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Fabulous Moderne Art Deco Bathroom

Helen
last year

A condo in a 1946 townhouse reputed to have been lived in by Marilyn Monroe in her early starlet days.


It is nice that they seem to have retained the original bathroom for the most part although I think the bathroom faucet which is obviously new is a big discordant.


The furniture really works well with the feel of the home - it isn't slavishly retro but it calls back to that time period in a really livable way


Price reflects the area not being the greatest and the lack of any parking in a neighborhood where street parking is difficult.


This French Normandy townhome in Walter C. Kings landmark, Chateau Beachwood, was designed in 1937 and was reportedly built by Warner Bros to house their starlets (legend has it, this list includes Greta Garbo, Marlene Deitrich, Madonna and Marilyn Monroe, who is said to have lived in this very unit!) Upon arrival, you are greeted by magical turrets and billowing willow trees


More pictures of the place for those who are interested


https://acme-re.com/2022/11/live-like-a-hollywood-starlet-in-a-piece-of-iconic-hollywood-history/







Comments (9)

  • beeboo22
    last year

    This house is amazing! 😍😍😍I love the bathroom and those green tiled stairs.

  • PRO
    Norwood Architects
    last year

    It's a great house but those trees out front sure could use some trimming so that you can actually see the house. The bathroom is cool.

  • PRO
    Patricia Colwell Consulting
    last year
    last modified: last year

    I love Art Deco but IMO that is not an art deco bathroom and IMO does not work at all with the rest of the house . I do like the green tiled stairs/ I think bathrooms and kitchens needd to be brought into the 21 century and that bathroom could still be a bit art deco but a truly functioning bathroom for how we live today just like the rest of the house has been done.Something like this IMO would be much more in keeping with the rest of the house .


  • cpartist
    last year

    Patricia, that bathroom is definitely art deco in feel. And it works perfectly for the time frame it was built. Color was very big in the 20's and 30's which is when that bathroom was built. In fact what you show as "more in keeping with the house" would not work as what you show was from an earlier time period. (You might want to read up more on older home styles.)

  • Helen
    Original Author
    last year
    last modified: last year

    @cpartist - I agree as it is very Southern California Deco - It is transitional as it was built in the 1940's which is why I said it was also Moderne which is where Deco was headed for in the 1940's after WW II. Home was built in 1946

    I lived in a home on Outpost for awhile that was built in the 1920's or perhaps early 1930's. It was classic Spanish Colonial of that era and the bathroom was the earlier Art Deco with zigguraut geometrics but the green bathroom fixtures with that kind of detail around the tub are from the earlier pure Deco.

    Agree as a home in the 1940's would NOT have a clawfoot tub. It would have colored fixtures that were built in. The bathroom would have probably had pink in the 1950's because of Mamie Eisenhower ETA - That an Art Deco bathroom even in the 1920's would not have a clawfoot tub because Art Deco was the style of the sophisticated urbane person and they would likely have been early adopters of modern plumbing like the Kohler bathtubs because they were marketed as being modern and sanitary.

  • JP L
    last year
    last modified: last year

    This isn't a HOUSE - it's a unit in a historic apartment building. And that bathroom is GORGEOUS. All of the little alcoves and niches - to die for. The interior doors in the bedroom don't seem to be original, though. The kitchen looks like someone tried to bring it into "the 21st Century" ala Patricia's suggestion ... and you can see how that turned out. It needs a bit of love to shine again. I live above Outpost off Mulholland (above the Reservoir) @Helen!

  • Helen
    Original Author
    last year

    @JP L Yes it is a townhouse and not a "mansion"


    And I agree regarding the kitchen as it is a bit of a half arsed remuddle as Sophie Wheeler would have said.


    I just found the bathroom so interesting as whoever did the bathroom had a completely different sensibility than whoever did the kitchen but thankfully they left those green stairs.


    I also think the staging is particularly good because it captures the feel of 1940's furniture without being slavishly retro. My mother was a new bride from this era (well actually a WW II bride) and she never got over her love of Heywood Wakefield furniture beause that was the ultimate furniture for her fantasy apartment. She almost bought me a set of dining room stuff when we came across a shop in Orange, California that specialized in it.


  • beeboo22
    last year

    The staging is exceptionally good, I agree!

  • Nancy in Mich
    last year

    We still have so many of those curvy corner tubs here in older Detroit homes. Showers off to the side, too. In our mansions, the tile goes to the ceiling, the bath is often in an ornate alcove, and black tiles outline each fixture with geometric shapes.


    It looks like someone once replaced the shower floor. It is a shame that, with all those colors to choose from, they could not find a tile that matched the bathroom colors better. At least it is unobtrusive.