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Remodel & decorate in Mid Century Style

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Home / Decorating ideas / decorating misc.

Repeating architectural motifs: A hat trick example from this 1953 ranch house

pam kueber - Updated: August 18, 2020

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

mid-century-brick-ranch-exteriorTour-a-Time-CapsuleThis 1953 time capsule house in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan includes a number of lovely classic features (pink Cinderella bathtub alert!), but what really caught our eye is how the architect repeated one architecturaly motif — the pinwheel — three times throughout the house. We love repetition of architectural elements… and we love things in threes. Thanks to Teri for this time capsule tip!

midcentury-brick-ranch-houseretro-trellis #1 (above): The exterior trellis is comprised of six pinwheels. It’s very nice, also, how the trellis is used to add architectural interest to a very long slab o’ otherwise-unadorned brick on the front facade of the house. (This appears to be a house set on a corner lot.)

midcentury-entryway#2 — The pinwheels are repeated on the front doors, creating an immediate transition from the outdoors, in.

midcentury-banquette-eating-area#3 — Pinwheel-mullioned glass between the kitchen dinette and an adjacent room.

vintage-pink-bathroomAbove: We can only wonder: Why no pinwheel flooring??? Perhaps, though, enough of a good thing. Yes: A light hand is often best.

This house is currently for sale. From the listing:

  • Price: $275,000
  • Year built: 1953
  • Square footage; 3,300
  • Bedrooms: 4
  • Bathrooms: 2 full, 2 half

…Radiant heat floor and ceiling…. 3 lots with irrigation… Square footage estimated.

Thanks to reader Teri for alerting us to this  home and to realtor Robin Stressman and photographer Auric Stressman for allowing us to feature the property on Retro Renovation.

Link love:

  • View this home from sale, listed by Robin Stressman of Coldwell Banker 

Some more photos from the listing: 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:


midcentury-brick-ranch-house
midcentury-brick-ranch
mid-century-brick-ranch-exterior
retro-trellis
midcentury-entryway
midcentury-living-room
retro-built-in-shelf
midcentury-kitchen
retro-kitchen
midcentury-birch-cabinets
midcentury-banquette-eating-area
laundry-room-retro
vintage-pink-bathroom
vintage-wood-paneling
midcentury-wood-paneling
vintage-wet-bar
vintage-wall-mural
yellow-and-grey-retro-bathroom
built-in-midcentury-storage
midcentury-closets
bedroom
midcentury-closet-doors
vintage-bedroom
midcentury-bedroom
pinch-pleat-draperies
midcentury-patio
midcentury-ranch-house

CATEGORIES:
Decorating ideas decorating misc.

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43 comments

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  1. KennyT123 says

    April 19, 2015 at 4:04 pm

    About the ovens–I’ve seen pictures of kitchens in that era and I agree with the earlier posting regarding the upright Freezer and Refrigerator. I’d say looking at the ovens side by side I bet there was a stainless steel Thermador built in–they had two ovens–the left one for the rotisserie. I bet the cooktop was GE with the push-button controls where that square drawer is now. Looks to me like a high-end house. I don’t find the bathroom setup odd–all the plumbing was along one wall for efficiency.

  2. marguerite says

    April 19, 2015 at 3:58 pm

    I love this house! As a kid growing up in the 50s and 60s, this would have been my dream house…sooo big and with a great lawn! I can just imagine it filled with great mid century furniture, fabulous pinch pleats on the windows…Wow!

  3. randy says

    April 18, 2015 at 12:20 am

    I saw this trellis and was reminded of the trellis my dad built on the front porch of our old house — back in 1959. It was made of non-pressurized wood, yet is still standing. It is similar to the trellis in the photo (although smaller) — and painted the same color. After 43 years of not living in that house, I was recently able to contact the current owner — who said he has carefully maintained the trellis throughout all these years! I am glad that he is the owner of our original family home.

  4. Mark E. says

    April 17, 2015 at 6:20 pm

    <> I WANT a house like this!

  5. heidi says

    April 17, 2015 at 6:12 pm

    just WOW!

  6. Nancy says

    April 17, 2015 at 11:27 am

    I love the grey bathroom in this house. Reminds me of the one I had growing up – I don’t understand how it can be so pristine – makes you wonder if it was used much.

    • Zoe says

      April 17, 2015 at 4:23 pm

      Some people took exceptionally good care of their homes. My boyfriend bought a 1956 ranch house from its original owners in 1999; everything about it was pristine.

  7. Diane in CO says

    April 16, 2015 at 3:30 pm

    I learn so much from this website. Never knew that tub style was called Cinderella. We have that exact tub in our 1936 upstairs bath! It was green and extremely worn so we had Miracle Method reglaze it in white and it’s much prettier… Why “Cinderella?”

    • pam kueber says

      April 16, 2015 at 5:09 pm

      Ummm, I do not remember! There is such a thing as Cinderella ranches — aka Storybook ranches; and Cinderella windows, too!

  8. Diane says

    April 16, 2015 at 3:21 pm

    Here’s a throwback house: http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/214-Arden-Rd-Columbus-OH-43214/33868377_zpid/

    • pam kueber says

      April 16, 2015 at 5:11 pm

      A Lustron. We have several detailed stories on Lustrons: https://retrorenovation.com/search-results/?q=lustron

    • Dino says

      April 20, 2015 at 4:09 pm

      Pricey but it is in Clintonville, a very nice area in Columbus

  9. Lynne says

    April 16, 2015 at 2:36 pm

    Seeing these bathrooms has convinced me to go with grey tiles in my bathroom remodel. I was thinking it was too “trendy” , but now, I think it will be an appropriate choice for my 1955 ranch.

  10. midmichigan says

    April 16, 2015 at 11:05 am

    Classic, mid-century, mid-Michigan home. Very nice! I love the mural in the basement area.

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