The story of acquiring what some on the internet have affectionately referred to as the “Groovy 70’s House” is a long one. When we first found this house a year and three months ago, Alex immediately said “I want it”. It wasn’t until now, November of 2019 that we were able to make it ours.
We had been only looking for houses to purchase for a few months when came upon our dream house in August of 2018. We knew we were looking for a mid century modern house as we were obsessed with the era from style to culture down to music and everything in-between. We first saw what we will now refer to as “Styles East” with our realtor Sherry Bailey, and from the moment we walked in we knew it was our dream home and we never stopped thinking about it. We made a low-ball offer and went back and fourth with some negotiations for a few months. Unfortunately, the listing price at the time and our new-ness to the house buying market kept us at bay, but we never stopped day-dreaming of ways we could make it work for us.
The search continued… We were hoping to find something on the southwest side of Atlanta, however, we would go out looking at houses often with our real estate agent and turned up empty handed every time. You see, most of the houses from the 1960’s and 1970’s being renovated these days are what Alex likes to call “Mid Century Mumford and Sons” , complete with sliding barn doors, grey walls and unsightly backsplash tile jobs. Most are absolutely garbage renovations and overpriced listings. This phrase is something I would hear endlessly every weekend as we went to seek our first home. We thought the home search would never end, we put offers in, got inspections and were forced to walk away on a few occasions. We still kept the dream house in our thoughts though.
The “Lower Level”
In early summer, around May or June, I was with my best friend, driving though neighborhoods and wanted to show her the infamous dream house. I would regularly drive by as I was scoping out other houses in the neighborhood, it was a short drive from my business so it was a way to clear my head of the day’s workload. I would park outside briefly and sit in my car manifesting. I would set intentions of getting the house. I rolled the windows down to let the energies seep out into the universe. This was some real woo-woo stuff, but I was desperate, ok? On the particular day I was driving by with my friend, I saw the owner walking his Siberian Husky dog outside as we were leaving the subdivision. I made her turnaround so I could roll my window down and talk to the owner. Reluctantly and nervously, I gave a big goofy wave and said, “Hi, I don’t think you remember me but I love your house and we made an offer and are trying to figure out a way to get it!”
The formal dining room
The owner of this house was an 84 year-old man who is a retired podiatrist notably known in East Point community where he practiced. We call him “The Duke”. The Duke and I got to talking that day and we ended up exchanging numbers. He told me he could sell me his house by owner because it was about to go off the market. The Duke could be a bit stubborn at times (and I would be too if I lived in a house for 50 years), but I was determined to make him my new best friend….and I did. After our convo in the neighborhood that day, I turned to my best friend and said “I’m going to get that house, one way or another, just you watch”. And that’s precisely what I did, only it took about six months.
The Master Bedroom
Fast forward over the next half a year and several visits to and from the Duke’s house, we made a few legit offers on the house, negotiated terms and worked directly with the seller which proved to be very very frustrating, mostly because he didn’t have email and barely knew how to work a cell phone. There was nothing easy about this transaction. I was persistent and positive, since I worked nearby, I would often bring him papers to sign off on and visit with him. One time I brought him a carpenter bee trap that I got at the thrift store, because he had a carpenter bee issue. Another time, we went over with my parents and a close set of family friends who are in the real estate business. They pretended that they were Alex’s parents and we spent about two hours letting the Duke parade us around the house and show us everything.
See, the Duke was no stranger to showing the house to people. Apparently, he had shown it to a NBA star (who took a dip in the pool and then showered off in the master tub??) as well as several others interested in the home. He even claimed that people would sneak in the back yard and tour around the perimeter of the house, so he boarded up the gates with nails. Every time we would go over to the house, the Duke would show us around and tell little stories about the house. He was filled with stories and would go off on tangents at every visit. I loved the stories and wanted to hear about anything and everything, I couldn’t get enough of the history of his lovely family and home. The Duke really liked my disposition, because I was so complimentary of the house and catered to him, he allowed us to drag out the under contract period for quite sometime. I think he knew when he met us that we were the right people for the house. He told me this later in the deal. I think he wanted to sell it to people who saw its value and would take care of the home he made from scratch 50 years ago, and that’s just what we intend on doing.
The Master Bathroom
The house was a difficult purchase because the Duke wanted to sell two vacant lots that came attached to the house. Problem is, the mortgage company we were working with wouldn’t appraise the lots with the house. So, we ended up having to switch mortgage companies to get the lots AND the house appraised into one loan. Good thing is, we have no neighbors on one side and plenty of room to grow and spread out.
The house was built in 1969-1970 and is a custom contemporary home in the California modern style that was popular in that area. The Duke had this home built for him and his wife and two sons. His wife, Gae, was a interior kitchen and bath designer. Which is why both of these rooms on the house are just exquisite (Just look at these custom cabinets!) Fun fact, the Duke had mirrors put on the ceiling in the master bedroom in 1970, you know they were having some fun back in their day! One of the walls in the master bedroom still has these smoked mirrors on it and it is repeated in the bathroom where the jetted tub is. All of the wallpaper is flock / damask and original. The carpet is not original, but there is a hidden stairway that has the original carpet which is a drab green shag carpet. The home has many hidden features and not so hidden features including a wine cellar and conversation pit. All of the features and furnishings on the home were luxury for its period of time. The Duke drove Jaguar cars and sent his children to nearby Woodward Academy. They were upperclass when they lived in the home. Unfortunately, his wife died unexpectedly in her sleep in 2005 in the home. The Duke gave me a statue of a bride and groom to commiserate our recent marriage. I will cherish it always. “Don’t ever go a day without telling each other you love one another” is the advice he gave us.
The Duke and his bride circa early 1960’s. They are a handsome couple, we have big shoes to fill!
We are so incredibly excited and fortunate to have our dream house as our first and forever home. We have plenty of room to grow into and it checks off all (and more) of the boxes that we wanted in a home. We bought the furniture in the home which was bought by the Duke and his wife in the 1970s. Included in this haul is a smoked lucite chromcraft tulip table and chairs set, three sets of bedroom furniture from 1970, original light fixtures, some stellar tiki art work and armory/knight type decor in the basement.
Check back for more posts including details about the light fixtures, furniture, small little quirks of the house and tasteful renovations soon to come. Thanks for reading.
-Melanie Styles