Sunday, January 30, 2011

A little bungalow eye candy

...the candy may be a little stale...but still delightful...and imagine how delicious it will be eventually?
Front entry way....awesome details but tons of damage...all the tongue and groove from the ceiling is gone-note porch light, original house numbers and awesome fir screen door
check out the retro home made round planter box
We have always eyed a super old (1909) bungalow at the SW corner of Fremont and 57th.  Despite it's terrible location (there is a currently abandoned but for rent mini-market next door), it's sorta been a dream of mine to fix it up if it ever went on the market.  Well, we got a call from Steve's bro last week saying that it was on the market-cash sale only due to the disrepair.  Priced at $350K (ouch!), it's already sale pending.  However, we were lucky enough to get a sneak peak of the house this morning and hear that the owners are taking back-up offers in case the current offer doesn't go through.  The house is gorgeous but there is really nothing that does not have to be done and supposedly there are water issues in the basement.  Anyways, enjoy, drool, dream.  Loved the details and amazing that it still has the original kitchen and lights.  The son and daughter of the owners were there and said that their parents have owned the house since '53 and that they grew up in the house. 
north view  of house....so many shingles to replace
Front entry-all the woodwork is awesome but appears to need to be sanded down and re-stained...check out the gorgeous lights-with energy saving CFLs????
All oak floors on both the first and second floors covered by carpets, cool tall columns and portiere rods-I wonder how old those curtains are?
Living room to left of front door, a little clean up maybe?  An old craftsman clock-love it!   Check out the light fixture, can't tell if it used to be a gas electric
 a mini sitting room off the living room with an Englenook-I love englenooks-so cozy!  again, gorgeous leaded glass built-ins and another gorgeous light fixture
Close up of sconces above fireplace mantel
Englenook close-up
The house had two matching sets of pocket doors, one front the entry into the dining room and another from the living room the sitting room/englenook
Main floor bath in back of house, sorta behind the sitting room and to the side of the kitchen, near the back/basement doors....there were two separate rooms, one a wash room (bubble gun pink and pictured but I just love that little sink) and a toilet room
back door-sorry about the terrible lighting
craziest basement door I ever did see-industrial metal with gorgeous fancy hardware
In dining room to right of entry.  Chair rail and Lincrusta wainscot-how do I know this name you ask?  Well, This Old House magazine happened to have an article on it just this month!  Beyond gorgeous and apparently priceless being that it costs ~$45 lineal foot to install new.  I just love the geometric design coupled with the roses.  Perfect for our City of Roses and the fact that the house is in the Rose City Park neighborhood.
Dining room built-in...the kitchen is just off the dining room but sadly, I did not take pictures...super cute with 1"hex tile counters in white with mint green and black detailing.  There was also a little breakfast nook, laundry chute and dumbwaiter.
View of banister detail....also replicated on front porch
Awesome sitting area on middle landing of staircase...there was also a hidden servants staircase
all the storage you would ever need at the top of the stairs...did I mention there was an attic as well (but don't get too jealous-it was only accessible thru a 2x2'hole in the ceiling of the sunroom)?  and a full basement?
windows in one of the 3 bedrooms
only full bath in house
hmmm....I have a feeling they had some plumbing issues in the past...and that is not the original mirror
sun porch
sun porch light and luvin the coved ceilings :)

10 comments:

  1. Wow, gorgeous! That looks like it was once a grand house. Love it!

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  2. I always daydream about how beautiful this house must have been/could be when I am getting my gas filled across the corner -- love it!! Thanks so much for sharing. :) - Suzanne

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  3. Happy to share! Just hope that it falls into the right hands and someone restores it instead of homedepot-fying it!

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  4. I drool over that house's potential every time I drive by it. I sure hope the new owners do it justice. The interior looks pretty much exactly like I expected. What potential!

    Have you noticed the plain white foursquare a couple blocks south on the same side of the street? I met the guy who lives in it when he got my mail. He said he was born in that house! (pre-WWII)

    There's also a foursquare on 59th that is plasterd in pink asbestos tile, but has a nice wraparound porch. We seem to have plenty of diamonds in the rough around here!

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  5. I'm praying that beauty gets restored. Please, please, please...

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  6. What a great house - so amazing that the details, fixtures, and charm haven't been ruined/removed over the years. What is above the picture molding but below the ceiling in the picture with the portiere rods?

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  7. OMG I have always wanted to fix up that same house! (At least I think its the same one). I found an original photo of it in an old Oregonian from right after it was built. The one next door was also built by the same builder I believe and that one is in much better shape. I will have to dig through my files now!

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  8. Here's the article on this house from Aug 16, 1914 along with the one next to it, and another smaller bungalow that was down the road on 57th a bit, but has been vinylized. Note the pre-1930s addresses.
    http://www.bungalowcious.com/docs/16_Aug_1914_Rose_City_Bungalows.pdf

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  9. Dawn, thanks so much for sharing that 1914 link....so awesome-was this at the historical society?
    Portland Four Square, above the portiere rod is a 1930s style large light...sorta reminds me what may have been an early florescent light-cool but looks out of place there

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  10. No, I just spend far too much time at the Central Library sifting through microfiche around the time my house was built, hoping for an original photo of it. I've found a few from Rose City Park and have delivered them to the current owners, but no luck on mine. I've also done Newsbank searches of Historical Oregonian Newspapers, only to find real estate ads, but no photos of the house. :( Its possible that one may exist, because a lot of the captions don't say the house's exact address and/or are handwritten, so may not be recognized by OCR. I have to still dream :) The OHS has several files labeled by neighborhood of historical house photos, but it seems like most are commercial for Rose City Park/Hollywood area. There is one good overhead shot, but its not over where my house is. Boo!

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