House Lust: A Sweet Retro Abode in Bristol

Long live pink bathrooms and basement bars.

I love this place. Not every house can pull off stenciled kitchen cabinetry, scrolled valances and wide arched doorways. And don’t get me started on the tiled bathrooms. The interior shutters are painted to match so, potential buyers, it’s final: The pink stays.

Retro details abound in this sweet abode in Bristol that, according to the listing by Mott and Chace Sotheby’s, was built by E. J . Sevigny and designed by Karin Linder. I couldn’t dig up much on either but, suffice to say it, both professionals were well-versed in the 1960s aesthetic.

Modern buyers tend to turn up their noses at this brand of mid-century design. We bow at the feet of Frank Lloyd Wright, but a functional U-shaped kitchen with a wall oven and a homey vegetable backsplash? First we scoff, and then we sledgehammer. And that’s a crime against time. Such places — especially when they’re already so well-preserved — should live on, if only so we never forget the way things used to be.

For me, it’s simpler than all that: It reminds me of my grandmother’s house, n0t necessarily in look but in spirit — a place that smelled like walnut brownies and had thick squares of bubblegum stowed in a kitchen drawer. I bet this house had its own brand of brownies and bubblegum. Some folks were happy here. They took good care of their home.

And now it’s ready for a new generation of walnut brownies. Vintage lovers, here’s your House Lust:

For more information, contact Mott and Chace Sotheby’s Laura Kinsella at 401-580-8133 or visit mottandchace.com.