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Remodel & decorate in Mid Century Style

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Home / The Museum of Mid Century Material Culture / time capsule homes

Midcentury modern time capsule house in Portland, Oregon

Kate - Updated: August 22, 2020

Retro Renovation stopped publishing in 2021; these stories remain for historical information, as potential continued resources, and for archival purposes.

Entry-way-retroTour-a-Time-CapsuleWhat is it about Portland, Oregon? The city seems to have an unusually large stock of amazing time capsule homes of every style — from amazing 1938 tudors to sleek streamline moderne to compact and friendly midcentury modern gems like the one today. This recent find — sent to us by reader Cheryl — is a 1960 mid century minimal masterpiece with lovely hints of Mondrian. Listed for sale by Lance Marrs from Living Room Realty, this stunning home is about as original as they come. Filled with warm wood walls and ceilings, cork floors, oodles of built-ins and what seems to be all the fabulous original light fixtures, this home is ready to house your vintage furniture collection. Thanks to photographer Jillian Doughty from 22pages photography, we have a whole lotta lovely photos to drool over. Let’s take a look, shall we?

mid-century-house-exterior

From the listing:

Price: $429,900
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 2
Partial Baths:1
Square Ft: 2,172

This 1960 home exudes mid-century cool. Flow, natural light & connection to outdoors were/are a primary consideration. Main floor for lounging, conversing & eating. Upper floor for sleeping, peace & quiet. Walk-out basement for play, work, and quick access to private yard. Every choice here is a mix of beauty & function; representing the design of the time. Updates: roof, driveway, yard, w/d, water heater, furnace, AC.

retro-wood-panelingWith all the craziness in retro interiors we often show here on the blog, it is nice to see this house — a model of livable perfection — in a more mid century modern, yet still modest style. This house is a breath of fresh air. Its timeless design makes it appeal to even those who have not been bitten by the retro decorating bug. The open floor plan of the main living area feel so modern — and those exposed beam, wood ceilings — wowza.

mid-century-wood-ceilingWall of windows, check. Amazing built-in storage, check. Cool light fixtures, check. This house just might have it all.

retro-galley-kitchenWhat an adorable vintage wall oven — in a sweet, buttery yellow.

retro-modern-kitchenI wish my upper kitchen cabinets had sliding doors like these. Also notice that tile back splash with dark grout.

And as always, there’s more house to see in our slide show — make sure to take a look.

Mega thanks to real estate agent Lance Marrs from Living Room Realty for allowing us to show this property and to Jillian Doughty from 22pages photography for giving us permission to share her photos of the property here on our blog.

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:?

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mid-century-built-in-shelving-jpg
mid-century-wood-ceiling-jpg
retro-wood-paneling-jpg
mid-century-fireplace-jpg
retro-galley-kitchen-jpg
retro-modern-kitchen-jpg
built-in-mid-century-jpg
mid-century-stairway-jpg
mid-century-bedroom-jpg
modern-bathroom-pink-tile-jpg
mid-century-wood-ceiling-room-jpg
mid-century-cork-floor-jpg
mid-century-flooring-jpg
mid-century-patio-jpg

CATEGORIES:
The Museum of Mid Century Material Culture time capsule homes

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36 comments

Comments

  1. Lisa Compo says

    August 29, 2013 at 11:29 pm

    I love the wood ceilings and lots of built ins and the light fixtures, but there is something here that looks like they couldn’t make up their mind on a style. The kitchen cabinets seem a bit hodge-podge, but the sliding glass door units are awesome. I like how they decrease in size as they near the countertop. All the natural light and big windows do make it a lovely house overall.

  2. Lisa Compo says

    August 29, 2013 at 11:01 pm

    What a neat house. I would be like “could you just take only your clothes and leave everything else as is?”. With a couple exceptions, this place is great. I love that little yellow couch in the sunroom. The light fixtures are amazing. Thanks for sharing this one. I was in love with the one featured in the article, but this is MCM in a warm, cozy way when the other is MCM in a sleek and sexy way. So much to love about them all.

    • Lisa Compo says

      August 29, 2013 at 11:21 pm

      Did anyone else catch the double drainboard sink (since we were having the big sink talk the other day) and the hanging refrigerator in the kitchen? The corner of glass block windows in the bathroom is ingenious–natural light but plenty of privacy. Darling house.

  3. Panzyzz says

    August 29, 2013 at 10:46 pm

    Absolutely gorgeous and Pam is totally correct – PERFECTION! I would move to Oregon just to live there. Lots of space, windows, roofline that I love, and the lighting is fabulous. Thanks for this Pam!

  4. Corraun says

    August 29, 2013 at 10:00 pm

    “What is it about Portland, Oregon? The city seems to have an unusually large stock of amazing time capsule homes of every style — from amazing 1938 tudors to sleek streamline moderne to compact and friendly midcentury modern gems like the one today. ”

    I have lived in Portland 14 years. I think the best way to respond is Portland is full of people who love retro and who appreciate time capsule homes. When renovating the two homes I have owned I have used your wonderful website to help me put things back to how they were when the houses were built.

  5. Mike says

    August 29, 2013 at 8:27 pm

    Thank God a paint roller never touched that beautiful ceiling!

  6. Chris says

    August 29, 2013 at 6:29 pm

    Oh my goodness! Not to take away from the grandeur of the home featured in the article, but THIS house — this house is adorable! I love everything inside it and am praying to the retrorenovation gods that someone doesn’t come in and gut it. It is glorious.

    • Chris says

      August 30, 2013 at 7:59 am

      I used to live an hour and a half away from St. Louis, in Illinois. Man, if I were still in that part of the country, I’d be ON IT!

  7. Carole says

    August 29, 2013 at 5:56 pm

    Beautiful home. Maybe I should go for a ‘tour’ of it before it sells. lol

    I think that Oregonians have a strong connection w/ architecture. We love it not only for what it was, but for what it is. Even when the need to remodel arises, most homes are remodeled in keeping to what the house is supposed to be, not with another style in mind (ie turning a Victorian into a modern, etc).

    Last summer my husband and I toured several Rummer homes. Great experience!

  8. Tim Thompson says

    August 29, 2013 at 5:00 pm

    with a few modifications of course. it looks as if the garage has been converted at some point. (The carport at the front would have made a garage redundant perhaps.) And the built-ins at the end of the living room are customized for owner, but otherwise, similar enough.

  9. Tim Thompson says

    August 29, 2013 at 4:55 pm

    If I am not mistaken this looks to be the floor plan for this house.

    http://www.midcenturyhomestyle.com/plans/bhg/60bhg-5star/60bhg-5star-2809b.htm

  10. Chaucea says

    August 29, 2013 at 4:55 pm

    Nearby, in Seattle, one of the most interesting and beautiful classic mid-century modern homes I have seen in awhile, is located in Lake Forest Park, WA, and currently for sale at a fairly low price (considering the location, architecture and size of the home) (MLS# 534532):

    http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/5021-NE-180th-St-Lake-Forest-Park-WA-98155/48910169_zpid/

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