House Lust: Indulge Your Inner Hostess at This Swanky Stunner

The pristinely preserved Caldarone House is ready to show off its midcentury modern flair.
11 W View Foyer
Welcome home! The Caldarone House in North Providence is on the market for $479,000. Photo by Daniel Wodecki/Compass.

Break out your swankiest martini glasses and a bevy of swizzle sticks, because after you see this latest House Lust beauty you’re going to want to throw a party the likes of which Don Draper, Jane Jetson and Carol Brady could only imagine. 

Designed by renowned Rhode Island architect Ira Rakatansky in 1958, the midcentury modern beauty sits atop a crest in North Providence’s Fruit hill neighborhood, lording over all in its burnt umber glory. The Caldarone House — named for the family that commissioned it — features two spacious levels of living area, including soaring cathedral ceilings, the original kitchen, original rubber flooring and sweet built-ins like a panel of stained glass windows and a hutch on casters that acts as a dividing wall between the sitting room and kitchen when it’s rolled into place.

“The house is ninety percent original,” says Nelson Taylor of the Blackstone Team at Compass Real Estate. Taylor also sold the East Side home Rakatansky lived in years ago.

Located at 11 West View Ave., the home has three bedrooms, two full bathrooms and the most amazing rec room — complete with wet bar — all in 3,651 square feet of living space. It’s listed at $479,000.

It was almost a “missed” Rakatansky. The architect’s son keeps a database of the 300 homes he designed, and the Caldarone House wasn’t on the list. But it is now.

So put on your finest cocktail dress and set out all your ashtrays and crystal bowls filled with mixed nuts (don’t forget the nutcrackers!) and get ready to host the party of the century, darling. I’ll bring the Jello-O salad and the Tom Collins mix.

For more information about the Caldarone House, contact Nelson Taylor at the Blackstone Team at Compass Real Estate at 401-486-1948, nelson.taylor@compass.com or visit compass.com

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