Normal House on the Outside, 17th Century on the Inside!

[AmateisGal]

A friend pointed out to me this house for sale in Oregon. It looks completely normal on the outside, but go inside and it's like you're stepping into the past - like the 17th century! It's almost creepy.

I can't save the pictures, unfortunately, so you'll have to click the link to look. It's really worth your time.

http://www.trulia.com/property/3221421888-2114-NE-Crestview-Dr-Newport-OR-97365#photo-5

 

[Fading Fast]

A friend pointed out to me this house for sale in Oregon. It looks completely normal on the outside, but go inside and it's like you're stepping into the past - like the 17th century! It's almost creepy.

I can't save the pictures, unfortunately, so you'll have to click the link to look. It's really worth your time.

http://www.trulia.com/property/3221421888-2114-NE-Crestview-Dr-Newport-OR-97365#photo-5

Creepy, as you said, is a good word, bizarre also comes to mind. That is really, truly odd. But well worth looking through the pictures.

 

[scotrace]

How strange! Gosh, if you just had garden variety furniture, it'd be ruined the minute you moved in!

 

[Hercule]

Interesting. I'd think more like late 19th/early 20th cent renaissance revival though - one sees the same things at big early 20c estates like Biltmore and Stan Hewet. Makes me wonder what the deal was with the owners. Maybe they were SCA types. Much as the 17th century is my area as a historian, I can't say that I find it at all alluring, just a little freaky in a kitschy way. Certainly interesting though.

 

[JimWagner]

Looking up at the ceiling in the master bedroom would certainly put a damper on things.

Unless they are selling it furnished I agree that putting modern furniture in there would totally ruin it. Maybe another SCA type would buy it. For sure it's going to take a special buyer.

 

[LizzieMaine]

It's either the 17th Century, or York Steak House.

 

[Stanley Doble]

This used to be a thing. In the late 19th/early 20th century some American millionaires spent enormous sums importing antique rooms, paneling, mantels, even whole houses from Europe and building them into new houses.

In the seventies I knew a guy who was very into this kind of thing. He bought a house built in 1835 and restored it, but with certain amenities like wiring and modern plumbing. On the back he built a large kitchen for his own use with a huge fireplace, no electricity, exposed beams, flagstone floor, everything as it would have been in the 18th century. He furnished it with real antiques including a table he claimed came from an English pub and was made in the 16oos. He was an expert tin smith (his trade) and he made authentic tin plates, cups, kitchen utensils, and bought pewter and hand made pottery in the appropriate style.

His wife wouldn't go in the room but he loved it.

 

[tonyb]

I can appreciate the effort and expense that went into transforming this otherwise nondescript suburban house. It's surely got that "wow" thing going for it.

Still, I'd think that any person doing anything so, um, distinctive to a house would know that it isn't for everybody. I'm also left wondering how much of its visual appeal might be attributed to the photographer. A good real estate photographer (I had the good fortune of having one a few months back) can have you thinking that a sow's ear might be at least a passable substitute for a silk purse.

 

[AmateisGal]

I would LOVE to know the backstory behind it. The house was built in 1975, so it makes me wonder when they started doing this and how long it took them.

 

[Zombie_61]

My first thought was that it was reminiscent of a Renaissance-era monastery. The current owner was a monk in a past life, perhaps?

 

[AmateisGal]

My first thought was that it was reminiscent of a Renaissance-era monastery. The current owner was a monk in a past life, perhaps?

That's certainly possible!

 

[Lean'n'mean]

Pretty amazing though there is quite a mish-mash of styles & periods.. The photographer did a great job, the price is reasonable but there is just one problem.....there is no room to move, unless you snake around the furniture.....that would drive me crazy.
The blurb states 17th century stained glass windows, in the style of, would be more accurate.
A chateau in house's clothing.

 

[p51]

SCA heck, imagine what a bunch of German or GI WW2 re-enactors would look like in there, with rifles stacked in a corner and a few ration crates sitting around, with a radio playing 40s music?
That's what I immediately thought when I saw the photos of the interior.
Now all that said, Newport is really out in the middle of nowhere, in an area with truly crummy weather at least 6 months out of the year. I hope the house has a generator because that area of the Pacific coast sees a lot of storms in the Fall and Winter that produce very high winds. You couldn't pay me to live that close to the ocean there.

 

[AmateisGal]

SCA heck, imagine what a bunch of German or GI WW2 re-enactors would look like in there, with rifles stacked in a corner and a few ration crates sitting around, with a radio playing 40s music?
That's what I immediately thought when I saw the photos of the interior.
Now all that said, Newport is really out in the middle of nowhere, in an area with truly crummy weather at least 6 months out of the year. I hope the house has a generator because that area of the Pacific coast sees a lot of storms in the Fall and Winter that produce very high winds. You couldn't pay me to live that close to the ocean there.

When I was a kid, I always joked that I wanted to make each room of my future home to represent a different time period: American Civil War, French Revolution, Regency England, etc. This house, though, takes that one step further!

I have tried to create a "period" 1940s room for my office, but that's about it. I don't think I could go all out like this homeowner did.

 

[Stearmen]

SCA heck, imagine what a bunch of German or GI WW2 re-enactors would look like in there, with rifles stacked in a corner and a few ration crates sitting around, with a radio playing 40s music?
That's what I immediately thought when I saw the photos of the interior.
Now all that said, Newport is really out in the middle of nowhere, in an area with truly crummy weather at least 6 months out of the year. I hope the house has a generator because that area of the Pacific coast sees a lot of storms in the Fall and Winter that produce very high winds. You couldn't pay me to live that close to the ocean there.

That's funny! When I saw Newport, I immediately thought of the Jazz Festival, and had romantic visions of me in an MGTC, listing to the music! Wrong side of the continent!

 

[Haversack]

My first thoughts when I saw the photos of the interior were: 1. "Gee. That looks a lot like some of the rooms at San Simeon." and 2. "Well, the 1920s and '30s are smack-dab in the Golden Era."

 

[IXL]

I like it!!! It looks like it could have belonged to a Cavalier. After showing her these images, my wife just informed me that this is the reason SHE is in charge of choosing our residences..........

 

[filfoster]

'York Steak House'. Good one, Lizzie. I actually like this!
Pure Addams family on the inside! Perhaps the least appealing kitchen I've seen.

Who knew Pier 1 had so much stuff?

 

[Gingerella72]

That is awesome! The best of both worlds - the aesthetics of medieval times with modern amenities.

 

[sheeplady]

While it's not anything near my taste, I can appreciate the effort it took to create that. Can you imagine having someone over for the first time? They'd have the shock of their life!