This 1950s N.J. home for sale has a very cool retro kitchen and many original details

There are a couple things you’ll find in the listing for this Colts Neck home that you won’t see very often.

They are “original bathrooms” and “retro kitchen.”

“This is not for the typical buyer of today who wants to gut everything or they want everything white and new,” said Lillian LoRusso of Robert Defalco Realty Inc., the listing agent.

The four-bedroom, three-bathroom Mid-Century Modern ranch home is listed for sale for $985,000.

The median sales price of a home in Colts Neck was $1,385,824 in March, according to the most recent data available from New Jersey Realtors.

The unique style of the home has generated a lot of interest. It had 20 showings in the first two days it was on the market.

“There are a lot of people who are interested in that kind of home’s architecture,” LoRusso said. “And they appreciate that the things like the bathrooms are original.”

The home was built in 1958 for Andrew and Emilie Ames. It was designed by architect Leonard Levine and set on a hilltop surrounded by 4.7 wooded acres.

Emilie, who lived in the home until she died at the age of 105, subdivided the land and gave her niece the lower half, on which she built a house.

The current owner, Edmond Salsali, bought it in 2017.

He put a new roof on, made upgrades to the electric and plumbing and painted. But the original hardwood and parquet flooring and chandeliers, among other details, remain.

Salsali, a photographer and digital artist, said he fell in love with the home because it was a Mid-Century Modern in its original condition.

“This is really, really rare in Colts Neck and in New Jersey it’s pretty rare, too,” he said. “It’s amazing to me that it was completely immaculate and in tact.”

The home has vaulted, beamed ceilings in the open-concept living and dining room — that are 13-feet at the highest point — and a double sided, wood-burning fireplace in the living room and library. The library could also be used as a fourth bedroom.

The main level also has the kitchen, two more bedrooms and two full bathrooms. A screened-in deck can be accessed from the living room and library. The deck continues, without screens, down the length of the back of the house.

And there are lots of windows. “No matter which window you’re looking out, all you see is beautiful landscaping — trees, flowers. It has a park-like setting,” LoRusso said.

The lower level can be used as an apartment. It has a bedroom, full bathroom, a kitchen and a living and dining room with another fireplace.

From there you can walk outside onto a bluestone patio. It also has a detached one-car garage and a carport that are connected to the house through architectural roofing.

The home is about an hour from Manhattan and 30 minutes from the beach.

The buyer will likely be empty nesters who appreciate this style home or people from New York City who want a second home in a natural setting, she said.

“Even though you’re in a private and beautiful setting ... you’re still close to civilization,” she said.

Are you an agent, buyer or seller who is active in this changing market? Do you have tips about New Jersey’s real estate market? Unusual listings? Let us know.

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Allison Pries may be reached at apries@njadvancemedia.com.