Ensculptic Interiors - Kitchen, Living Room and Den

Welcome back! As promised, I have more interior photos from our visit to Ensculptic last January. 

1.
When last I left you, we were looking down the hall toward the reading nook... and the stray door. You can see the unique shape of the door here, and also get an idea of how cozy the reading nook is. Since I am not a television watcher, chances are that you would find me curled up here with a cat or two and a good book.

2.
Your intrepid blogger, camera in hand, completely awed by the fact that I am INSIDE of Ensculptic.

3.
I would never get tired of this view. Seriously.

4.
Looking at the kitchen from the pass-through next to the fireplace area. You can see the NuTone Built-In Food Center in the middle of the counter.

5.
Here's Grant, checking out the under-counter storage. We have the same brand of kitchen cabinets at home, but our kitchen has oak fronts, orange walls, stainless steel appliances, and white tile countertops.

6.
Still at the pass-through, looking up the central pillar. You can see the fin of the swordfish that hangs above the fireplace on the left.

7.
Let's sneak around the corner for a second and peek into the den again. Check out the shelving and cabinets.Plenty of places to stow and display all sorts of goodies!

8.
Standing in the living room looking up toward the den on the right, the fireplace area on the left, and Grant standing at the planter in the center.

9.
Moving over to the fireplace area... I'm not sure if that is mouse poop or what.

10.
Looking up toward the ceiling from the fireplace area.

11.
Looking at the arched entryway to the fireplace area, up toward the ceiling. This part is very smooth, unlike most of the rest of the surfaces inside of Ensculptic.

12.
The dining room windows, as seen from the fireplace area. It looks like the ones in the ceiling have actually been covered over from the outside.

13.
Looking into the living room from the fireplace area.

14.
Outside of the fireplace area. Again, you see the uniquely shaped wall outlet openings and push-buttons for the lights.

15.
Another delicious view upward. And you thought flat textured ceilings were interesting to look at. This even makes our dome ceiling (which I love) seem boring by comparison.

16.
Let's go around the fireplace area toward the dining area.

17.
You can see that there are napkins pinned over some of the windows. Those are the ones that are broken and not repaired...

18.
Another view of the dining area. You can see how many windows have been covered with napkins, and notice again how dark the ones in the ceiling are.

19.
Looking up, you can see that there must have been significant water leakage through those ceiling windows. Yes, that is algae you see peeking through the paint, and a roughly scraped off plug of foam left raw to really draw your eye to that flaw.

20.
Looking up toward the kitchen from the dining room. That little nook is perfect for a bar.

21.
Here's Sandra, demonstrating how very conversation-friendly the kitchen is!

22.
Looking up at the window that allows light to pass from the kitchen into the master bathroom, and at the strange little nook next to it. You know where our cats would spend a good deal of their time, right?

23.
Here's a somewhat longer view of the window and the "cat nook".

24.
Here's what's on the other side of the window in the kitchen. This was the master bath, but as you can see, most of the bathroom stuff has been taken out.

25.
The mirror is still affixed to the wall, but the sink is gone. There is a motley assortment of cabinetry, but no toilet.

26.
This is the sunken tub in the master bath. The original light fixture is gone, and this is what's been put in its place. That is a tote full of hoses sitting on the side of the tub. You can just see the laundry door on the right.

27.
Here is one of the more interesting outlet openings. You know I would have to put a pink night-light in there...

28.
One of my favorite features of the master bedroom - a built-in revolving shelf!

29.
Here is how it looks closed. The pivot is no longer smooth, and it required a little care to get it to cooperate for photos. Still a cool idea.

30.
Oh, the overspray! You can see how carelessly the horrible brown paint was applied to the exterior of the house. It looks like someone made a half-hearted effort to scrape it, but gave it up as a bad job. A little care in preparation would have prevented this from happening.

31.
Back out to the main hallway. You can see the skylight above the planter was buried in snow.

32.
This little salamander didn't mind. He's dusty, but he was alive. This photo was taken by Carolynne in March, when she and Kal went to look at Ensculptic with their builder.

33.
No matter how you look at it, even with all of the flaws, neglect and abuse, this is a lovely house.

34.
We all tried to think of ways to make it work... we discussed all sorts of options. The dancers thought of ways of making Ensculptic into a dance retreat. The photographers discussed a shutterbug camp. The woodworker mentioned a woodworking workshop. The artists talked of an art retreat, and the writers of making it into an author's retreat. The musicians discussed making it into a recording studio. Kal and Carolynne actively sought the means to purchase Ensculptic, but ultimately had to give up their quest.

We are all very happy to know that Ensculptic was purchased not for the land, but for the house, and are excited for the new owners - they have a lot of work ahead of them, but it's a one-of-a-kind property and it's wonderful that it has a chance to live again!

I am still obsessed with Ensculptic, but knowing that it has new owners allows me to be at peace. Plus, thanks to this blog, I have been able to get to know the architect through email and phone conversations, and have gotten to learn a whole lot more about architects  and artists I was previously unfamiliar with. I have also been inspired to reacquaint myself with artists I had all but forgotten about, and discovered new books. I think I have all but exhausted the Ensculptic subject for the time being. Thank you for allowing me to share my obsession and work through my weird grief cycle.

I am continuing to write for my personal blog; feel free to drop on by and check it out some time!

~Rana