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This West Seattle midcentury home has original appliances and decor

A time capsule in Arbor Heights

Robert Brittingham

This three-bedroom, one-and-three-quarter bathroom home in Arbor Heights has come out of the 1950s almost entirely intact.

The 1959 brick, basement rambler was common for the era. It’s pretty uncommon for our time, though, with original built-ins, cabinetry, and even most of the original kitchen appliances. Even the starburst-like design on the mint-colored garage door harkens back to the home’s original heyday.

The living and dining area remain largely untouched, right down to a built-in separating the dining nook from the kitchen—with a small window for passing the next course through.

The preservation is most apparent in the kitchen, where the original cabinets feature a kind of inlaid chevron design. The stove and oven—not a range, but two separate appliances—are original, and meticulously-maintained right down to the bright, robins-egg blue color.

We’re told the dishwasher matched until recently too, but its function didn’t hold up as well as its cousins.

Downstairs in the daylight basement, a den has some classic features: A wide, flat brick fireplace, opposite wood paneling, cabinetry, and built-in wooden shelves.

That space extends to the edge of the house and opens directly to a large backyard.

It’s certainly isn’t the first midcentury modern home to survive the past several decades completely intact—a listing last month in Rainier Beach comes to mind—but they’re still few and far between.

Taking this one through the next five or six decades will run you $549,000.