Thoughtful, colorful, harmonious, exuberant, impeccable — today’s time capsule — a 1980 ranch house in Shorewood, Minnesota, listed for sale by realtor Diana Davis — is absolutely stunning. This is one of The Most Beautiful time capsules we’ve ever shown — all the more so, because it appears to be in immaculate condition, as if the finishing touches were completed last month, not 34 years ago. Prepare your eyeballs, you are going to be amazed.
Built on the cusp of the 1980s, this home’s decor straddles the funky 1970s and glitzy 1980s effortlessly. We are reminded of interiors from American Hustle. In fact, we bet this story makes it to all the most retro-conscious set decorators in Hollywood, who will go gaga for this beautifully decorated and maintained time capsule house. Hi, Hollywood! Hire us to be consultants, will ya? Thanks to the fabulous photography — 47 photos! — by Nathan Treanor via the team from SpaceCrafting, we can all take in and learn from the many impressive design details in this stunning 1980 home.
From the listing:
- Price: $648,900
- Year Built: 1980
- Square Feet: 5,470
- Total Bedrooms: 5
- Full Bathrooms: 2
- 3/4 Bathrooms: 1
- 1/2 Baths: 2
One of the largest court yard homes in Amesbury. Gorgeous 5 Bedroom/5Bath luxury home with main floor master suite, sauna, den, and amusement room. End unit with Cul-de-sac with pond. New upgrades and remodeling.
If I had to venture a guess, I’d say this home was decorated with the help of a very skilled interior designer. The house employs an analogous color scheme over all — analogous, referring to colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel. White paint and lacquered pieces punctuate the scheme throughout the house.
Most of the house is decorated in a green/yellow analogous scheme, with the two taking turns playing the lead role. In some rooms though, like the dining room above, the designer used just one of the colors monochromatically. Think you can’t mix patterns? This designer did — to stunning effect. This green shade reminds us of our 2013 color of the year, Broyhill Premier Chapter One Rich Lime Green. This color was also popularly matched with white lacquer paint.
The color scheme in other rooms shifts slightly away from either the green or yellow towards orange or blue instead. These slight shifts add interest while still feeling a part of the greater plan. One such room is the study above. The wood adds a warmth to this room that isn’t present in the rest of the home’s stark white furniture and walls. Instead of having the green and yellow analogous color scheme in this room, the designer shifted slightly on the color wheel to make a blue and green analogous palette. The study has a slight 70s vibe, but also exhibits some trademark decor choices of the 1980s — such as the collection of 29+ ducks sprinkled around the room — a characteristic of 1980s decor discussed in our post 1980s design and decorating trends.
The presence of the green carpeting and repetition of shapes in patterns and furniture combined with the harmonious color theory used throughout the house allow the home’s decor to all feel related, creating a pleasing effect.
Pam and I chatted at length about this property and decided on some of our favorite design elements. First off, is this fabulous spiral staircase covered in orange carpeting.
Yes, even the walls are carpeted. Amazing.
The circular bathtub in the master dressing room is gloriously over the top. Not only is this a round tub with a very cool faucet, but holey cow — those mirrored tiles, that chandelier, the candles.
Then there is the wallpaper in this bathroom. Hippy dippy flower power acid trip — in the 1980s. Pam is in love, which does not surprise me as I suspect she is a flower child at heart. Also of note: Is that a mid century jewelry Christmas tree on the wall? waaaaant
Another fun detail — the iron hanging swing chair in this bedroom. Sweet!
Who doesn’t love an enclosed courtyard — a feature typical of California ranch homes — in Minnesota. The central garden area would be the perfect spot for a vegetable or herb garden. No bunnies or deer would be able to stop by for a snack and the location right off the kitchen is optimal for picking fresh herbs to add to dinner. This is one feature I’d love to have at my house [just make sure you plan for proper drainage off those three rooflines all pouring into one u-shaped area, Pragmatic Pam warns.]
Link love:
- Mega thanks to Realtor Diana Davis for allowing us to feature this stunning home. We sure hope you find an appreciative buyer!
- And thanks to photographer Nathan Treanor and SpaceCrafting for the wonderful photos. We love you all!
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:
BrennyC says
This house is definitely a “happy house”. Vibrant, immaculate and fresh. Love! Reminds me of Christy Brinkley, Cheryl Tiegs & Farrah Fawcett all rolled into one place. Fabulous!
Kathy says
Wow! That looks more Florida than Minnesota to me! I see my Dad’s white leather couches, crazy chrome light fixtures, abstract bathroom wallpaper (not the Peter Max one) and painted rattan furniture. And my Mom’s foil backed wallpaper (used in a bathroom, not the dining room).Some great art too. So does the place come with all the furniture?
I figured sooner or later, 70s and 80s would become retro and vintage rather than ick, maybe 20-40 years after the fashions and music are revived, and this shows that if done right, it can be a lot of fun. Still not a fan of carpet in the bathroom though. Maybe that can be changed to white tile! On the wall I can live with, especially just in the spiral staircase.
Karen says
What a stunning interior! The colors are superb, everything balanced and, yes, peaceful as someone else mentioned. Been a long time since I saw carpet that plush–it would be easy to fall asleep on:)
JKM says
I feel like I’m looking at someone’s happy, hardly-used beach house. The carpeting looks like it’s never been walked on. Wow. WOW!
Kim says
Gorgeous and so peaceful. Heartbreaking to think it could be gutted! Thanks for sharing!
Vori Kriaris says
Straight out of Dynasty….all it needs is Joan Collins in big shoulders..very well done..The 80’s saw the reintroduction of period classics mixed with contemporary unlike the 60’s and 70’s that generally tried to achieve a completely “modern” look. The color schemes are the over riding attempt to make the nascent eclectic use of furnishings work together. The size of the rooms makes it possible to mix patterns and still look somewhat serene. Carpeted walls were still in vogue a hold over from the 70’s and are better forgotten, not my favorite thing. The mirrored bath cove is so over the top that it still works, albeit campy. This home is a perfect example of the transition from strict modernist to the eclectic drama we saw in develop through the 80’s and into the 90’s.
Andrew Wall says
The faucet over the mirrored masterpiece of a tub is a Kohler Bravura faucet. Looks like a phaser from Star Trek, but I purchased a NOS Roman tub faucet like this at a Habitat store in the late 1990’s I think.
Very cool. . . ..
pam kueber says
Thanks for the info, Andrew! Lucky you! Bravura!
John Fachy says
How could anyone possibly be in a bad mood in a house with colors and furnishings so upbeat and colorful? Just as sweet looking outside as it is in, amazing! Love this, thanks for posting!
Pat says
I don’t remember many of those “trends”. I guess it’s because I never go with any trends, I have always gone vintage!
Barb S. says
OH! That bathtub! I’m gonna cry!!! Snif~
That mirror at the top of the orange staircase… Am I the only one who read that in a Billy Crystal voice? Maahvelous!!