Inside and Out

Welcome to Mid-Century Modern!

This house was built in 1955 and has the cute and functional characteristics of a home of that era: slightly pitched roof, terrazzo flooring throughout, open layout, small bedrooms, and windows on two sides of most rooms.

It is very charming, in its own way. It's not the vernacular farmhouse I had envisioned, but it will definitely allow me to express "Florida style."

Here's the front door. I like the way the house faces east, but the door faces north. If I want to, I could have a fancier door with a glass insert without having to worry too much about privacy.

The house was just painted for curb appeal, and I think I will keep the green, but I cannot imagine why anyone would pick brown trim! It is a horrible color and there is a lot of it.

My current brainstorm involves a lighter shade of the same green and accents of bright and pale flamingo pink. Everyone I tell about it looks very dubious, which tells me I am really onto something. It looks great on a hibiscus bush, so why not on a house?

And wait til you see the colors inside!

Here's the street view. One lane each way, with a walking path down the middle. The tall bushes are rose bushes, appropriate for a neighborhood named Rose Court. The next street over is laid out the same way. The location is about two miles from the old-fashioned downtown and just over a mile from the ballpark.

The house sits on 3 lots (6/10ths of an acre). This is the view looking from the south toward the house. Much as I would like to have a lawn tractor, I plan to make this into a big jungle-y garden that won't require mowing or watering.

Meanwhile, I may be seeking out the local 16-year-old who needs pocket money.

Here's the lot on the other side, looking from the house toward the north. Those trees are on the property, and so is the shed. It's not in great shape but good enough for a potting shed.

Here's the back yard. There are two citrus trees to the right, just out of the picture. Access is from an alley that runs along the back of the property. The stepping stones lead to what I think is a grilling pad -- it's really a collection of mismatched pavers in the back corner, and I can't imagine what else it would be.

The back patio has access from both the great room/living room and what I am going to use as an office. Someday I hope to replace those sliding glass doors with French doors. This could also make a nice screened room, if the spirit moves me.

For now, it is somewhat cuter than it looks here -- the surface is slightly incised in a flagstone pattern. With maybe a painted surface, some furniture and mosquito repellent, it will be ready to use!

Now for the inside. Here is the view looking from the far end of the great room/living room toward the kitchen and dining area. Front door to the right, hallways and kitchen to the left, door to the carport straight ahead. Again, I so like the way the dining area has windows on two sides. That and the skylight and window in the kitchen bring in a lot of natural light.

This is the opposite view, from the dining area back to the great room/living room. Yes, that's a fireplace. Yes, it's painted that same horrible brown. But not for long! I'm thinking of a nice warm cream white for this whole area, to open it up even more.

The floor is brown terrazzo, a surface that I love. I hope to get it polished before I move in, and that will make it shine like marble. It already looks pretty shiny here, though, doesn't it?

The kitchen is quite creatively painted. Let's just leave it at that.

This will be the office. I took this through the sliding glass doors from the patio, and you can see a little slice of the bathroom across the hall and its pretty pale Tiffany blue and white tile.

This will be the master -- again, once it is painted. I am actually thinking of colors for the bedroom, variations on a theme of sea glass colors of turquoise and pink. I"m not sure how that will play with the tan and brown tile in the master bath. It has a neat walk-in shower, which I really like.

We'll see if I have the nerve, or default to warm cream white in all these rooms, too. The avocado/flamingo exterior scheme may soak up all my courage . . .

Last but not least, the guest room. Again, windows on two sides of the room give it lots of light.

I am seriously smitten with this house, so please don't uncross anything yet that the closing goes smoothly. Around Labor Day (early September) I am supposed to sign the papers. Til then, it's love from afar.