“This house was so loved, you can feel it when you walk in.
And I’m so happy that we get to carry on its legacy.
And were apparently supposed to all along.” — Nanette
I adore this story, because when Nanette asked if she could tell me about her new/old house and then I got the story, the story wasn’t just about the house. It was about the whole circuitous journey there: her three dogs, whose medical troubles both inspired and impeded the house hunt… her getting the flu, which *fortunately* let a different house get away… and yes, that chippy lamp post out front with the inebriated man, who kept calling them home. And there’s more. I adore this story, because it’s a perfect example of why our houses are so much more than just a place to live — they are pivotal in our life journeys. Oh and: What a wonderful time capsule house — now, with appreciate new owners! 24 photos … and the whole, lovable story.>>
Nanette writes:
It’s kind of a long story of how this house came to be ours, but it’s at least an interesting one! And I swear every bit is relevant to how special getting this house was for us.
In March of 2014, we moved into an apartment that, unbeknownst to us, was literally in the backyard of our dream home. At the time, we had two little dogs and on our walks around the block my husband would always comment on the house with the “drunk hanging on a lamppost” lamppost. Most notable comments being “that house has to be so incredible inside” & “I want that lamppost”.
On December 26th of that same year, during a routine solo dog walk, one of our dogs was severely injured in an attack by another dog. He needed very expensive emergency surgery, the money for which we did not have & the other dog’s owner could not have cared less. I’d never felt so helpless & I straight up vowed that I never would again.
Over the next 3 years I finally got it together as far as grown up financial things go, as well as worked incredibly hard to deal with the emotional trauma from the dog attack. In October of 2017, our 3rd dog (who came to live with us in March of 2015. Another long story hah) was diagnosed with lymphoma. It seemed to pop up overnight & was a total shock.
We decided to try chemotherapy. She responded well as far as going into remission, but also had several severe reactions to two of the meds. All I could think of was how our other two dogs were getting older too & I just really wanted a yard for them to play in. And for Tink (#3) to be able to lay in the sunshine in. She liked laying outside when she wasn’t feeling well. I impulsively decided that we needed to buy a house and (as with most of my impulsive decisions) my husband was on board with it. Btw don’t try & buy a house when you’re putting your dog through a very rough chemo treatment. The stress was pretty unbearable.
In January we thought we found the perfect house. We started moving forward with it & a series of problems arose. I ended up being able to fix those problems & about a month later we were going to move forward on it again. Then low & behold, I got the flu. I never ever get sick. Not even a cold since the last time I had the flu 4 years prior. So I waited to start making phone calls until I felt amongst the living again. That house had been on the market for 5 months, what was 3 more days?
Well, it was everything it turns out. Someone had put in an offer on that other house the day before we contacted the realtor! We were super devastated, but randomly would check all the real estate apps & drive past houses. Then a particular one popped up. The one with the lamppost. The kitchen pictures totally piqued my interest, but believe me when I say that none of the photos did this house justice. So much so that we didn’t even go look at it right away.
I kept going back to it though & I remember one night I said to my husband “You know, I keep going back to *insert address here* house”. And, true to our dual impulsive nature, he said “ok” & called up the listing agent. (To say we were completely naive to the whole house buying process is the understatement of the century). The agent happened to live right up the street & asked if we wanted to see it that night.
We walked over to the house, entered through the side door, into the coolest kitchen I’d ever seen. It was all very impressive, yes.
Pam notes: Does everyone recognize the countertop? It appears to be an original Wilsonart Daisy! This pattern, now being reproduced!
But when we walked into the hallway and I saw the ceiling with that light fixture & those glitter walls twinkling… well it was that moment in every movie where angels start singing. I was obsessed & in love. And it just grew from there with each new nook of the house that we saw. My husband once joked that he & I both like the 50’s aesthetic. It’s just that he likes the 1950’s and I like the 1850’s. And it’s so true. I’m the Addams Family & he’s the Dick Van Dyke show. And somehow this amazing house bridges that gap.
We started pursuing this house hardcore. And to say that there were setbacks is like saying we were a little naive to the home buying process. I won’t get into all of he details, but we thought the deal was totally dead at least 3 separate times.
Finally, on May 23rd of this year we closed on the house. It was being sold by the daughter of the woman that had lived there. The woman that had lived there until she was 93 years old. She had to be put into hospice care right around March of 2014 (date sounds familiar right?) & the house had sat vacant ever since then. During the closing the daughter told us that it was the one year anniversary of her mother’s passing and the lady doing our title said that the first title was finalized on May 23rd, 1952. The daughter also told me how happy she was that I loved the kitchen so much.
Our first actual day living in the house was June 4th, my Gram’s birthday (who passed in 2002, that I was very close with). There’s a big Magnolia tree in the front yard that the daughter said her grandfather planted. Magnolia is the name of the town where my husband and I had our first apartment together. I truly couldn’t make this stuff up because if I did, no one would believe me because it sounds so incredibly made up….
And it was so cool hearing about the house from the daughter (I’d love to see photos from when they lived here, but I feel/felt weird asking). The iron gate in the dining room was hand made by a family friend. The wishing well in the backyard was a cooler (there was even electricity run out to that little area of the yard).
The previous owners were insanely creative & all about the details. There’s stuff in this house that I didn’t even know that I should’ve been dreaming of. And every single square inch of it is interesting.
Every switch plate is different & even the light switches light up. From the first time I stepped foot in here, it inspired me to want to create things. I’ve been sewing for 20 years & I now have a sewing room that is like being in a music box in a dollhouse.
This house was so loved, you can feel it when you walk in. And I’m so happy that we get to carry on its legacy. And were apparently supposed to all along. It’s not in totally perfect pristine condition & was being sold “as is” & pretty much priced to gut, but we look forward to doing everything possible to get it back to its full on glory. So anyone that knows about repairs to cracks in glitter plaster walls, where to buy Kelvinator stove parts, how to clean/repaint drunk guy statues, etc.. please let us know! I hope this house makes you smile like it does for us every single day.
Oh and P.S. All three pups are currently living it up to the fullest extent in their enormous back yard.
Thank you, Nanette, for sharing all the photos and your twisty turny story. It’s always awesome to see that another vintage house has found appreciative new caretakers.
Julia says
You had me at drunk guy lamppost…please keep us posted as you do your renovations! In the kitchen/dining picture, is that a shelving unit with the green bottle glass behind it? Also, did the fabulous mirror in the same picture come with the house? I think you should contact the owner’s daughter and ask for pictures or stories. It may help her deal with her loss, knowing that her mom’s house is being loved.
Nanette says
Haha, Julia ????. Us too I guess actually! I definitely will update. Yes, the built in shelf has green bottle glass in the back & the shelves are also green bottle glass. And yes, the mirror came with the house. I LOVE big fancy/interesting mirrors. The Snow White magic mirror looking one in one of the other photos I’ve had for like 20 years, so I was beyond delighted when I saw that dining room mirror.
If I have her address anywhere I’ll definitely reach out. The longer we’re here & the more exploring I do, the more I want to know every little detail about the house.
Miss Leticia says
Great story! We had a similar story about house hunting in 2000. We also walked into a pristine time capsule circa 1959, (I had vowed never to by a house of this period, but it was so well built and perfectly preserved) and were sold! Aqua living room, boomerang tables and spindly leg couches, with photos of their family in Europe in the 1960’s and 70’s, just like my own family. It was just amazing. We’ve just redone the downstairs bathroom with 4×4 tiles and we are so pleased that the tiles are no longer falling off the walls! Good luck with your adventure in living!
Nanette says
Oh wow! I want to see your house as well!! That sounds amazing. Yes, we have a few loose tiles in the kitchen to secure as well. I’m just so happy they’re all there.
And thank you very much!
John Fachy says
Nanette, thanks for sharing your very cool story and congrats on scoring the home of your dreams as well as your pups recovery!
It’s refreshing to hear from folks who want to preserve the past and not simply sweep it away. The retro details of your new home are amazing! Great pics!! Your kitchen is FABULOUS!!! Obviously the former owner put their heart, soul and creativity into this home and you and your husband are keeping all this alive and kicking, cool!!!
I purchased my Quincy, Massachusetts bungalow back in 1993 from a 92 year old Italian gentlemen and like you guys I’ve kept true to the blast from the past design details. His various framed puzzles and do it yourself paintings are still proudly displayed and left just as they were in my basement! Ditto for the baby blue bathroom circa 1970, a labor of ongoing love and repairs! I sense that his positive energy still inhabits my home and he’s pleased I’ve kept the place up as he did…..that’s a cool feeling!
Enjoy and again congrats!
Johnny 5
Nanette says
Thank you so much, Johnny! Agh I love your house story as well. (And am also kind of dying to see it!) That’s exactly how I feel about our house, & it really is such a great feeling! I feel like she hangs out with our pups when we’re not home. Judging by the scratch marks on the bottom of the main bedroom door & the super 70’s style “feed the pets” magnet I found inside one of the cabinets, she was an animal lover too 🙂
Trish says
First of all, I have the same medicine cabinet! I got mine on eBay because my 1949 Cape Cod was NOT a time capsule. Does yours have the razor-blade slot inside?
Second, THAT. KITCHEN. The archways, the built-ins, the tile, the floor, those translucent cabinet doors, THAT STOVE! I am ecstatic that it went to you and not some flipper who’d tear it all out.
The whole house is awesome. May you, husband, and doggos enjoy it in good health!
Nanette says
Trish! I had to google that to see exactly what it was, but YES! It does have it! What a weird & interesting thing. And neat that you have the same cabinet. Even though you had to find it. I love it so much, the curvyness & the design on the mirror, so pretty.
Hahah it’s like you were in my head when I first when in the kitchen. I’m so obsessed with the stove. The control panel looks like I can launch our food into outer space or something. Both ovens work fantastically (and they’re so clean! Which is crazy, because I feel like this little lady was doing some heavy duty cooking in her day. One of the burners doesn’t work & two I have to kind of fiddle around with sometimes to get to work, so we need to look into getting some new parts for it.
I told my husband that if we didn’t get the house I would definitely have to change my dog walk route. It would’ve been heartbreaking to see it being destroyed. Luckily we got it!
And thank you so much!
Joan says
This house is absolutely amazing! I love the kitchen and all the cool extras.. glad the pups are doing well and enjoying the yard.
Nanette says
Thank you so much, Joan!
Julie says
This is one of the most interesting houses I’ve seen, and the odds of a Dick van Dyke / Addams Family couple finding it before some boring flippers did have to be tiny. Seriously, how lucky is this house?! Love this kind of story. I want ALL the updates on this one. 🙂
Nanette says
Thank you, Julie! Yeah it’s crazy that we just happened to be living near it.
LJM says
Nanette,
I don’t know if you have seen this or not but I thought I would post it just in case you haven’t. I hope you find it helpful.
https://www.charliechaplinclub.com/does-anyone-have-a-charlie-chaplin-lamp-post-exterior-size-about-5-foot-t…-11171.html
Please scroll down to Image #18 to see a full color paint job of your drunk lamppost,
Nanette says
The link didn’t work for me, but I did look around on the site (thank you for sharing that info btw!) and I’m not into a fresh paint job at all. I love the subtlety/aging on ours so much more now. Thank you again!
LJM says
https://www.charliechaplinclub.com/pictures-of-charlie-lamp-post-614.html
Maybe this will url will work. I just thought you might want to see what it looked like back in the day.
Eartha Kitsch says
This story made me all weepy! Yaaaaaaaaay! This house was your fate house, Nanette. And I’m so happy for the pups. All of those lovely, quirky details in that house give my heart hope for this world. And that kitchen! Hello! Fantastic! Watch Craigslist like a hawk. A green fridge will come up for you. They always do.
Nanette says
That’s awesome! Happy tears! Thank you so much!
YES. My husband is king Craigslist, so if there’s a green fridge to be had, we shall have haha.
Hanna says
Nanette, I want to be your friend.
My guy and I just bought our 1942 house after months of looking at the Victorians that I wanted.
We were selling a tiny Victorian cottage and I wanted an “upgrade”.
Nothing was right, everything was too small for our family of animals and little boy, or too damaged to live in while we renovated it.
We saw a house that wasn’t my timeline (but definitely his) and I was sort of won over by the fact it had a hidden door in the basement that would help me live out my Munsters dreams.
We pulled up and I knew it was the house the second we laid eyes on it, from the pink carpets to the acres of built in shelving we couldn’t figure out. Turned out the one and only owners, owned a video store and all those shelves contained bootleg vhs.
Here’s to all the weird, tattooed folks, getting what they didn’t even know they wanted!
Nanette says
Hannah! YES to the friendship! Do you have an Instagram?
(*Pam, is sharing an Instagram handle ok?)
Your story is amazing; I love it. Here’s to indeed!
Btw, funny you mention “Munsters Dreams” because if you look at the kitchen photo that shows the built in shelf & part of the dining room, you’ll see a rectangle on the floor. That’s our basement door. And all we kept talking about when we first toured the house was how Munsters it was. Yes, it was completely attrocious actually moving things down there, but that’s over & it’s all fun trap door stuff again.
Hanna says
Nanette, I found you on Instagram, and funnily enough, though I didn’t recognize you from here, I recognize you from your dresses back in the day.
I even bought one from you!
What a small world it is.
Nanette says
No way?! That is INSANE!! Small world is right! Yeah these selfies were in the midsts of trying to repaint our old apartment in the dead of summer while getting this house cleaned up & our stuff moved in, so no fanciness whatsoever haha.
Yay you found me! I’ll be back on there soon! Who knew settling into a house was so time consuming.. ????
Donna Askari says
Nanette, I’m sure that you, hubby and you’re precious fur babies will be happy in this wonderful gem of a house. OMG, that kitchen is awesome! I love it! Thanks for sharing it with us. PS, More photos please…
Nanette says
Thank you, Donna! I’m glad you enjoyed it. I’ll definitely send some more photos in once we have everything all set up 🙂