A Michael Graves Modernist Property Is Listed For Just $265K

Michael Graves’ first ever commission is on the market. The Modernist property in Fort Wayne, Indiana is listed for the (affordable for its pedigree) price of $264,888.

Designed for his friends Jay and Lois Hanselmann, the Hanselmann House was completed in 1971, and not much has changed since then. Well, except that Graves went on to be one of the world’s most recognizable architects and designers, and a pioneer in bringing affordable design to the masses via his long running Target line which was available at the bargain retailer from 1999 to 2012 (you remember that famous teapot, right?). Graves passed away at the age of 80 in 2015.

The book, Michael Graves: Buildings and Projects 1982-1989, includes this description of the property:

This house for a family of two adults and four children is located on a corner site which is entered adjacent to a stream running diagonally through the property. The house and the space immediately in front of it make a double square in plan and volumetrically a double cube, with one being open and the other enclosed. The house is understood frontally by the layering of three principal facades … The main volume of the house is entered through the second primary facade, located at the center of the composition. This point of entry is also reflected in the distortion of the plan of the roof terrace above. The third facade, which is the densest, is the rear wall of the house containing the mural.

The mural in question is an original work by Graves, and is valued at around $50,000 just on its own. The 2,886 square foot house has four bedrooms, three bathrooms, a U-shaped kitchen with a bright yellow fridge (all appliances stay, says the listing), and various balconies and mezzanines all on an acre of Indiana woods.

The property is currently listed for $264,888.

h/t WowHaus