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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

Charming 1930 Tudor Revival time capsule house — with upholstered dining room walls!

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.

upholstered walls 1940sTour-a-Time-CapsuleYowza — aren’t these the most delicious red velvet upholstered dining room walls that you’ve ever seen before? Or, that you have ever seen ever?! Thanks to a tip from reader Elisabeth, we discovered this gorgeously decadent dining room tucked inside an equally charming 1930 Romantic Revival Tudor home — owned by the son of a Milwaukee beer baron — for sale in Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin. 

upholstered walls 1940s

Yes, as Elisabeth said when she called this to our attention: “UPHOLSTERED DINING ROOM WALLS.” We will guess that they date to the 1940s — ala Lana Turner. However, it appears that much of this house was redecorated in the late 60s — so they could be a Hollywood Regency thing. What do you think? To be sure, upholstered walls probably help insulate this dining room from the cold Wisconsin winters!

 

From the listing:

  • Price: $599,900
  • Year built: 1930
  • Square footage: 2,259
  • Bedrooms: 4
  • Bathrooms: 2 full/2 half

4614 N Murray Ave, Whitefish Bay WI 53211-1258 – Bring your ideas to this home once built for the son of one of Milwaukee’s Beer Barons. Lovely Tudor located on one of Whitefish Bay’s most beautiful streets near the Shorewood border. The character in this home is endless, enhanced by the natural fireplaces, crown molding, leaded windows with stained glass, ornate columns, custom woodwork, copper gutters and classic slate roof. This home is full of potential and perfect for the buyer with an eye for design.

Tudor home exteriorIsn’t this house positively charming? Looking through all the photos, it appears to made super solidly, too. Copper gutters! A little copper eyebrow on the front faceade! Lots of curved doorways and such. Real craftsmanship, 1930s Milwaukee style.

late 60s kitchen wallpaperI love the kitchen — with its warm, sunny vibe, cheery vintage wallpaper, yellow countertops (maybe they sparkle?) and faux brick flooring.

late 60s kitchen wallpaperAnother interesting feature in the kitchen is the way the stove is recessed into the wall. We’ll guess that is original tile all around — creating a ‘grease splattering zone’ — much easier to scrub ceramic tile than vintage wallpaper!

knotty pineAnother notable feature — the knotty pine basement rec room with a custom made, built-in bar for serving Milwaukee’s finest beer.

knotty pineAnd hey — are those ceilings covered with squares of Weldtex plywood?

vintage glass tile bathroomWe also spotted some vintage glass tiles on the wall in one of the home’s bathrooms — this could be vintage Pittsburgh Plate Glass, Vitrolite or maybe even Sani Onyx as shown in this catalog from 1926. It is super cool to see these tiles out in ‘the wild — they are absolutely gorgeous — and we ADORE the buttercream + jadeite color combination!

Mega thanks to reader Elisabeth for the tip and to Realtor Jack Smith and WiSign Photo for allowing us to feature this fabulous property.

Link Love:

  • Check out the property listing here
  • Realtor Jack Smith, Shorewest Realtors
  • Photos courtesy of WiSign Photo — Lynn Darnieder, owner

Tips to view slide show: Click on first image… it will enlarge and you can also read my captions… click on the right of the photo to move forward, the left, to move back… you can start or stop at any image:


Tudor-house.jpg
tudor-style-house-exterior.jpg
tudor-front-entry.jpg
vintage-staircase-grand.jpg
vintage-architectural-living-room.jpg
vintage-stone-fireplace.jpg
vintage-living-room-fireplace.jpg
upholsterd-walls-dining-room.jpg
upholstered-tufted-walls.jpg
knotty-pine-den-retro.jpg
vintage-midcentury-kitchen.jpg
60s-kitchen.jpg
vintage-wallpaper.jpg
vintage-stairway.jpg
vintage-stairway-decorative.jpg
shag-carpet-bedroom.jpg
vintage-yellow-and-green-bathroom.jpg
vintage-bedroom-wall-niches.jpg
vintage-tudor-bedroom.jpg
vintage-bedroom.jpg
vintage-bathroom.jpg
vintage-hardwood-flooring.jpg
hardwood-flooring.jpg
knotty-pine-bar-area.jpg
knotty-pine-rec-room.jpg

CATEGORIES:
time capsule homes

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37 comments

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  1. Justin says

    March 5, 2015 at 2:51 pm

    I love this house. I so want. Only a couple of things I would change on it.
    1. That one room where it appears it has damage near the window, I’d fix that.
    2. Remove all the carpet from the whole place and pray that the hardwood floor underneath it, is still in good shape.
    3. Paint the walls in the bedrooms and living room. Needs some color.
    4. Install period appliances in the kitchen.
    5. Replace those new toilets with original 1930’s toilets.
    6. Fill that bar up with lots of alcohol.

    • pam kueber says

      March 5, 2015 at 3:34 pm

      I’ll drink to that!

  2. Amy says

    March 4, 2015 at 6:11 pm

    That little bathroom with the green accent tile is absolutely precious. My favorite bathroom so far!

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