Here’s our first time capsule house of 2019, and it’s a rare beauty: A round house, built in 1952, which looks to have been very carefully tended — with amazing original vintage wallpaper, gorgeous original bathrooms and overall, a quirky original feel that gives me the shivers to imagine the love that went into living in it! The house also has lots of features we can learn from, as we look to remodel and decorate our own midcentury and earlier houses. Thanks to reader Ann for this time capsule tip, and to listing agent Tracy McKnight for permission to feature his photos. Let’s take a look inside >>
Ann praised the town of Gladewater in her email tip:
Pam, This ‘round’ house has great original bathrooms. Gladewater, Texas is a beautiful old town here in the east part of the state. Thought you might like a look at these bathrooms and the wallpaper in this house, before it’s destroyed.
Ann
From the listing:
This property is one of the landmarks of Gladewater. A unique property that features a round design that is eye-catching and a draw for any architecture enthusiast. This grand home is … just a short walk from downtown.
The 3,480 sq ft house features four bedrooms, three full bathrooms, one partial bathroom, and is listed for sale for $165,350.
Above: I bet that’s original sculpted (patterned?) carpeting in this bedroom. Note, at the far left that looks to be an upholstered tufted headboard, with bed missing. The color scheme: Lilac / green / muted coral would have been very classic 1940s heading into the early 1950s.
Above: This is the room visible from the lavender-wallpaper bedroom. All those rounded glass windows! This must have cost many pretty pennies in 1952. The tile floors look great, too.
Above: I will guess that the wallpaper is not only metallic wallpaper, but also flocked. Yum.
Another bedroom, I think… Again: THAT WALLPAPER!
Above: The connected bathroom, be still our beating hearts. I can’t identify most plumbing fixtures by site, whose red is this do you think? Standard? Kohler? Crane?
As Ann pointed out, the bathrooms are real gems. Above: Lovely pink bathroom — be sure to note the mosaic tile floor pattern, the fabulous shower door frame, and golly, the pink wall tile is tiled on a rounded wall!
Above: The green bathroom is equally beautiful. Note how the designer set the sink on legs between two cabinets in order to create useful adjacent counter space.
Above: yet another lovely vintage bathroom. Note the circular dressing table built into the corner across from the toilet (far right of the photo). I’m saying: dressing table, because you can see the lights — I bet there are also mirrors there.
Above: The kitchen looks all-original including steel kitchen cabinets and stainless-steel edged lamiante countertops. The appliances and floors look newer. Are those simply glass plates mounted on the backsplash? Hard to say. Interesting.
Above: Another shot of the hallway beyond the front entry, with that scenic wallpaper. I’m guessing all the paint trim is original — it’s inspirational to see wood trim painted a color besides white.
Notice the telephone nook about halfway down the hall tucked into the wall on the right. The first house that I ever owned, which was built in 1938, also had a telephone nook like this (and a laundry chute!)
What a wonderful house! Here’s hoping it finds appreciative new owners!
Link love:
- Listing from agent Tracy McKnight.
- All our time capsule houses archived here
John V. says
Definitely American Standard. no question in my mind
Pam Kueber says
Thanks, John V. — you are the expert!
Linda says
Love this! So creative and unique! I wouldn’t change a thing unless I had to.
Agree with another poster that negotiating for the furniture as well would be something I’d try to do if I were to make an offer on this home. The whole place is so wonderfully expressive!
MJHoop Hooper says
I think I read that laundry chutes to the basement are against code. Would they survive inspection if an interior re-hab was done? One of the most practical features that probably kept a lot of people from falling down stairs while carrying a loaded laundry basket. I know i’ve wished for one since moving into this 1970s house with w/d in the basement.
Pam Kueber says
Yes, over the years I’ve also heard them may be against code (fire safety perhaps?). Check with your local building commissioner / building inspector!
Mel says
By the shape of the sinks, I’m voting Crane, as I had one that looked identical – only in yellow – in the first house I ever rented!
Patty Herbst says
The telephone nook in the 1926 duplex I live in has been turned into a message station of sorts.I keep a pen and notepad holder there, and it’s a good place to drop keys. The panel underneath the shelf has the original telephone wiring and bells inside. And yes, the house also has laundry chutes with two access points (inside the basement stair landing and the second floor landing), and some of the doors till have their original Art Deco-inspired doorknob plates.
Carol says
I would have to keep the wallpaper, even though I am a minimalist. Most of it is to die for. This house is truly beautiful and looks very comfortable to live in. Hopefully, the furniture could be negotiated with the house. Loving the living room sofas and the curved desk. The house does have some streamline art deco features, whereas Sarah’s roundhouse is more MCM. (I still dream of Sarah’s roundhouse) What a bargain, and with brick fencing. Going to Zillow next. Thanks Pam!
Mary Anne S says
What a gorgeous house! The large structure behind is a water tower and not objectionable at all to me. I do hope someone will buy it that will love it as it deserves to be loved. Other things to note is that it is a corner lot with a 2 car garage and the back yard appears to be fenced. That’s a lot of house for the money. Thank you Pam for sharing.
Brian T says
Pam—Please ask people to send in photos of what they’ve done with their telephone nooks! Mine has a faux jade Buddha ensconced in it; I’ll send a photo later. So many houses have these nooks, often right in the center of the house. They are less and less useful as landline stations, but they are also a chore to rip out, so people must be finding all sorts of interesting ways to use them. Their placement in hallways with no place for seating implies that, in those days, the telephone was mainly for calls short enough to remain standing for.
carol fun says
My 1953 brick home has a phone nook in the small hallway between the bathroom and the master bedroom. I”m displaying a piece of McCoy pottery in it. . I wish when I had updated the house 5 years ago that I had had the contractor run electric to the shelf underneath so I could use the space to charge my phone and tablet… might be a future project.
Joel says
Gladewater, Texas is also the antiques capital of East Texas, according to this sign.
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ac/Gladewater%2C_TX_sign_IMG_4913.JPG/1920px-Gladewater%2C_TX_sign_IMG_4913.JPG
Maria says
The house is incredible, the neighborhood quiet given it’s a funeral home next-door, But not sure I could handle the giant gas tower looming out back. However, you’d never have to give anyone directions to your house — just find the huge tower and then the round house.