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With TLC, could this $600K Decatur dwelling be a midcentury showstopper?

New, 64 comments

Counting a saltwater pool and classic touches, the 1952 listing is predicted to make “mid-mod enthusiasts... drool”

By Josh Green
64 comments / new
A midcentury ranch that’s white with blue shutters, with a big green yard in front.
The low-slung facade atop a hill at 414 Landover Drive.
PalmerHouse Properties & Associates; photography by Common Ground Real Estate

From the Department of Bold Statements comes this declaration about a 1952 ranch in North Decatur that’s hardly toppling over but has been better days: “Mid-mod enthusiasts will drool over the bones of this home with [its] undeniably classic accents.”

Drool-worthy is high praise. Is the potential here that great? Could it be a midcentury showstopper in the rough—asking almost $600,000 as is? Let’s see.

You’ll find this four-bedroom of 2,445 square feet on popular cut-through Landover Drive, about a mile north of downtown Decatur, tucked between Scott Boulevard and North Decatur Road.

It occupies a tidy acre and a half, with a saltwater pool behind what appears to be newer fencing on the side. Many cars could park here for a shindig, with four spaces covered. The garage is actually bookended by garage doors, creating one massive open patio between the front yard and back. Groovy.

Inside is a mix of warm wood paneling, stone flooring, stacked-stone walls, at least one sputnik light, and IKEA.

“MCM enthusiasts would probably be into it because it still has a lot of the original features, like bathrooms and the metal kitchen cabinets,” listing agent Justin Ziegler, Common Ground Real Estate president, noted in an email to Curbed Atlanta.

A large living room with stone and wood walls.
Could the spacious, somewhat schizophrenic great room be great once again?

There’s just two bathrooms for now, but a family room at the back of the property is more than spacious, with a wall of windows overlooking a fenced backyard.

Parents might want to note the property is located in DeKalb’s Clairmont Heights subdivision, which feeds into Druid Hills High School and not coveted Decatur High.

Also worth noting: It shares a zip code with houses worth well beyond $1 million, so there’s a chance it wouldn’t be the priciest house on the block, even after a costly resuscitation.

PalmerHouse Properties posted the $599,900 listing this week.

A large living room with wood and stone on th walls.
This kitchen island with a stove is... truly an island.
An old kitchen with modern cabinets.
The kitchen, for now, is a jolting mix of modern and old, as with other rooms. At left are original metal cabinets with chrome hardware, as Ziegler points out.
An old wooded bathroom, with a 1950s pink and brown bathroom at right.
To gut, or not to gut?
A green 1950s bathroom with a modern sink.
Some aspects are original here, while others clearly clash.
An old bedroom with some wood on the floors.
Cedar and other woods in a bedroom.
A large blue pool surrounded by a diving board and patio.
The saltwater pool beside the house.
An open garage with a refrigerator and two open doors.
A rare ITP garage bookended by garage doors, with patios on either side.
The back of a midcentury ranch with brick and mauve.
View of the living room’s picture windows from the back.

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