I didnt mention, but we are planning to wire the staircases and balconies

pinkmountain- that is a furniture piece

I didnt mention, but we are planning to wire the staircases and balconies

That's important to know for anyone offering suggestions. Definitely go more modern, and don't even think about Parisian/antique farmhouse.

That is a gorgeous house. My only advice is to plan every aspect of what you want to do meticulously. Your interest in MCM and Boho is a red flag that your vision is not entirely developed yet, which is fine. But with such a gorgeous house, it would be a shame for it to lack cohesion. So while you may not be able to afford to make all the changes you want at once, do plan everything out down to the last details and then figure out how to stage the work. Congratulations on the beautiful new house and exciting new projects.

PS Bear in mind that the cheaper the budget the more meticulous planning is needed. The rewards are potentially much greater as well.

BTW those railings you are planning are not to code in many places so check that out for sure.

What kind of curved shower door is in the mauve bathroom?

Are you going to leave the pit?

In the purple bath what about painting the walls above the tile the same color as the tile. The color looks too white on my screen

And for what its worth, I like the bar room as is.

What a fascinating house! I love it, actually. That funky triangle wet bar or whatever it is is amazing - I would want to keep it in a modern design some how. The 1980s were not completely terrible ;)

Definifely focus on those stairs and make sure what you do with them is also to applicable Codes. For overall - stick to a more modern or MCM design. This house is not a farmhouse by any stretch of the imagination. It would be worth making some Ideabooks to get some ideas going.

I think what you are planning sounds fine. Have you considered extending the flooring from the LR into the kitchen? I don't happen to like orange-red and I dislike contrasting tile grout, always makes floor look old and dirty to me but that is just my taste. I get the aesthetic, and the current floor is essential to the "look" of that kitchen all together. The red will look great with black and grey accents too.

I'm not usually a fan of 80's design but this one is a winner. No not the colors, but the overall feel. I would embrace the fact that it is an 80's house and work with an ID to create a vision that plays it up. If you do anything else, you'll be remuddling the house and then it will never look right.

'85? I am not seeing 85..more late 60's. The staircase is the only EYE SORE. It just looks rather thrown together tree house to me, and as other's have said probably a code violation anyway. I would get advise about something much more attractive for such a focal point in your space. The couch fits that space perfectly. Before you pitch it have its replacement in hand. I am thinking you will decide to reupholster. The mirrored city-scape is kewl. I would be surprised if the pink bathroom could be painted. Thinking you will have to get a new cabinet. Go slow, you don't want to ruin the kewl in that house!! Maybe you should lean to the Scandinavian, that home has a minimalist vibe going and that would lend itself to the Scandinavian.

There is a lot of work involved here so I would start simple- paint paint paint paint. Get your wall paint going & hold on the rest until you see how the paint changes your feel. GL!

Great space...and a surprise around every corner!

I love that house, mostly as is, and I’d try to work to modernize what you have. I think that is best done with a decorator here :) I happen to love the pink room in particular and would spend all my time in there!!

Do the floors after you replace the pit with a level floor. That seems in your budget and will give you a safe area to live in before deciding on what to do. If you get the floor done, remove the bar if you do not need or want it, make the staircase safe, although how this house passed a safety inspection is beyond me, then paint the living and bar area then you might think about hiring a designer to proceed. If not get the floors done, paint and stairs and post the results and get more advice. Keep us posted! the house is fabulous!

In many parts of the country things like the stairs and the pit are grandfathered. And there's no way that it would prevent anyone from getting a mortgage.

Honestly if you had to bring things like that up to current code the majority of the houses in the United States would have to be torn down.

Those railings could be made safer relatively easily and I don't think there is anything in IRC outlawing sunken living rooms or portions thereof. Local code may vary.

But I find it really tedious when someone asks about something and people keep harping about what deathtrap the house is.

Minnesota is FAMOUS for its rules. There are many counties you cannot sell a home until everything is up to code. That is how they FORCE people to update!! A staircase that isn't legal would prohibit a sale FOR SURE. Usually the seller and buyer negotiate how the changes will happen.

Obviously this house Just passed into new hands without having to be gutted.

Local codes may be more stringent.

I think I missed my calling as a risk adjuster -- I see the danger in everything dangerous, and a few things that aren't that dangerous! Certainly a bit neurotic. But safety first never killed anyone.

The house was custom built in 1985 but I do see the retro 60's inspo. Thank you all for the comments! We really wanted a house with more unique design and it has been hard to find in our budget!

The curved door in the maroon cabinet bathroom is really interesting.. it's a plastic circular door that swivels from a pole in the middle, maybe not the most convenient and maybe claustrophobic? The realtor thought that maybe it was a steam shower but didnt see any special steam component.

We will get the stairs and balcony safe- it's one of our top priorities, I just didn't mention because it's not a design question I had.

We do plan to keep the pit/sunken living room- that was actually a selling point for us, we like that it's unique and cozy.. it does concern me a bit making the floors wood and then making that more of a slipping hazard though, so need to figure that out.

I thought about reupholstering the couch because it looks comfy and fits the space, but am definitely concerned with how much that would cost, so will have to look into it. If we can find a more affordable couch that fits the space- I understand that might save us some money.

We also want to keep the natural wood on the stairs and balcony, we like that and think it will look nice/warm with white walls in the living room. Also surprised that some of you hate the stairs.. we like the more unique design.

I am questioning the dark bar room but think I will just have to do a mock up and see what I think. There is something too boring about it to me right now..

I do understand the house not fitting a farmhouse vibe at all- although I do think we could fit in some boho aspects- a hanging chair, hanging plants, poufs, colorful rugs maybe? It is a lot of decisions!

Do you think that black triangular piece is Memphis-style? I've never have a clear impression of Memphis-style, but that's sort of what comes to mind.

Don't listen to anything anyone has to say, if that person is suggesting filling in the pit. Pits and sunken conversation pieces are incredibly trendy right now. If someone's telling you to fill it in, they do *not* understand current trends in MCM.

Also agree the people are nuts who are wringing their hands about getting it up to code. I've never heard of a county requiring a house to be up to code for sale. That's a pretty big intrusion on the rights of parties to freely contract. What if you're buying a house as -is to use as a tear down? Or buying a house specifically to flip it and sell it? Certainly a county couldn't force those to be up to code. Now, buyers may request representations that any work a seller did was to code and with permits. But otherwise, no one expects, or really cares, whether a "used" house is up to code.

GREAT house. Extremely cool, not cookie cutter, keep the spectacular pit, I actually love the stairs. And good lord, I'll buy the funky metal fireplace from you ;) Honestly, a good whole-house paint palette refresh would do wonders. If you didn't do anything else, that would do a lot. And rip up the carpets. Even tinted concrete would look better. I kind of like your thought of the doing a Scandi approach. You can still work in some color & pattern without going full hippy. Alas, I mostly hate boho. To me it screams "My First Apartment" and "Glastonbury.") Regarding the dark barroom. I "get it" and think it's a great inspiration, but the size of your barroom (and the style of the house in general) just don't lend themselves to that "cozy lodge boho" look or the (extremely cool) mixed-glam fireplace room pic. Seriously. Pull up the carpet, BURN the vertical blinds, and paint paint paint (but don't paint the stairs...)

Sleep on it for at least 6 months, if you can stand it that long. You don't want to make mistakes early on and regret later. Meanwhile, spend some effort finding a designer who is into these kinds of renos of that certain period. It will be money well spent. And you don't know what kind of complications the house has, aside from decor issues. Your precious little money may have to be spent for immediate repairs and issues that you'll uncover in the first year.

I hope they will include the furniture with the house purchase. In a few years when the 1980's become the next hip vintage, it will be harder to find good quality pieces. You can pick and choose what you want to keep at your leisure. Browse through some early 1980's shelter magazines such as Architectural Digest at the local library to see some of that era's styles.

My guess is that the custom conversation pit sofa's modules have loose covers that are fastened in place. There may be a label from the maker. If the sofa is not terminally worn out, it could be worth getting cleaned by Coit or a local independent cleaner who can come out and do a lot of the upholstered pieces if you keep them. There are custom slipcover makers, too.

I am a design afficianado and admire nearly every era of design. However, I have a hard time appreciating the look of this era (which coincides with the upward track of my early career). Could people comment on what they like about it?

The cheapest way to change current view is to paint. Rid off maroon/pinkish color first. Then do the next steps.

This is one of the best houses I have seen in a very long time...It's 80's but it's well done 80's...

Leave it. All of it (if you can) It's smashing...

That sofa was custom made. To me, that's just one small indication of quality and care taken in the rest of the house.

Please, wait. Take a breath. Make sure you have no regrets down the road.

mjib, what do I not like....the nyc skyline mirror. That's all.

I am a little surprised by the mauve vs. primary red juxtaposition of the living to the kitchen. Both are 80s schemes but not usually together.

Love the house! So unique in many ways. I like the shoulder mount goat heads and pelt. Those are very expensive. 2 goat heads= 1 mink coat. I'd keep everything.

What a great find! I loathe the 80's, but this house is amazeballs!

General advice I second:

-Concentrate on floors and paint. Also more paint.

-Over-the-top plan before doing much permanently. Cohesiveness will be your saviour.

-Throw all your extra pennies at a designer and this could be a showpiece again!

-Midcentury/Modern of course, but you could definitely mix Boho in, if done purposefully. The seventies came directly after the sixties, after all, aim for that narrow slice of time, and it'll blend. And if you dare, some French flea market. Make them statement pieces. Actual art, (sculptures, maybe) instead of furniture or decor. Fine art is unbounded by era

-I'm on Team save-the-couch! If it was custom for the space, it's worth it, and I could see bohemian pillows in it's future

-Nix the dark bar idea. Sad, but use the inspo for a smaller space, bathroom, maybe?

-Browse 80's design sources for alternate ways to combine the eras, this will probably help with the bathrooms, for instance

-Yes, to painting the fire surround, but hmm, black? if you plan on chrome elsewhere why not try it on the firplace, hmm, not sure...

-I like the stairs, I love the pit, have you explored cork? It's grippy

-Listen to the house for awhile, then trust what you like. This house demands confidence.

What an exciting project! If in doubt go bigger, go bold! Also, maybe post one room at a time for more specific help, it's a lot to take in!

Very cool house!

Are you under contract, yet, Michelle?

This house really cool! I am glad that you are keeping the pit, as it seems intrigal to the style of the house. Since you are planning on replacing the floor and the sofa in the pit, I would consider removing the two short steps on the sides, centering a longer step on the long side of pit, and then furnishing it with 4 chairs or 2 love seats facing each other and perpendicular to the fireplace. This would enhance the conversation aspect of the pit. Not knowing the dimensions of the pit, I am not sure if this is doable, but possibly something to consider.

You can always add some rustic elements to your mostly MCM design, ala Joanna Gaines:

When was the house itself built? The interior design aspects are on point with the mid 1980s but the architecture is earlier mid century.

I can't really picture someone building a house in that style and decorating aspects of it in late Modernism/post Modernism at the same time. I can picture someone updating a 1960-odd house this way.

1985

From my understanding, custom built by owner in 1985- there is even a monogram in the pink carpet.

Yes Tenamarie- love that..need more inspo with that.

The architecture is kinda old fashioned for 85. I am surprised they were so on trend for the kitchen and bath. Were they older,?

palimpsest- Were glad it has the mid century style because that's really what were looking for. I am guessing they are in their 60's now? But just a guess

I think you could do elements of Boho-Modern, versus Boho. Check out Studio McGee and Amber Interiors.

Were glad it has the mid century style because that's really what were looking for.

As someone who was born in the sixties and graduated from college in 1985, I'm begging you not to add any "Joanna Gaines rustic elements" to that house. Please.

Thanks for saying what I was thinking, becky ;)

following, great home