if you’ve been following me for a long time you probably know how much i love mid-century houses. i grew up in one (well, sorta, my parents built their home in the early 80s but it has a mid-century feel about it – think floor to ceiling wooden window frames and glass, glass, glass). so, i stalk property a lot, and i’m always dreaming of finding an un-touched mid-century gem somewhere in the suburbs of Cape Town, or my home town. unfortunately people are starting to tear them down, because they want more space or, simply, they just don’t have any taste or appreciation for how beautiful these homes are.
and man, is this one amazing. it’s in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, designed by architect E. Keith Haag and built in 1954 (he actually lived here all his life, and there seems to be some kind of a draftman’s table in the study… i wonder if it was his house?). it’s selling for a cool $589,000. probably my favourite thing about mid-century architecture is all the custom-built wooden cabinetry that you so often find in these homes – and this one is full of it. so gorgeous. the interesting thing about this house is that it’s surrounded by farmland, not something you typically see (but it IS Ohio, i suppose). i would not mind living here, i tell you. i would even just move into the cute garage to be honest.
have you guys been watching Ozark on Netflix? the family moves into a seventies home on a lake that is also pretty stalk-worthy.
This is so funny – I just saw that you had featured some of my jewelry back in 2016 (thank you!) and then was just scrolling through and found this post! Keith Haag was my grandpa and this was in fact his house. He originally designed it for another family but ended up marrying the wife (my grandma for all intents and purposes) later on after her husband died the 60s . He was also a prolific oil painter and had a great art studio in the basement. I definitely credit him for a lot of my artistic abilities. I have lots of great memories in this house (and wholeheartedly wish that I could live there).
Three years late but.. this is so cool!! What a fantastic place to make childhood memories. I wish you could live there too. :)
Hi Diana,
Just over a year ago I moved to Boston, Bellville.
In my search to find out more about this little residential gem in the northern suburbs I stumbled upon your blog. Boston has tree lined streets, mostly medium size plots of 500 sq/m and a double plot here and there. Due to the schools and hospitals in the area there is an interesting demographic mix, ranging from students to young families and older people who have been living there for many, many years. Architecturally the houses show a mix of Victorian features but more so Art Deco and Mid Century. Apparently Boston was developed with the help of Americans, hence the name, the architectural styles, and extensive use of Oregon Pine flooring. It is indeed a pity that people don’t recognize these styles and when renovating some of the style features are replaced by a homogeneous style, as you say by lack of appreciation or “lack of taste”. However, you should be able to find an un-touched mid-century gem in Boston. In case you’re still interested. Now we just need to attract residents and renovators who care about the uniqueness of the architecture and history.