An email tip from reader Anne led us to this stunning time capsule house in time capsule house in Grosse Pointe Park, Michigan, which is listed for sale by Kay Agney from Higbie Maxon Agney Realtors. (Trivia: GPP is yet another city where Pam has lived.) This stately house is a stunner indeed. And if you were in disbelief at our recent Portland, Oregon, house with five vintage pastel bathroom, well, hold on to your hat, because this Michigan beauty counts seven — yes, that’s seven — vintage pastel tiled bathrooms. (The listing says it has six because they can not technically count the bath in the basement, we are told.) Other exciting details in the house are a garden entryway with an amazing vintage tile fountain and coordinating patterned tile on the walls and floors, a curved staircase and several fantastic retro rec rooms. Thanks to Matti from Mixed Media, we have both wonderful photos of this property and a very extensive video tour (link now gone) to drool over, too. Not only does this house have unique details — but it also has an interesting history — involving a possible secret passage.
From the listing:
- Price: $849,000
- Year built: 1950
- Square footage: 7,481
- Bedrooms: 5
- Bathrooms: 7
This fabulous and lovingly maintained Georgian Colonial features an interesting history! The updated kitchen will delight any chef, the spacious bedrooms have private baths, and the 2nd floor family room offers a wet bar and bath! Paneled library, garden room with a fountain, and beautiful grounds are only the beginning! Finished lower level with wine cellar, rec room, 2nd kitchen and 6th full bath! Extensive use of Italian marble and custom tile! Located on a Boulevard one block from elementary school!
The current owners are the fifth owners of the home — and over the years, they have continued to restore and maintain this beautiful property.
We are pretty darn sure in our guess that the tile and fixtures in all the bathrooms are original. Look closely — three of the bathrooms have tile covering not just the walls and floor, but also the ceiling.
The pink bathroom has a shower, tub and a dressing area.
The profile of the mirror/medicine cabinet in this white and burgundy bath is awesome — and the tile so nicely edges the room’s windows and floor.
Here’s a combination we don’t see every day — a vintage maroon and grey tiled bathroom where maroon is the main color. The hex tile floor with flower motif is so charming.
By the time we get to the 7th bathroom — all the colors must have been used up. Even though it is only white on white — the basket weave tile floor adds interest. We’ll hazard a guess — housekeeper’s bathroom?
If the seven vintage ceramic tile bathrooms didn’t impress you — this tile entryway — dubbed “the garden room” sure will. Detroit is home to the famous Pewabic Tile company. We wonder if this is Pewabic.
Just look at the beautiful pattern on the walls and floor — and then there is tile work on the fountain — amazing.
Also of note — this game room with inset linoleum flooring in a fun argyle like pattern. The warm fall colors are a wonderful complement to the wood paneling on the walls — we’re ready for a Ping Pong tournament, for sure!
Just when you thought the surprises were over — check out this vintage yellow steel kitchen in the basement. Pam calls these as: American Brand cabinets — if you squinch your eyes, you can see the hold in the center of the base cabinet doors where the cabinet pull went. 52PnB, do you agree?
Mega thanks to Kay Agney from Higbie Maxon Agney Realtors for allowing us to feature this wonderful property… to Matti from Mixed Media for allowing us to feature his photos and video of this truly beautiful time capsule house… and to reader Anne for the time capsule tip. Honestly, readers, you are just the greatest with all these tips — keep them coming! ?
The 411:
- If you are interested in learning more about this property, contact Kay Agney: office (888) 886-4060 or email her at kay@higbiemaxon.com.
- See the complete listing here. (link from 2013 no longer active)
To see more, larger pictures — view the slide show below. Tips to view slide show: Click on first image… it will enlarge and you can also read my captions… move forward or back via arrows below the photo… you can start or stop at any image:
Jason says
Wow, such a great example of the different tile combinations. I love each of them and each shows a good example of how to coordinate the upper half of the wall.
I finally painted my yellow and black tiled bath yesterday with yellow above the tile – it is a bit brighter than I thought it would be, but it does pull it together.
Rebecca says
Gotta love the tiled ceilings!
lynda says
If the rumor is true about the original owners, I would say the criminals had great taste! Just WOW! FYI, the 50’s house I grew up in looked nothing like this!! Seems like such a bargain price, too.
http://www.higbiemaxon.idxco.com/idx/8255/photoGallery.php?idxID=110&listingID=31134815
Robin, NV says
Do my eyes deceive me or is some of the tile in the bathrooms rectangular rather than the standard 4×4 inch? The tiles in my green bathroom are 4×6 and I always kind of figured they were from a later remodel from the 1970s but now I’m wondering if they’re not original. My other bathroom has 4×4 tile and it’s definitely original.
Some day when I have a knotty pine rec room, I’m totally going to have an inset linoleum floor like the one in this house. Oh – and the vanity lights in the pink/turquoise bathroom – awesome!
pam kueber says
I think that’s distortion from the wide-angle lens of the camera. I think they’re 4×4. I HAVE seen 4×6’s before, though. COOL that you have some!
Wendy M. says
What an amazing house! I’m especially drawn to the tile work in the entry.
I’m also facinated by the restraint the original owners showed…obviously they had a fair amount of money to spend, but nothing seems over-the-top. (Did it have to do with concealing the source of their money/not drawing attention to themselves? Did the items that were sold off make a tremendous difference in the feel of the home? The backstory sounds quite interesting.) I wonder how many people today with that kind of budget would be able to show that kind of self-control.
Lauryn says
Hmm. I’m not sure I would call putting seven bathrooms (some of which are bigger than most people’s bedrooms) and a fountain in the entrance way “restraint”. I’d hazard a guess that this house was pretty darn over-the-top in 1950.
Rebecca Prichard says
SEVEN bathrooms?! My god. I wonder the history of the original owners. I think I should take a drive to see it!
Sara says
Wow! Absolutely AMAZING! I didn’t think anything could trump the bathrooms in that Portland house, but the tile on the ceiling just blows my mind. This is eye candy. I’m going to have to look at these pictures many, many times!
Adrienne says
Hopefully the buyer for this home will sign a contract in blood not to “update” any bathrooms! 🙂 That turquoise with pink accents one is going on my photo wish board!
Laura's Last Ditch--Vintage Kitchenwares says
I have 21 photos of a very interesting Mid Mod church I’m dying to share. Can I email them to you for a possible blog post?
And, of course, I love this. Wish it was on my side of Michigan so I could see it in person!
pam kueber says
Sure, Laura, thanks!
nina462 says
Pam – I sent you an email earlier this month regarding a Time Capsule house here in Portage, MI (Kalamazoo). I also notified the realtor to contact this website –
I do have some pictures to show – but they are not professional.
I sure hope you can contact the realtor!
Laura's Last Ditch--Vintage Kitchenwares says
Thanks, Pam! I’ve just emailed you via your contact link on the blog.
Liz says
This house is amazing! Though its sad that it lost some of its original pieces its absolutely amazing that it has been so well maintained! I adore the tile in the entry way. It’s my fave of the whole house, hands down! Love your site, keep up the good work!