Retro House

A couple of weekends ago, Jason and I went to inspect a retro 1970s open house. Don't fret, we're not moving or anything, it was just out of curiosity because these kind of homes don't often crop up on our side of town.

retro 1970s house

It was quite grand and it was like we stepped back into 1976, baby!

image from here

I could totally see myself in a lairy patio dress, attending to my imaginary guests, topping up champagne cocktails and pulling devils on horsebacks out of the oven, with The Girl from Ipanema playing gently in the background.

You too?

This was the dining room off the kitchen. Check out the curvy kitchen bench tops. You can also glimpse the view from the windows.

It is high up in the suburb of Upper Mount Gravatt, backing onto bushland, and has the most spectacular panorama from the house. It was designed by Gold Coast architect Russel Gibbons according to the real estate agent. Not that that means much to me but I guess it is still good to know.

Open plan living room with original built-in cabinetry.

It truly was designed with the panorama in mind, because from nearly every room in the main living area there is a view as the backdrop. There was an interesting L-shaped enclosed atrium (for want of a better word) with large sliding windows, where you could soak up the magnificent views to Moreton Bay.

Original retro kitchen

What I liked most about the house was that it had largely been left untouched. Everything seemed to be original which is so rare these day, however it was extremely tired looking. 

I could see this house being restored  to its former mid-century glory, with a few modern injections though.

Our eldest two boys loved the house. The winner for them was the laundry chute and two sets of  internal stairs. Easy to please.

Floor plan

Jason looked at the house and groaned about the amount of work and paint it would need. I looked at it and thought I could live here if it we had a spare million and more patio dresses.

Apparently, the house next door had sold for $1.3 million and was being extensively renovated. The real-estate agent was optimistically expecting a similar amount for this home when it goes to auction.

Jason said if we had a million dollars or more to spend on a house, he would hope that he wouldn't have to renovate it. And I responded, fair enough.

Whoever buys it will get themselves a fabulous blank canvas mid-century home. And with a bit of money and TLC, it will be spectacular. 

Let's just hope whoever buys it doesn't render it and can enjoy its 1970'ness, baby!

*all house photos courtesy of here