Unique glass-covered Michigan ‘bottle house’ hits the market

The long-lasting “Bottle Home,” a 1937 Hazel Park landmark housing greater than 20,000 vintage glass bottles, has undergone a whole renovation and is on the market for $350,000.

Situated simply minutes from downtown Hazel Park, the 1,200-square-foot, two-bedroom house has lengthy been a curiosity for motorists who decelerate to check its uncommon exterior.

Every brick is roofed with the bottoms of glass bottles that authentic builder Omar Reese, an worker at Dodge Most important in Hamtramck, reproduced and pressed right into a customized facade throughout a constructing supplies scarcity within the late Thirties.

A newspaper article printed shortly after its development referred to as it the “Glass Home” and described the outside as a mosaic of bottles of native and nationwide manufacturers of the time.

Right this moment, these bottles glisten in multi-colored mild when the solar shines on them and browse like a time capsule out of your early twenties^ecentury retail: Coca-Cola, Vicks VapoRub, Schenley’s whiskey, Noxzema, Clorox, Dossin Brothers drinks, LaTonia Membership Root Beer, plum juice bottles, wine bottles and extra.

Two chimneys are coated with white pond beauty jars.

Investor Carl Schiller, an Oakland County native and co-owner of the actual property options firm House full of cashwas contacted by the grandson of the earlier proprietor and invited to view the property. Regardless of years of deferred upkeep, Schiller stated the home was clear and clearly nonetheless liked by the household.

The home at W. Elza 39 remained in the identical household for 70 years till Schiller was contacted.

He found that the proprietor had repeatedly rejected greater bids from builders who wished the land, preferring a purchaser who would hold the home and never demolish it.

“I would not dream of getting it another manner,” Schiller stated. The proprietor “advised him she had been serious about promoting for years and turned down much more cash, however by some means knew I used to be the proper purchaser.”

The proprietor died in October 2022, lower than a 12 months after the sale.

As soon as the work started, Schiller shortly realized what he had taken on.

“We referred to as this home the artichoke as a result of once we began tearing into it, it was only one ugly layer after one other,” he stated.

For the renovation, the home needed to be stripped right down to the studs. A number of layers of plaster, paneling and drywall have been eliminated. Suspended ceilings hid water stains and improvised electrical work. A hatch in a slim hallway served as a cellar entrance.

“There have been even bottles in the home,” he stated. Most of the inexperienced bottles he found turned out to be Sunsweet plum juice bottles. Laughing, he stated, “This man was definitely probably the most abnormal cat within the neighborhood.”

Extra: The Up North home fabricated from 60,000 glass bottles welcomes vacationers from throughout Michigan

Reese, the builder, had used plum juice bottles to brighten the unique porch columns, the lounge wall and even the bath. Though some authentic parts couldn’t be saved, Schiller saved as many bottles as doable. They are going to be resold www.hazelparkbottlehouse.com.

To deliver the home’s iconic exterior inside, The Detroit Wallpaper Co. created customized wallpaper based mostly on a photograph of the bottle facade. The sample seems within the hallway and once more within the toilet.

“It brings a little bit of the cool exterior facade inside,” says Kathy Vargo On The Rocks Detroit.

The newly restored house now contains a trendy open format with skylights, new flooring, new home windows, a brand new roof, insulation, a transformed kitchen and toilet, and a redesigned staircase resulting in a basement basis constructed with the identical bottle-covered bricks as the outside.

A singular bonus room on the rear of the home, semi-underground with excessive ceilings, will be reached each from the basement and through a separate rear entrance.

Inside, the home is smooth and trendy. Exterior, Schiller retained the unique “funky and funky” aesthetic.

Even the storage door is painted blue to enhance the colourful bottle mosaic.

This home has lengthy been a neighborhood vacationer attraction. Schiller stated that through the renovation, when he was outdoors sprucing bottles, the automobiles slowed down and folks typically stopped to ask questions. He has met guests from all around the nation, together with a pair now residing in Arizona who returned to city throughout a marriage to point out the home to mates.

“We love being a part of the story,” stated Schiller. “However most of all, we’re grateful that the home will reside on for somebody for years and years to come back.”

The house is being supplied by Schiller by way of St. Aubin Actual Property.

Brendel Clark (beforehand printed as Brendel Hightower) writes about actual property and different matters for the Detroit Free Press. Contact her at bclark@freepress.com.