Today I want to share a neat oversized postcard showing the interior of Monsanto's wonderful plastic Home of the Future. I'd been collecting Disneyland postcards for a few years before I even knew this card existed. "You mean there's a jumbo card showing the inside of the Monsanto house??!". This card is a bit scarce, but they can be found on ebay occasionally for not too much.
I know that the house was periodically updated, and I am guessing that this is one of the later paint schemes. Ya gots yer avocado ovens and harvest gold carpet. That lavender room is pretty wild! Parts of the kitchen remind me of a trip to IKEA. This isn't the largest house in the world, but you know what? I think a lot of people would love to own a house that looked like this.
Here's the back!
TOO COOL!!!!
ReplyDeleteBack side of kitchen!
ReplyDeleteWhat are the card's dimensions? i.e. how giant is giant?
AHAHAHA i swear to you the house i live in now, when it was bought had that exact oven in it. same color and window and everything lol. i need to go find a pic of it
ReplyDeleteThis postcard is 6" by 9", standard "jumbo" postcard dimensions.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely at the top of my list as one of the coolest postcards.
ReplyDeleteDang that IS a Jumbo card! Rare and lovely, thanks Major! Hey, my built in stove is Avocado Green too, I bet is was ultra-cool in 1966!!!!
ReplyDeleteI always thought it was black and white inside there!
ReplyDeleteI'm diggin' the purple couch!
ReplyDeletei have never seen this picture before....awesome! i want to live in this house :D
ReplyDeletethanks for sharing
What a shame no one had the vision to preserve this wonder of it's age - somewhere.
ReplyDeleteInstead of bouncing wrecking balls off of it's sides and cutting it into pieces with blow torches - might have been re-assembled for future generations to enjoy and wonder "what if?"
"A Glimpse into Future Past" - or something.
But of course, NOW, or "Last Year" never looks very interesting to those living in the moment . . . . until 10, 20 or more years have passed.
Thank goodness so many Eichler and Alexander homes around the country (and many other homes designed by the likes of A. Quincy Jones, etc.) are being preserved or restored by knowledgeable and caring owners.
The ergonomic beauty, clean lines and simplicity of the late 50's / early 60's design sensibility meshes well with our current, "modern" age - (which will itself look clunky, weird and funny 50 years from now I'm sure).
The Monsanto House / Home of the Future was THE "iHome" (or "iHouse") just as economy and intelligence in design became common and expected in all consumer-wares.
It should still be SOMEWHERE (besides our hearts and minds) It just don't seem fair ah tells ya.
A minutae. For some reason I noticed the electrical outlets under the counter tops: white plastic recepticles and stainless cover exactly identical to those installed in my place in 2005. Fifty years later it's still the current design for current.
ReplyDeleteThe "modern" plain/concrete/etc styles have been way, way too common for way too many decades, yet I like mid-century modern. Maybe 'cause it was their style, and fresh then. The Monsanto place actually looks pretty neat and comfortable, spare but enough varied lines etc.
Super neat card Maj, thanks for sharing. :)