Where Do You Even Find Wallpaper Like That

820 Maple St., Edmonds, WA 98020

The rest of this house is just a nice, partially-updated 120-year-old home. But that bathroom… Whoa.

820 Maple St., Edmonds, WA 98020

I actually saw this one in person at an open house, and these photos really do not do justice to the visual assault you experience when you walk into this bathroom.

About the Author

Marty E.
Naked Loon Editor-in-Chief

10 Comments on "Where Do You Even Find Wallpaper Like That"

  1. That bathroom does look pretty odd. Even if it had better wall paper and trim colors, I would renovate it. It’s in sore need of an update. It looks like it’s probably at least a 10′ x 7′ bathroom. That’s enough room to do something nice to it although you’d have to move some plumbing.

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  2. The listing says “So much potential” and that especially applies to this bathroom. I agree with Frodo – the room is large enough and it really needs redoing. One thing I can say for that wallpaper, though, camouflaging a 2 foot tall orange glass vase isn’t easy, but it manages (Pic 17). It even almost makes one miss all the ceiling cracks visible in that same pic. I’d definitely want an expert opinion on what caused those. Is it just age and/or settling? Or are there some structural issues?

    Marty, since you were there, I do have a couple of questions for you… Is the living room really as long and skinny as most of the photos make it appear? Or is it closer to square as it seems in Pic 5? Also, the listing says the kitchen appliances are stainless steel. Are the ones shown still there? They’re definitely not run of the mill and they sure don’t look stainless. Any thoughts?

    The rest of the place is fairly nice and definitely pretty well taken care of. Noteworthy in a 120 year old house. Bravi to the 4 generations involved.

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  3. @Emerald63: The living room is closer to a square, I’d say. It’s not particularly big, but I didn’t feel like it was all that narrow. It feels pretty open since there are the two entrances to it.

    Yup, the giant blue oven/stove and fridge are still there. They pretty obviously had some professional firm come in and redo their kitchen a few years back. The oven and fridge look pretty unique, but it’s basically just a facade on some pretty run-of-the-mill appliances underneath.

    The biggest bummer about the house is something you can’t see in the photos at all. The floors felt pretty uneven throughout much of the home. There were some rooms that induced a strong sense of vertigo just walking from one side of the room to another. Sadly, I fear this home needs some pretty serious structural work if it’s going to last another 120 years.

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  4. @Marty E.: Thanks for the info Marty. That appliance thing is just wild. I knew the fridge wasn’t old because it wasn’t an ice box, but I really thought the stove was legit. Putting an attractive cover over appliances is one thing (you can get magnetic clings with all sorts of patterns/images on them), but making it look like something it isn’t doesn’t seem kosher. And it sounds like the floor issue/structural issue may be the root of the ceiling cracks in the orange bathroom after all. I guess one can’t complain, though, that some big work is needed after 120 years.

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  5. Those appliances look to me like they might be from Elmira Stove Works? http://www.elmirastoveworks.com/antique/ranges/ There’s a Canadian company that makes retro-style appliances, too, but I can’t remember the name of it, off-hand.

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  6. @MsWildhack: Wow, they do look like what Elmira has to offer. Good catch! It’s kinda cool that anyone still makes stoves that at least look like that. From what Marty said, I had the sense that someone simply plastered over (so to speak) a regular stainless steel stove, which seemed both goofy and kind of aesthetically dishonest to me. But if the stove is made to look that way, it’s merely a retro look, even if the insides are modern.

    However, I personally don’t think their fridges, dishwashers, or wall ovens do the job and I actually burst out laughing when I saw the “retro” microwaves. I guess I was in architecture school too soon after the modernist era to swallow making something first developed in the 1940s look like it came out of the late 19th century. That’s what I mean by “dishonest.” I’m cool with steampunk, but somehow a lot of the Elmira products don’t seem to fit that category either.

    Or it could just be me. I’ll just slowly edge out of the room while everyone else is admiring the unique appliances……………

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  7. @Emerald63: Um, “merely a retro look” was not meant as a slam. It’s a legitimate style choice.

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  8. Oh, if I had the $ for my Mid-Mod dream home and couldn’t get period appliances that were still in working order, I’d certainly consider Elmira’s Northstar line. Yes — even the microwave. :-)

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  9. The stove and fridge are actually made by Heartland, not Elmira.

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  10. @Mia: Thanks for the info update, Mia. It will be very helpful for those in the market for such items. :)

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