You know what’s so sweet about this time capsule: It demonstrates just how a little mid century modest house that looks sort of … innocuous, albeit sweet… on the outside, can contain so many well-maintained delights on the inside. Could it be that even more so than the owners of lavish mid century modern homes, the owners of unpretentious mid century modest homes poured so much love and care into their beloved little castles? Let’s look inside and be delighted.
Minnesota realtor Tim Kindem has been a fan of Retro Renovation for years — so when he had the chance to list this 1955 retro ranch home in South Minneapolis — he made sure to let us know. Pam and I both immediately drawn to the room above, each recognizing pieces from our own vintage collections.
Yup, that light is the same wagon wheel light Pam has in her office — and that retro freestanding cone fireplace looks just like mine. Thanks to some great photos of the property, courtesy of photographer Christopher Rhode from Obeo, we can see all the original features in this home. Plus, it’s clear there were updates in the 1970s — delicious, too!
We’re hoping whoever becomes the new owner loves the vintage style of the house as much as we do.
From the listing:
Price: $309,900
Square footage: 2,292
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 3The Mid-Century Modern Palace Of Your Dreams Has Come True!
The Mid-Century Modern palace of your dreams has come true! 2 brick, wood-burning fireplaces, & an orange, free-standing cone fireplace in 3 season porch. Giant lower level rec room. Bedrooms with built-ins. Stairs to garage storage. So much space. So much more. Be amazed!
Oh yeah — take a look at this pretty pink tiled bathroom with a flower power decals on the toilet. The vanity is super cute, and the pink and oak combo is the same thing I’ve got going on in my retro pink bathroom remodel. Those two little doors set into the wall have me wishing for more available wall space to add some in my bathroom. My guess is the top one is for storage and the bottom is a laundry chute.
The house also has a blue/aqua vintage bathroom with what appears to be terrazzo flooring — or a terrazzo-like linoleum. Interestingly, the sink seems to be the same one as in the pink bathroom, only this time is is set in a laminate counter instead of tile. It is also fun to note how they painted the trim to match the bathroom.
More cool vintage details await in the lower level rec room: a game room/bar area with a fun checked floor, and do I spy a fireplace on the back wall?
Mega thanks to realtor Tim Kindem from Keller Williams for letting us feature this property and Photographer Christopher Rhode from Obeo for giving us permission to share his great photos of the property here with all of you.
Still more to see in our slideshow:
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:
I’m with all of you on that – but for a different reason – we simply cannot afford it! There’s not enough “discretionary funds” available in the bank account for all the BAIL MONEY it would take for my husband to get me out of jail once I go after those people!!
No. No one has any imagination any more. At least, not on those types of programs. Soooo with you on the “granite stainless steel” mantra — I just want to scream. And in some houses, it looks great. But in MOST houses, it’s just wrong, wrong, wrong.
Wow. Folks sure were hardier back then, eh?
Joel, what you wrote is interesting to me, because I love that style of cabinet. Is it really an easy and inexpensive way to build cabinets? Because I need new cabinets in my (old) kitchen, and I can’t find anyone around here (Michigan) who is willing to take on such a remodel. Just want it to look original to the house; that’s all I’m asking! (I hired a local carpenter to build a period-appropriate vanity for the bathroom, and he seemed to have no clue. Ended up with a very attractive but NOT period-appropriate vanity. (Wah!)
Amen to your idea. Who wants to look at a ( messy) kitchen? The terms open concept, granite countertops, and all stainless steel appliances have become cookie cutter terms. I never needed a “sightline” to my living room from the kitchen, in fact I am happy to shut the door and ignore it at times. What’s the most hurtful on those HGTV renovation shows are the snarky things they all say when they see a pink bathroom or knotty pine walls. Would love to have someone with the sensitivities of the Rehab Addict, except make it for MCM…that would be Pam, IMO!
I used to drive past this home several times a week when we lived in Indianapolis. It’s just as pretty and well-cared-for now a I recall it being 20 years ago. The photos of the inside are pretty spectacular in some ways. There are 3 fireplaces, 2 of which (family room and basement) are wood burning and made of Indiana Limestone, the other in the living room is gas. If you’ve never seen it (or think you haven’t) you must go look. (It’s been used in major construction projects of now-historic buildings of national importance since the late 1800’s.) The hardwood floors in this house absolutely gleam such that I have never seen – they look like they are covered in inches of reflective ice! The woodwork is beautiful, as are the all original kitchen cabinets. The rooms are quite large – for instance, the Master Bedroom is 18X14 and the next smaller bedroom is only one foot smaller in each direction. There are no pictures of the bathrooms, which I had been looking forward to seeing! There is a breakfast room (11X15) off the 12X12 kitchen that looks like its walls are done in 12″X12″ floor tile! It’s almost as big as my whole eat-in-kitchen! The basement has one of the wood burning limestone fireplaces – the kind that go floor to ceiling for a whole wall – right beside a lovely wet bar! The laundry room in the basement is painted all white, well-lit, looks dry and tidy as can be, like the rest of the house. Oh – it’s currently pending, and the price on the listing is $149,900, and the semi-annual taxes for 2013 were $979! It’s on a double size corner lot as well. Oy such a deal!
Too bad I have no intentions of ever moving back to Indianapolis, particularly the East side (although this neighborhood has always been ok, being populated with very similar homes.)
Does anyone know if these bath sinks can surface mounted instead of flush with the counter top?
What are the names of those sinks! I absolutely love them. I have one in my master bath and am desperately searching for one for my hall bath.
Those are vintage tile-in sinks. I think they are Crane. The only way to get them now: Vintage. Try places like deabath.com [an advertiser]