpphoto.com/LRGalleries/MGSelects/
Kelly says
I don’t even know what to say! WOW! Truly spectacular! Congratulations and may you live long happy lives in that home!
Alice says
What a terrific house…I’m glad you used the phrase “midcentury modern was calling you” – the same happened to us! The ceilings in the kitchen look marvelously tall – what is the height?
gabriel nicholson says
The Kitchen ceiling is sloped with the roofline.. the highest point and the roof peak is just over the wild wallpaper at 16′ tall
Cinemascope says
Your house is just breathtaking. Seriously, I’m having trouble breathing. I have to ask about Lucy and Ellie. Are they Catahoulas? The look exactly like my Mocha (except for the markings).
gabriel nicholson says
They are!!! Mixes they are…. Lucy is kind of a fice mix and Ellie is a lab mix.. Both Catahoulas.. Aren’t they the BEST!!!!
Cinemascope says
Yay, Catahoulas! Put a white chest and feet on Lucy and you have Mocha!
rainstormy says
Nixon though? Reeeeally? I guess they were out of McCarthy for President stickers.
Chuck Andrews says
Hello Gabe:
I am Nancy Levin’s son and Bob’s stepson. Thank you for being such loving caretakers of this lovely home. I have a somewhat annoying ability to recall obscure details probably best forgotten. You might be interested to know that the kitchen wallpaper is NOT original but is the product of a 60’s (or possibly 70’s) remodel. The original wallpaper there was an OLIVE color with a matte finish and a more subtle pattern. Not sure if it was removed or just covered over. Likewise, there are many other furnishings that were a product of that remodel or just added later. Thought you’d like to know!
gabriel nicholson says
Thanks Chuck! I love any info I can get about the house or it’s history.. Thanks for sharing! btw… do you have any old pics from around here? Inside or out? We would love to look back in time..
Jane / MulchMaid says
What a joy to see this love affair playing out! How wonderful that this beautiful home and this lovely couple found each other. The Nicholsons get my personal award for “Most Sensitive Restoration Ever”.
William Sims says
Regarding the previous comment: I am an idiot! I of course meant “The Nicholsons.” Please forgive me.
gabriel nicholson says
lol!! Thats too funny!! although Ozzie and Harriet were a little on the calm side comparably! … The “Nicholslon House sign was kinda casual since I did do sign work for about 10 years.. It is doable either by you or your local sign shop.. though.. the hardest part is the design. Once you finally decide what your theme is, then the color scheme.. Then usually theres 3 or 4 cool ideas you have to choose between!!!! ARRGGGHHHHH!! Then you can begin your one of a kind creation.. There are lots of “how to’ articles online and in Signcraft Magazine about h.d.u., sign foam and 3 dimensional signs / sandblast signs..