In need of renovation: 1950s Marcel Breuer-designed midcentury property in Ithaca, NY, USA
We have to take the agent’s word on this, as we haven’t been able to find out much detail on this 1950s Marcel Breuer-designed midcentury property in Ithaca, NY, USA.
But the agent does show a Cornell Alumni News publication from ‘back in the day’ which presumably does give provenance to the noted modernist architect and his practice. But we would recommend you check that with the agent first.
Ok, so we are presuming this is a Breuer project, which is a big selling point. There are two others as well. The fact that this looks like it could be a good midcentury renovation project and the price tag. It has gone up considerably from the last time it was on the market, but the house is still a bargain, especially compared to UK prices. More on that in a moment.
First up, let’s look at the house, which dates back to 1958 and sits in three acres of land. The agent says the house ‘retains its archetypal style’ and looking at the photos, it does look like it benefits from being pretty much left alone for 50 or so years.
The layout and the architectural detailing seem pretty much untouched, as does the overall footprint of the house. There’s a little bit of modernisation here and there, such as laminate flooring and some updating of the kitchen, but by and large, nothing radical has been undertaken. Hence this being such an appealing project house.
So you still get the large windows, exposed brick, possibly the original fitted furnishings and cupboard space and almost certainly the original fireplace. The big things are still in place. It probably just needs those all-important, midcentury-inspired finishing touches to bring it back to life. And a survey to check that nothing untoward has happened over the last few decades of course.
In terms of living space, you get around 1,750 sq. ft. to play with, which includes three bedrooms, two bathrooms and reception space with great views from up on high. There’s also a separate outbuilding in the same style as the larger residence.
That price? $219,000, which works out at around £142,000.
Images and details courtesy of Zillow. For more details and to make an enquiry, please visit their website.
