Thanks to a reader from Belgium, they reached out to inform us that on Jan 6th 2018 a story had been run on ‘The Frost House’. That explains the spike in google search visits from Belgium. The home appeared on Zimmo – from what we can gather is like a Zillow in Belgium, with the headline: In this unique house, time has stood still for almost 60 years.
We didn’t know that they were going to be doing a story, so some of the facts are not quiet right, but none-the-less it is fun to see the home being appreciated around the globe. Oh! And we love that they included some photos of the home from the real estate listing to how things are today – for a comparison.
Here is the ‘google translate’ of the story from English to Dutch. Of course dome pieces got ‘lost in translation’ but it make for an entertaining read for those that are not so fluent in Dutch:
Bob Coscarelli and Karen Valentine rubbed their hands when they saw this gem. This prefab house from 1958 was then assembled at 48 hours and – due to an impeccable dedication of the previous owners – still looks exactly like it did then. “When we saw the house, we thought it was too good to be true.”
A dream come true.
This house is like a kind of time capsule, where you can not only discover how people lived in the 60s, you can just continue the tradition. This unique find was for the Coscarelli family the perfect end to a laborious house hunt. So they first bought a piece of land to build a house, but they blew the deal at the last minute because of cold fear.
The big disappointment quickly gave way to happiness when they saw this beautiful prefab cottage near Lake Michigan in Indiana (USA). The house was made by the company Alside Homes in 1958 at 48 hours by attaching steel frames of 1.3 square meters to each other with aluminum plates and where the necessary insulation was attached. In itself nothing special, were it not that the house is very unique because the company even before it was big breakthrough, was declared bankrupt. It did not deter the former inhabitants – the Frost family – and they fell in love with the house, including all Knoll’s furniture and the design by former interior architect Paul McCobb.
In Michigan, one Dr. Robert Frost at the time at the house and he not only wanted to buy the house, but also any piece of furniture that could be made by Knoll at the time had to be in it. He lived there with his family for 58 years, until he died in 2016. His wife died at the end of last year. When the Coscarelli family bought the house afterwards, it included the contents of the former owners.
And if you think that all of that has known its best time, you did not know the Frosts. More than five decades, the house was treated with unprecedented love. For example, the house was cleaned several times a day – with the same as when the house was bought – and every piece of furniture in the living room (s) had to be at exactly the same spot after cleaning.
The soundness of old household appliances you hear more often in the elderly from your family, but a whole house that has been inhabited for no less than 58 years by a whole family and where everything seems almost untouched, is unique. When the Coscarelli family moved in, they replaced the taps, floor and dishwasher in the kitchen – the heart of a home. All other devices were retained.
In the bedrooms in the time again stand still. Both the nursery with bunk beds, the master bedroom and the queen room – their nickname for the guest room – have remained almost untouched. For example, even the paint on the doors is still almost 60 years ago and the glass wall of the late interior architect Paul McCobb remained intact.
In 1958 there was even room in a house to relax. For example, a small desk was set up and there was room for a mini-library where you can relax in the evening with a good book. And everything you see is also authentic. From an old painting to a lamp from 1940. Some of the unique gems to preserve a rustic character were not received by the Coscarelli family.
We already take off our hat for the families Frost and Coscarelli. This property is unique and we are fan! You too?
Here is a link to the article.
The Frost House 