This Southern California Victorian-Style Home Has $400,000 Worth of Fancy Wallpaper
There are many Victorian-style properties in the United States, but few contain as many period-specific details as one that just hit the market in California.
The Albert H. Beach House, as it’s become known, is on sale for $2.3 million, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday, listed by Jeff Walker at Agents of Architecture. That’s following a $3 million renovation in the early 2000s, which saw the estate decked out in some $400,000 of wallpaper alone.
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“Initially, it took us a few to months to feel like we didn’t live in a hotel,” Julie Anne Moore, one of the current owners, told the WSJ. “It’s a museum-quality house.”
The four-bedroom, 2.5-bathroom home sits on a half-acre corner lot in Escondido. And while its size isn’t necessarily anything to gawk at, the details make the property truly shine. Built in 1896 out of 125-year-old redwood, the Victorian retains its original floors of quarter-sawn oak. The living room features an original cove ceiling, along with a fireplace and period-correct mantel. Throughout, original pocket doors, baseboards, and trim are made of Philippine mahogany. And the entire interior is swathed in either original or historically accurate fabrics, furnishings, and light fixtures.
Of course, there’s also that wallpaper: hand-printed Bradbury & Bradbury roomsets, or combinations of patterns that cover the walls and the ceilings. Lisa Bauer, one of Bradbury & Bradbury’s owners, told The Wall Street Journal that the roomsets are either reproductions of original papers or inspired by those from the Victorian era. In the living room, there are 26 patterns alone. Only the kitchen and a downstairs bathroom are excluded from the wallpaper party.
Outside, the landscaping is meant to mimic that of an English garden, with boxwood hedges, heirloom roses, wisteria, and more flora. A Victorian Swiss-style gazebo wasn’t originally included when the property was built, but it’s based on a design from an 1880s architecture book, allowing it to fit in thematically with the rest of the home.
Back in 1993, the estate was added to the National Register of Historic Places, and throughout its history it’s been the home of inventors, philanthropists, and art collectors. It’s no wonder, then, that it’s basically ended up being a livable museum.
Click here to see all the images of the Albert H. Beach House.
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