20160215

Old is New in Marin

$2,195,000 
5 Bedroom, 4 Bath
2,860 square feet


I hit the road today and found myself looking at Open Houses in Marin County. For those unfamiliar with the Bay Area, Marin County is the county immediately north of the Golden Gate Bridge. And as one gets closer to the Golden Gate, real estate prices increase, thus the houses today were in the $2 million range. 

There were two beautiful victorian homes in the Historic Forbes Neighborhood of San Rafael, just a few steps from one another. One home had been completely restored back to its 1889 grandeur complete with antique radiators under each window. Speaking in full hyperbole, the realtor bragged it was one of "the best restored homes in all the Bay Area." I admired each room and walked on.

'Fully modern make over' is the term to best describe the second home on the walking tour. The bathrooms and kitchen were fashioned after what is hot now: marble counter tops, sunflower shower heads, and a Japanese style bathtub. This home had once been the neighborhood eyesore and a contractor purchased it and worked hard to turn the home into something with numerous wow factors.

The 2016 version of a 1960's fixture
The first wow was the light in the front entry way. Orbital and starlike, the light begged for attention. I saw the inspiration for this light fixture last year when I visited an estate in the hills above Sonoma Valley. The estate of Dot and Bill had been built in the 1960's and nothing had been touched or modernized since. I eagerly snapped photos of the wallpaper, light fixtures and patterned carpet, like a museum employee cataloging Brutalist architecture. One light fixture in particular kept my attention for days after the Open House; the same starlike light. The stark and bare fixture flooded light in all directions, like a solar flare. The brass fixture stood over a room of shag carpet with blue and green shapes imitating the earth as if the room were a world unto itself. I sent a picture of the light to my father to prove I had traveled back to the 1960's that day.

I
The original 1960's light fixture
magine my amazement when I found this same light in the entry way of the thoroughly modern makeover in Marin. The Forbes home had been built in 1900, so the light fixture was not there to signify the home's historic past, but perhaps a place holder in between 1900 and 2016.


No comments:

Post a Comment