Get ready for some gorgeous aqua St. Charles kitchen cabinets and pretty pink bathrooms because today’s Time Capsule Tour — a 1954 brick ranch listed for sale by Realtor Ed Murchinson in Sulphur Springs, Texas — has original details that will wow. This architect-designed house is absolutely dreamy: We adore all the exposed brick, the cork floors laid in a herringbone pattern, the beamed ceilings, the brick fence outside — and two pink bathrooms, of course! Thanks to a tip from reader Doris and photos courtesy Shoot2Sell Photography, we can all marvel at the mid century details found in this beautiful brick ranch.
From the listing:
- Year built: 1954
- Price: $125,000
- Square footage: 2,823
- Bedrooms: 3
- Bathrooms: 2
Here is a custom-built Mid-century Modern gem of a home designed by Fort Worth architects Easterwood and Easterwood who also designed the First Baptist Church in downtown Sulphur Springs. A brick paver sidewalk leads to the welcoming front porch of this well-maintained one owner home.
Step into the entry with original Italian marble floors and be greeted by a bright and spacious living room that flows into an even larger family room featuring original cork floors, cozy fireplace, wood-beamed ceiling, exposed brick walls and an expansive walls of windows.
The original kitchen in a beautiful shade of turquoise retains the now sought-after St. Charles metal cabinets. Back in the day, these cabinets were generally found only in higher-end homes and were ahead of their time with features like pull out shelves and bins and velvet lined silverware drawers.
The separate cooking workstation features stainless steel counters…there is even a matching built-in desk! There is a large brick terrace just off the kitchen and family room that provides a great place to entertain or relax and look out over the generous backyard, which is surrounded by a beautiful brick wall.
The master bedroom suite features three walk-in closets and the master bath has a beautiful marble top dressing table. The other two bedrooms are large and all of the generous closets feature lighting that automatically comes on and goes off when the doors are opened and closed.
The large guest bath features the original tiles and cabinetry.. .all in perfect condition. The house also has an over sized two car carport, security system, sprinkler system and a separate concrete block storage building. The timeless design elements of this home have been lovingly retained and maintained…and recently painted inside and out, new carpet, recent high quality roof, AC compressor and more. A few finishing touches…and this is a magazine quality show house!
What a lovely house full of carefully thought-out details. For example, Pam wants prospective bathroom remodelers notice the use of 4″x4″ field tiles installed on the diagonal to create a border around the tub. This is “cheap and cheerful” way to add appeal — so clever.
Mega thanks to Realtor Ed Murchison for allowing us to feature this property and to Shoot2Sell Photography for giving us permission to feature the photos of this lovely mid century property.
Tips to view slide show: Click on first image… it will enlarge and you can also read any captions… move forward or back via arrows below the photo… you can start or stop at any image:
Lauryn says
Fabulous, indeed!! I think my whole house might fit in that living room! And those St. Charles cabinets … to die for (they are the same dreamy color as my wedding dress!). I just want to put exclamation points all over my comment, this house is so lovely!!!
Queen of Fifty Cents says
Actually, this house first appeared on the No Pattern Required blog, [link now broken]. I’ve been drooling over it since I saw it there a couple of weeks ago. Do a ‘drive by’ on Google Maps – the whole street is great.
pam kueber says
Thanks, Queeno’, I always like to give credit where credit is due so I doublechecked and saw our tip came in Jan. 15, before that story occurred. It just took us a while to complete it. Looks like there are multiple tipsters out there! It’s nice to see other folks and other blogs spotlighting these old beauties, too! Please be assured, if we feature a story that we first spotted on another blog, we always provide recognition/credit and link love!
Tara says
Overall, real estate in Texas is pretty inexpensive. You can buy a house in my neighborhood for around $200,000 and we are close to a recreational city lake/park, urban shopping and just a few miles from downtown. Their are homes less than a mile from our home that cost over a $1,000,000 and some around $400,000 and then the lower end at $100,000. Sulpher Springs is pretty far from Dallas, considering the commute time. There are a lot of suburbs that are more populated and schools make a big difference.
TerriLynn says
Yup, I am just on the south edge of Dallas and our prices down here, in a decent neighborhood too, are even lower. I paid $72k for my little MCModest house. Unfortunately it was not a time capsule.
Brenda says
Love Love Love!!
Janet in CT says
WOW! But I am sick to think it is likely someone will rip out the kitchen and replace it, especially since the house is so inexpensive to begin with. I am really really hoping someone who appreciates it all buys it. I too think that the pink bathrooms and the tile work, especially the accent strips, are “fabulous”. In a way it looks a little more on the colonial side, in particular the white bathroom cabinets, so the people must have been a bit on the conservative side. Love it!
Jay says
Me thinks the same. Not everyone appreciates the vintage or understands the aesthetics and design for the time in which this kitchen was installed. In all fairness to the buyer, what worked for the original owner might not work for them. I do hope that all that exposed brickwork is retained, not only in the kitchen but elsewhere.
June Cahill says
Me thinks the same too…:(
Matt says
Ed is THE mcm guy in the Dallas area. As his listing indicates, he is marketing to the appropriate crowd. Also, the owner would NOT allow a flipper to purchase it, thank goodness. 🙂 She was looking for someone who could appreciate the original intention and design. Hiring a well-known Ft Worth architect to design your house that’s 2+ hours away says a lot about the original owner. Awesome!
BlueJay says
I love this home and I am floored that it’s so inexpensive. If this home were in our area, it would go for at least twice that at minimum, would then be flipped and relisted for about $400K. Mid-century is really not popular here, thus no appreciation of time capsules. 🙁
Anne-Marie Cory says
Amazing! I love this house. There is just soooo much to love here. Too bad I can’t just pick up and move to Texas.
MCM is grand says
I am so happy to see a real estate listing where the original features are being celebrated, rather than described as “needs updating”. Hope this beautiful home finds an appreciative owner!
Robin, NV says
For me, “needs updating” is like siren’s call – those are my two favorite words in a real estate listing. On the otherhand, “tastefully updated” is like a death knell.
RebeccaD says
I so agree. “Needs updating” and “Bring your cosmetic touches” are music to my ears.
Mary Elizabeth says
Ooh, la la! This is amazing. Everything is so well maintained, and it was well designed to begin with. And look at the price! Unbelievable for 2800+ square feet. In the Northeast, the same house would cost 2 to 3 times as much, depending on land and neighborhood.
Sure, I’m crazy about the pink baths, but my favorite is the St. Charles kitchen–so large and ready to store all our pots, spices, vintage casserole dishes. The whole house has excellent storage. Wonderful place, and I hope someone who loves retro will buy it.
lynda says
A well maintained home is always a joy to see. This home has been well taken care of inside and out. Maybe a local would know, why is this so inexpensive? Looks like Sulphur Springs is a little over an hour to Dallas.
Adrienne says
Lynda- stuff is just cheaper out here. I live in a little town in Tx and even though we have 3 Universities and an Air Force base here- you can find 3 bed/2 bath 2200sq ft houses easily for $125k. An hour out of Dallas is actually realllly far- price-wise 🙂 I’m from Carmel, CA originally, where the most modest old house is in the million range, and I don’t dare tell people back home what my house costs here, because they’d assume I live in a single-wide trailer with no running water 😀 House price is one thing, but you have to factor in air conditioning price 😉
Eileen Herlihy says
Adrienne,
I am also in Carmel. Is there a way to connect and share ideas? Lots of MCM to consider in the area.
Linda says
I live between Santa Cruz & Squaw Valley…a million bucks buys a trailer with a view…
melissab says
Real estate prices are a lot lower in this market. This very low price is probably due to the location (location location). If this were in Dallas or a nearby suburb, it would list for at least $175,000-$210,000 and be snatched up in a week.
Elle says
If this were in Austin Tx it would list for 375K (or more) and would be on the market for less than 24 hours, more than likely with multiple bids.
The housing market in Austin is out of control!
rudyinla says
I won’t even get into what it would cost in Los Angeles.
Mykl says
Compared to LA, the cost is amazing. But we always have the opportunity to move to Palmdale or Lancaster if price is the only concern. Then the beach is a mere 2hrs away. 🙂
darien S. says
I’m also in Austin and more than likely if this house were here it would be torn down. I’ve watched more than a few wonderful houses like this scraped to make way for some monstrous McMansion. One of the worst was right next door to me, a beautiful Fare/Granger mid century home. 🙁
Sara says
Elle, I sooo agree. I felt lucky with a capital L to get my house for under $2K when I bought my little 1952 house nearly four years ago. It’s a little over 1K square feet and cost at least $50K less than a similar home in Crestview, Brentwood, or Barton Hills would have. And it still has the original period details. 🙂
Pup says
Because the kitchen needs updating?
Just kidding.
The place is perfect. If I could live out there I would move into it in a heartbeat.
Jessica says
I live just outside dallas and i purchased a 1964 ranch that was left in amazing condition and i purchased 118K for 2500 sq ft in dallas there is a new housing boom that is lowering the prices on existing homes that are “out of date”. My current house sat on the market for 6 months because no one wanted wood paneling or would rip out the laminate countertops and mcm kitchen. And an hour outside of fort worth is really two to commute in traffic.
Elizabeth Walters says
Sulphur Springs is a life-time away from Dallas! We enjoyed eating at a local diner while traveling through there for the Christmas holidays. My husband made us take our coats off and put them back in the car because everyone in the place was smoking and he didn’t want our jackets to stink!! Sulphur Springs is very redneck, and I say that with pride, as I am an 8th generation Texas redneck myself.