Woman Finds Hidden 'Masterpiece' While Renovating Portland Childhood Home

A woman recently moved back into her childhood home in Portland, Oregon, but came across quite a historic find while she was cleaning up the place.

Grace Benavente told Newsweek her parents bought the house in 1998 and rented it out for 20 years. She remembers playing computer games with her dad and hanging out with him while he was working. It turns out that even they weren't aware of the designer gem laying hidden in their home.

The new homeowner was reportedly renovating one of the rooms for her housemate and ripped up some old white carpet. Underneath the carpet laid an intricate retro carpet dating back to 1972. She called it a "70s masterpiece."

"The original homeowners back in the 70s decided to turn half the garage into a bonus room and it's in that room where we discovered the colorful carpet," Benavente said. It's also possible the "groovy" designs were inspired from the 1960s, she shared with Reddit commentators on Monday (May 24).

"We genuinely were sure all we'd find underneath was concrete garage flooring. It was a delightful shock and I immediately sent pictures of it to my family and to friends who I knew would appreciate it. My dad and I cracked up at the realization that he could have had a pretty vibrant office if we'd known that carpet was hiding under there."

Benavente said she discovered more vivid and original designs in other parts of the house, such as "orange and yellow marbled-looking vinyl" in her bathroom under the carpet. The homeowner said she's also going to save chunks of the carpet and frame it for a couple friends and herself.

"As for the floor we pulled it from, my roommate is going to get a couple area rugs and rock the concrete floor as a sort of urban vibe (AKA make do on a tight budget)," she wrote online. "Someday I'm sure I'll put other flooring in there but for now it's just got a fun story!"

Photo: Getty Images