August 2015 — Interior design of the 1970s still gets such a bad rap. And what a shame. Because design from any era, done well — is design done well. Case in point: This 1977 time capsule home in Lebanon, Pennsylvania — a veritable showcase of lovely, livable design from the era. It’s like a real-life Traditional Home magazine cover story from 40 years ago.
Oh — and 37 photos! Many thanks to Annie of Annie M Designs — not only did she photograph the home, but also she recommended the homeowners contact us for this story. Her photographs of this 1960 time capsule house appeared here in 2013. She remembered us, and knew we’d love this house, too.
From the property listing:
- Price: $280,000
- Year built: 1977
- Bedrooms: 4
- Bathrooms: 3 (2 Full, 1 Half)
- Square footage: 3,048 Sq. Ft.
Custom spacious home w/quality & character. 1st floor MBR w/en-suite bath, office on 1st floor. See through FP from dining to FR. Abundant closet space, eat-in kitchen w/island & pantry. Replaced windows during ownership, professionally installed water proof system.
From the moment you walk inside this impeccably decorated and maintained home, you just know you are in for a visual treat.
The main living space, made up of the living room, dining room and an office area is beautifully layered — interesting yet restful. From every angle, there are new textures, colors and patterns to explore, yet none of them are an assault on the senses.
You can tell that a professional decorator was consulted for this space. While every piece of furniture and decor has its own unique look, they all blend together seamlessly and create one gorgeous, lavish and lovely room.
Take the dining room, for example: If you stand along the back wall and look towards the living room, you get a sense of warmth and comfort. The warm wood tones of the table, hutch and buffet … matched with soft greens of the (crushed velvet?) sofas … which are paired across the color wheel with rust-meets-coral colored carpet and chair upholstery — together all make the room feel cozy.
Then, when you look towards the back wall of the dining area, you’ll see a more serene white paneled wall and fireplace, bright light pouring in through the windows, soft window treatments and light colored wallpaper and side chairs. This “calmer angle” to the room ensures that the rich decor is not too overpowering and allows the viewer’s eye to rest, bringing a breath of fresh air into the space. Brilliantly designed decor, don’t you think?
Each room in the house has at least one special design element that is out of the ordinary. In the den, the curved brick fireplace creates a nice focal point, while a ceiling fan with clear blades allows the exposed ceiling beams to play an uninterrupted supporting role. And of course, we are totally digging the panelled walls, the lime-washed bricks and those beams. Even the stained glass Coca Cola pendant light — the perfect note of whimsy.
The kitchen has many hallmarks of 1970s style — butcher block laminate countertops with hudee ring cutting boards, dark wood cabinets and of course, more wallpaper.
This kitchen has a country feel, thanks mostly to the plaid wallpaper and the hanging basket gallery wall. We would not change a thing!
The master bedroom has a bit of a French Provincial feel. Oh my: the upholstered headboard, the patterned wall-to-wall carpet, the window valance and of course those built-ins.
These built-ins are amazing.
For a cohesive look, the wallpaper has been carried into the master bathroom, which has coordinating white tiles with light blue speckles.
Look at the way the designer handled the wallpaper in this bedroom by creating wallpaper insets — very neat!
Lookie all the Ethan Allen Custom Room Plan furniture!
And of course, insane-for-wallpaper Pam adores this bathroom.
Let’s tally up the fabulousness: two coordinating vintage wallpaper designs including a wallpapered ceiling, coordinating fixtures, patterned floor, matching towels and draperies, wallpaper on the vanity doors and drawers. And the color: Our 2013 color of the year Broyhill Premier Chapter One Rich Lime Green. Love love love it all!
Finally, who wouldn’t want to spend their entire summer on this screened porch, lounging on this gorgeous vintage patio furniture? Even the cushions on the patio bench have been carefully decorated with coordinating alternated floral and stripe prints. Fantastic!
And we’re not done yet. The actual tipster on this house was Megan, who grew up in the house. She shares:
Thanks so much, Pam and Kate — I love it so much but it’s because of the nostalgia! It was great growing up in the house — adults downstairs, kids upstairs. The master bedroom is on the first floor, and we had an extra TV room upstairs where we spent all our time when we weren’t outside. There is even a crazy, long crawl space where we used to hide. The cedar closet was a great (and weird) place to hang out too. The upstairs bathroom! –straight out of the 70’s. The house has amazing bones — they’re just not built like this anymore. Honestly, though, the best part was/is the neighborhood but I know that doesn’t have anything to do with the house: So many kids to play with.
Thank you, Megan — and for sure, we are all hoping this house finds a sympathetic buyer who recognizes it for the real gem it is!
Link Love:
- See the listing for this house — mega thanks to listing agents Diane Griffiths and Tony Lowe!
- Photography courtesy the wonderful Annie of Annie M Design
Tips to view slide show: Click on first image… it will enlarge up to 1,000 pixels wide on screen… click anywhere to move forward and look for previous and next buttons within photo to move back or forth… you can start or stop at any image:
All material featured in this story copyright Retro Renovation 2015.
lynda says
Very classic home with a nice floor plan. It could be nicely updated for those that like a simpler decorating style. This is a well taken care of home that some new family will enjoy for many more years.
Very fun to see such a nice home. However, I think it was a bit dated even when it was built in 1977. Homes in our area of Maryland were not this traditional.
pam kueber says
Not sure what you mean by dated. I think it’s pretty timeless!
ineffablespace says
Even the EA Room Plan is based upon traditional furniture but we’ve gotten away from modularity in traditional residential furniture.
ineffablespace says
This house looks to be a combination of time capsule, and an approximately 15 year refresh –late 80s.
I never really understood the disdain for a particular style just because you grew up with it. I know it’s a real thing, because I’ve heard people use that exact reasoning.
Do you think houses like this are less likely to cause that sort of reaction because they are really 1970s or 1980s versions of “traditional” furniture?
I think you could buy a 2015 version of just about every piece of furniture in this house, except the Ethan Allen room plan, because it’s all based on historical furniture. It’s clearly a midcentury version, but the overall traditional roots are obvious.
pam kueber says
When I first had an older home [my 1912 Colonial revival in Michigan], my favorite magazine was Traditional Home. I am fundamentally very frugal. Traditional will never be out of style. It’s the style most likely to not become “dated” that is, most likely to read: timeless.
tammyCA says
Love the den the most, but the entire house is nicely done. It reminds me very much of my childhood friend’s homes in the ’70s..her mom must’ve had a decorator’s help, maybe it was Sears & JC Penney as they had decorators who did the fancy pinch pleat drapes my friends mom always had & all the rooms were tastefully wallpapered. There’s something about homes like this that feel so secure & grounded to me..in fact, my friend’s home was like that for me because my own was so chaotic.
Sara says
Is there so much disdain for 70’s style because it’s too recent? This is a very nice house and I can appreciate the quality and style, but it reminds me of what I grew up with, and I don’ think I’m ready for that yet! I think this is why my parents don’t like my midcentury furniture pieces. They say it reminds them of what everyone had when they were growing up. Give it ten more years, and I bet 70’s style will be all the rage. Ten years ago, I think people were feeling icky about 60’s style. But now it’s coming to the front! I must admit, however, that the green floral wallpaper in the bathroom is to die for and I’d buy this house just for that 🙂
pam kueber says
See my story Renovating 1970s houses: The next big thing https://retrorenovation.com/2011/10/10/renovating-1970s-houses-the-next-big-thing/
Brian M. says
Simply stunning and a flashback to my grandmother’s house! I will say the crowning jewel in the kitchen is the corningware “counter that cooks”!! That was always a dream of mine to have one in a home someday. I clearly remember asking my mother if we could get one after seeing it in person back in the day at a home design store we visited.
BobinPgh says
Maybe its because I am a guy, but the rooms seem to “busy”, that is, so many pattern to look at. If it were my house, I might replace some of the wallpaper, but only as it wore out/came down or maybe it needs solid furniture pieces.
The kitchen is similar to the early 70s kitchen I wanted to create in my mother’s house but she did not want dark cabinets, so it would not be quite like it. It looks like the wall oven was replaced as a GE of that vintage would have a lot more chrome. I wonder why as wall ovens at that time did not have electronics and usually nothing happens to them.
Most parts of PA are not that high priced so you do get a lot of house for the money. Outside looks a little overgrown so trimming might help the house sell faster.
pam kueber says
I think the ability to handle a lot of pattern is very personal. I personally can take tons of it!
I agree – it seems like some of the appliances in the kitchen are not original (alas!)
Debbie in Portland says
Paneling, wall-to-wall carpet, the light fixture over the kitchen table, and adults downstairs/kids upstairs—this house is a very fancy, upscale version of my teenage years. I even had the Montgomery Ward version of the French Provincial bedroom furniture. 🙂
Pamela H. says
Both the selling price and annual taxes seem pretty reasonable for what one get. It seems like Lebannon would be a great place to settle and raise a family!
Jason W. says
Yes, nice area to grow up. I rode the school bus through that neighborhood all through Elementary School.
Many very nice houses in that area of Oak/16th St. of Lebanon. If you look on google maps just down the street from the house featured above, at the corner of 16th and Robin Rd is 1 of 2500 Lustron metal homes manufactured by Sears right after WW2. The epitome of Mid Century Modest.
Jason W. says
Wow! A real flashback for me. I grew up in Lebanon and after looking at the listing I remember this house. A beautiful part of town, near the elementary school. I’ve been in California for the last 16 years but seeing this house almost makes me want to move back!