Built in 1975 and barely changed for 51 years, this 4,718-sq-ft shag-carpet Illinois home asked $259,900 and found a buyer within days

Turns out, nostalgia is the buzzword in real estate these days. A house in East Dubuque, Illinois, was listed for $259,900, and in less than three days, many prospective buyers reached out. This 1975-built house didn’t need a market rebound or a hot spring selling season to find buyers. People who understood its value came forward, and the new owner didn’t try to change anything. They want the house to be the way it was meant to be.Listing agent Olta Shabani of Equity Real Estate Group thinks the 4,718-sq-ft house is really frozen in time. “The owner passed away this summer [and] she built that house exactly the way she wanted to have it. All of her visions came to life back in 1975 when she built her dream house. It looks just like a complete time capsule,” Shabani told Realtor.com.

When the colour palette became the main character

Pic credit: Realtor.com

Built in 1975, the biggest highlight of this Illinois home is its bold colour choices. The three-bedroom and three-bathroom house is certainly not subtle and minimal like the homes we see today.Red dominates the huge lower level, which is the same size as the upper level at 4,718 sq ft. There is a red and black door, red kitchen cabinetry, and red curtains. “The basement has all red carpeting. The bar is really cool. There’s a really nice wet bar area. There’s also another kitchen area in the basement along with another bathroom, and it does walk out to the backyard,” Shabani told the outlet. The red sunken living room commands immediate attention, and the listing agent is obsessed with it. “My favourite thing is the sunken living room. It is just so massive and the stone fireplace there is really a focal point in that whole entire main level,” she added. The original owner of the house was really unapologetic about the colours.Green appears next, covering banisters and support poles and the wide solid stairs. Blue hues claimed the bedrooms.According to Shabani, this house is hands down one of the coolest houses in the area. It has the character that many houses down the street can only imagine. “It has always been known as the coolest house in the area,” she said. If the walls could talk, Shabani adds, “I think you would hear a lot of gatherings around the holidays. You would hear a lot of music. You would hear fun. I just could tell that this was a fun house.”

Pic credit: Realtor.com

Another unique design element of the house is the carpets. Thick and plush shag carpet runs through nearly every room, including the bathrooms. And that’s quite a deal, according to the listing agent. “The carpet is in excellent shape if your style is that thick shag carpeting. They don’t make carpet today the way they used to back in the 70s, so it’s in very, very good shape,” she said. There is, of course, a reason why carpets make a statement in this 1975 home. “It was in style, I guess, back in the day, and clearly it was quality because it lasted as long as it did.”

Home finds its buyer

Pic credit: Realtor.com

Within three days of being listed on the market, the home attracted buyers. The $259,900 home got a handful of prospective buyers. “I got offers within the first three days that we were on the market,” she said. But the agent wanted the home to find the right buyer. One who would really take pride in the home for what it is, rather than redecorating it to another aesthetic. “I really wanted to show in the pictures just the way that the house is. I didn’t want to change anything. I didn’t think it was appropriate for this type of house to virtually stage. I wanted people to see the character in it,” Shabani said.The sale closed with a buyer who recognised the distinction between preservation and museum curation. The buyer will retain the original character of the home while updating some fixtures and lighting. Not reimagining or erasing, only updating.“I know his main goal is to keep as much of the original character as possible while updating the things that would need to be updated right away, like fixtures and lighting and all that stuff.”