Thursday, February 14, 2013

That Seventies Look Is Alive, Well, and Available in South Houston Gardens

Earth tones are easy in this 1970 classic over in the Pasadena area’s South Houston Gardens. Beams, bricks, dark woodwork, patterns, and juxtaposed floor and wall treatments (above) help carbon date this February re-re-listing. There’s decorative nostalgia aplenty to be found within the Midcentury but not-entirely-modern home; the property has a current asking price of $159,000. A previous listing by a different agency had started the ball rolling in June 2012 at $180,000; $10K was soon whittled away for the rest of the run as well as last month’s brief retry.

* * *

A Nixon-era take on open floor plan design unfolds upon entering, where a railing diverts traffic past the front room’s clipped-pile carpet (above) to the lower-by-a-watch-your-step side of the 2,779-sq.-ft. home:

There’s but a slight rise to the vaulted ceiling in the 34-ft. x 24-ft. family room. Overhead fixtures between the timbers give a boost to the natural light, restricted by the home’s span and open plan.

Built-ins and a hefty fireplace with a curved hearth and floor-hugging firebox anchor two of the all-in-one room’s mostly-paneled walls:

The mirror above the hint of mantel (above and below) appears to be inset:

Back in the kitchen, tangerine-toned countertops cheer up the space. The stainless steel is to be found in the sink, not the appliances:

There’s a cantilevered breakfast bar facing the action, activity, or entertainment taking place in the adjacent family room:

Scorecard for the sleeping quarters: 3 bedrooms and 2 full baths. Unlike the rest of the home, these rooms are light-colored, though a little dark trim sets off the choice of shy-of-shag carpet in each:

Waiting for Avocado green to make an appearance amid this Seventies flashback? It’s pushing emerald here, joining the turned-spindle divider at the potty and dainty gold-chain swag:

The other bathroom is similar, though its toilet gets an actual door:

A covered patio hangs out to the back of the home:

Over in the 2-car garage, there’s a bonus room, complete with its own bathroom — and a tad more blazing carpet:

The unrestricted lot measures 17,467-sq. ft.; beyond the back yard lies a garden-style apartment complex.

Among the updates to the property: air conditioning, replaced 3 years ago. On its street of period single-family homes, this one is the largest by a couple hundred sq. ft. The neighborhood is located near Fairmont Pkwy. and Strawberry Rd.

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11 Comments

  1. 1
    From craig:

    It’s the Breaking Bad house!

  2. 2
    From Suwoopgang:

    cashadena!

  3. 3
    From Hanabi-chan:

    Is that an avocado green bathtub? Brings back memories, my parents had Avocado Green and Aztec Gold appliances in the kitchen of our childhood home. No tangerine counters or red-orange, (orange-red?) carpeting though.

  4. 4
    From miss_msry:

    It’s like a time capsule. Is it zone for livestock because that yard is huge.

  5. 5
    From Anse:

    When my realtor took us looking for houses, he came across an estate sale. As we walked up to the door, he said, “these old estate sale houses always have three things: wall-to-wall brown paneling, lime green in the kitchen and/or the bathroom, and a death stain.” Sure enough, we found all three. Though we assumed the “death stain” in the living room carpet was actually just a dirty spot that had been under the sofa. But you never know…

  6. 6
    From crosscreek:

    I’m going to take a wild guess that any realtor who brings up “death stains” is not a top producer.

  7. 7
    From Anse:

    On the contrary, he’s awesome. And he came highly recommended. It was our first house-buying venture and he was really good about pointing out little things we probably would not have considered, things like cheap little shortcuts contractors do to make a house appear nicer than it is, subtle cover-ups to hide flaws, etc. He was definitely not one of those part-timers who think they’re gonna make a quick commission without doing the legwork.

  8. 8
    From Superdave:

    So kewl!!!! I am amazed at how untouched it seems – that carpet must be 40 years old! Brought back a lot of fond memories.

  9. 9
    From mollusk:

    Rockin’ blue reclinah!

  10. 10
    From cody:

    Still stunning how cheap housing in Houston can be.

  11. 11
    From John:

    I hate to admit it, but I kind of like this house.

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