Time Capsule Dream Home

It’s always a great privilege when keen and educated mid-century enthusiasts find me and ask me to help them find their dream home. Kenn and Cheryl are just those people. They’re great researchers and know everything about their collections — from Franciscan tile and pottery, to pin ball machines, turntables, a vinyl collection large enough to implode a home.  Kenn even researched the door bell of the new home they bought, before they bought it!!  I am a generalist and know a little about a lot, so it’s fabulous to learn from others.

Astute researchers (wink wink), they claim they’d been following my work and blogs for several years and felt we were similar people in our likes and interests, and seemed like we’d be in the same circle of friend (sooo right!) and so made a special trip to meet and see houses. We toured a bunch — from mid-century marvels to arts and crafts hovels– and had great fun giddily pointing out and ogling the remaining vintage features of each home, dropping knowledge on each other like real nerds!

They settled on a really neat, pristine and quite rare 2800 sft one -level 60’s ranch with a gated front courtyard that just oozed mid-century glamour. The kitchen was 95% OG, from the fabulous walnut clean-lined cabinets to the in-wall glass-faced Flair double oven.  Kenn says: “Frigidaire Flair Custom Deluxe, but without the burners, rotisserie or the lower storage area. The (cooktop) burners have a GE hood with the controls for each burner affixed to the front of the hood.”  The master bath is in aqua-blue with a vintage asterisk or starburst motif (but NOT thee “Starburst”, as in Franciscan-ware motif) tile with original cabinetry and matching sink and toilet, with walk-in closet.  The main bath is in a celadon green tile of bubble or grape motif with double sinks, a full wall mirror and a toilet nook. Even the powder room has a bright aqua toilet and matching sink.  But what’s more is the full hallway of original brown Franciscan (the advertisement came with the paperwork) tile. From Kenn: “Franciscan Terra Floor Tile, walnut colored with a pebble finish.”   The original door bell still exists and as mentioned above, Kenn and Cheryl researched it before he broke it (just kidding Kenn): “Also a mystery is why it rang 16 chimes (I did it three times with 16) before and only rings 8 now.” My answer: because old things have a mind of their own — hence why my scooter only starts one kick when I don’t have someplace to be.

The few updates to the home were to flooring but included sheet marmoleum in the kitchen and laundry rooms which though not a favorite color, was definitely an appropriate pick; A new gutter system that altered the stream-line of the roof (but you wouldn’t know if you hadn’t been told); the infill of a koi pond in the courtyard (ie Raccoon Cafeteria).  All together, it was pristine enough to pique their imagination and the one-level age-in-place scenario means I won’t be listing it for some years to come! (Joke).

Surprisingly, after nearly a week on the market, we were the only offer. We were able to get a fair deal for a fabulous home in the heart of Glendoveer, in the neighborhood Tweten Park, half a block from the golf course.  Truly a dream for mid-century enthusiasts, and a really fun one for me!

FOR pics of all the awesomeness the Virtual Tour is here: http://www.porticobox.com/920-ne-151st-ave-portland-or-97230-rmls/

So thanks to Kenn and Cheryl for choosing me to be their realtor!  I look forward to house-warmings, games nights and pinball parties!

Alyssa Starelli

Broker | OR

A Portland native, Alyssa started her real estate career in the chaotic market of 2005, and quickly realized she reveled in matching particular clients with their perfect home, no matter how unusual. She then began specializing in mid-century properties - both Modern and Modest. More recently, she has included what she calls "Period-Perfect" homes to her repertoire. Her goal in this is to seek out those hard-to-find, unremodeled original homes of all eras. When I started in real estate, I realized there was a market for ranch homes, from Mid-Century Modern to the more modest Daylight Ranch, but few REALTORS® willing to service it. I started highlighting these 'Picks of the Week' on my website, introducing enthusiasts to the full gamut of midcentury houses of Portland. In 2006, I founded the Mid-Century Modern League in order to educate the public about the importance of preserving these gems. Today I continue to focus on Mid-Mod, but have added vintage, mostly unremodeled houses of earlier eras, which I call 'Period-Perfect', because they have interest to clients and are under-serviced too. Frankly, I enjoy seeking out any unusual or original elements a client might be interested in, it's a challenge to rise to." As Founder of the Mid-century Modern League, Alyssa is considered an authority in the local mid-century architecture scene, and is especially proud to include the Editors of Atomic Ranch Magazine in her past-client list. Often quoted in news and radio, she has been able to bring additional interest to her business, listings, and client's homes - many of which have been featured in magazines such as Atomic Ranch, Oregon Home, The Oregonian and also included on several local home tours. With a background in marketing, and an eye for the unique, Alyssa really enjoys buying and selling properties whose interesting features may be overlooked by other realtors, even (or especially) if those features aren't mentioned in the listing. As a hobby, Alyssa has issued herself a challenge to walk every residential street of Portland proper and document the best architecture specimens of each neighborhood. There are about 3500 square miles of Portland, and it's a big feat. By the time she finishes, she will have seen every house in Portland with her own eyes! You can follow her walks on her blog Portland-by-Foot. http://portlandbyfoot.blogspot.com/ When off duty, you can find Alyssa at estate sales, honky tonks, her friend's cattle ranch, or seeking out ghost towns, roadtripping to the Oregon high-desert. A music fanatic and semi-retired booker/manager, Alyssa is heavily immersed in the western swing, old-school country, and rockabilly music scene, and you'll often find her out at shows, dancing, maybe even sharing her favorites on the radio. Alyssa Starelli alyssa@livingroomre.com 503-888-1362 www.aly-star.com

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