Mid-Century home for sale w/ vintage tropics room, murals

I saw this place on Detroit Curbed.

Want!

Be sure to click on the photo gallery

http://m.detroit.curbed.com/archives/2013/02/sherwood-forest-home-sits-atop-a-bizarre-tropical-secret.php

-Z

Thank God The Tiki Bar Is Open
Thank God The Tiki Torch Still Shines...

[ Edited by: Feelin' Zombified 2013-02-13 07:23 ]

I swear can smell pot when I look at the photos.

Only $159,000! You can't even buy a crack house in Southern California for $159k.

Sandwiched between Palmer Park and Livernois, things are quiet on the winding streets of Sherwood Forest. Sherwood's close-knit design might lend itself to nosy neighbors, but could they have possibly known what's hiding behind this unassuming, mid-century facade?

The tiki bar of your dreams >>
Most Sherwood Forest homes were built in the 1920s or 30s, but this one crashed the party in 1950. Featuring a generous use of pink paint, mirrors, and holographic wallpaper, this 4-bedroom asks $159K and needs a bit of updating. But that doesn't explain the basement. Basement bars aren't uncommon for homes of this era, but but most don't feature a large painting of a topless dancer greeting guests at the bottom of the stairs. Things only get better from there. Every bit of wall not covered in faux bamboo features a painting meant to put you in tropical mood, meaning guests endure a gauntlet of monkeys, palm trees, and nipples. You'll certainly be in a drinking mood by the time you reach the bar, which features the greatest painting of all. Wearing a necklace of bottle caps, the queen of the bar appears ready to eat a hotdog.

Wow. Those bathroom taps are the nazz and I will never be able to get that hot dog mural out of my head. Amazing stuff - thanks for posting!

Wow, the previous owners sure put a whole lot of ugly into the house
good bones though.

That place would be fun to remodel.
I love the silver bamboo wallpaper!

Huh! Very interesting.

Congrats on drawing Tikiwahine out of her nearly 6 month silence.

The price is attractive - much else is not. I love the pink bathroom except for the new sink.

This house is built in the style often called Streamline Moderne which dates back to the Art Deco Period.
Any Poroit fans out there?

On 2013-02-13 15:52, Atomic Tiki Punk wrote:
Wow, the previous owners sure put a whole lot of ugly into the house
good bones though.

100% agreed.

On 2013-02-15 06:50, zond2 wrote:
This house is built in the style often called Streamline Moderne which dates back to the Art Deco Period.

That's very interesting. I always thought Streamline Moderne was more curvy and had less hard and square edges. I'm not an expert, but I'm thinking of the former Pan Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles as one of the most striking examples of Streamline Moderne.

Interesting side note on this one;

I showed this to a co-worker of mine who grew up in Detroit and he has BEEN THERE!

He saw the photos and remembered that as being a friend of a friend's parents' house.

Small world... Of course, my immediate response is how do you NOT remember drinking in
a jungle bar with a hot dog mural?!?

--Pete

Cool house, I thought the interior looked more like Hollywood Regency style but what do I know. Also kinda reminds me of early Scarface style as well. That's just me though.

Ace Explorer...you would be correct...here a a few examples from my collection...

Streamline Moderne evoked movement/speed/travel...many like the LA Coca Cola building, a ship like structure...NO roof lines. Trav, I think your inside analogy is right on. Very cool bar and bathroom though. OGR

Soooo...WHO's gonna get this one:

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1228-17th-St-West-Des-Moines-IA-50265/863208_zpid/

C'mon, someone has to move it and keep it as is!

GOOD LORD !!! Not really my cup of tea as the decor goes but I can appreciate the fact that the home has remained intact in the state it is in. Sadly it's probably headed for a major "upgrade" when a new owner is found.

Someone spent a pretty penny to make it look like that, I wonder what the original house was like...
But I do like the "Throne Room".

too bad its stuck in a shit hole like Detroit!!!! you couldn't give me this house as nice as it is to live in that craphole!!!

So Des Moines is a suburb of Detroit? It actually looks like a real nice hood where it's standing:

Well, I am glad we all know how you feel about Detroit, now :wink:

I believe the correct name for this design style is "Mid-Century Horror."

no no, the sub-burbs are fine, Im talking the crime ridden inner city area with all the abandoned beautiful homes and lack of police and fire support! hey, I feel the same way about L.A. its a crap hole too, but Ive got to live here and we don't have the winters, Detroit use to be an awesome city

The address of the Chinese house is:

1228 17th St, West Des Moines, IA 50265

Here's the link again:
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/1228-17th-St-West-Des-Moines-IA-50265/863208_zpid/

And, yeah, it might be over the top, but what constitutes home decor horror to me is rather something like this:

Middle-of-the-road, like millions of homes, Ethan Allen genericness

What is the Picasso opening quote in the Book of Tiki ? :)

I happen to love this place, I would buy and live here if all he furniture and decor stayed. You know what they say "Good taste is a dreadful thing, taste is the enemy of creativeness".

Yup:
http://www.thequotefactory.com/quote-by/pablo-picasso/good-taste-is-the-enemy-of-creativity/18851

Then there is: Good Taste is what most people think they have....

Des Moines is in Iowa, not Michigan. Detroit and Des Moines don't have much in common.
My love of Mid Century started in the Midwest. My relatives live in Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Missouri. Cities such as Overland Park, Omaha, Wichita, Kansas City and Des Moines are filled with nice and well kept Mid Century Modern homes.

The bars hold promise in these homes but the rest of the decor would make me have a seizure!!!

This 1925 (before Mid Century) Japanese-style home was for sale for a couple of years. It's located in the Belmont Shore neighborhood of Long Beach, CA and it's the only estate sized home in the BS area. Most of them don't have yards to speak of.
The outside looks immaculate and there is even a tea house. Take a look at the video and see what was done to the inside. It was gutted and modernized.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTG6mvS59bw

Tea house.

Oy, that green toilet and sink combo in the bathroom will surely give me nightmares!

Some aspects of the interior reminded me of James Bond film sets.

Looks like a brochure for the Madonna Inn (San Luis Obispo)

WOW! That bar is so damn sexy! The house in Detroit appears to still be on the market, too.