Another nice craftsman

Another great craftsman. Nice color, nice windows, nice front porch, nice fence. Nice job.

Almost...

What happened? This could be a great craftsman, but that front window just doesn't work. Oh, so close to greatness...

Sold!

A "for sale" sign went up on this house, and was followed just days later by a "sold" sign. I can see why - it's a real charmer. It's got all the craftsman touches: the low pitched roof with great brackets supporting it, a nice front porch with a lovely railing and shake detail above, absolutely terrific windows that (gasp) aren't white vinyl, a nicely maintained yard, and a really nice front door.

I have a designer friend who tells me that houses should all be painted three colors (two is bland, and four looks too busy), and this house does that. Note the sage green body, the creamy trim, and the dark window color. If it was me, the only thing I might consider would be to paint the railings to match the trim, and paint the door to match the windows.

Nice. Very nice.

Another nice craftsman

Another really nice craftsman. This one has clapboard siding, which is somewhat unusual. The house retains the brackets to support the main (and porch) roofs. The roof is hipped in front, and I love that cool little arch on the front porch. The windows have been replaced, and I suspect that the two windows on either side of the front door are new.

Like I said about the last house I discussed, the replacement windows are at least the right size and shape, but I suspect the original paned windows had mullions (those little pieces of wood or lead that divide the window into different panes). So these windows are much more bland than the originals.

Nice house!

Another Craftsman

Not much to say about this. You can see the original style, so the house still retains much of its charm. The windows have been replaced with new ones that keep the original shape, if not the panes. The nice front porch has those nifty craftsman support brackets, and if you look closely,, you can see them on the left side of the house as well. The front deck added to the left of the original porch doesn't detract too much from the original style.

I would have done three things differently:

1. I'd have replaced the original windows with some that were closer in style to the originals, or at least wood-clad on the outside so they could be some color other than white.
2. I'd have painted the trim a different color. Maybe white, to disguise the windows?
3. I'd have put one of those neat old-style wooden screen doors on, instead of that ugly white one.

The craftsman

OK, time to move on to the another fairly common style in West Seattle.

The style is usually called "Craftsman", but is also sometimes called "cottage" or "bungalow" (especially for smaller houses). It's my favorite style, and I've been looking forward to this for a while now.

The craftsman celebrates the structure of the house and is characterized by a fairly low-pitched gabled roof (occasionally hipped), with wide unenclosed eave openings. The roof rafters are often exposed, as they are below - you can see them on the front edge of the front porch and over the windows. There are often decorative beams or braces under the gables. There are always front porches (full or partial width) with the roof normally supported by square columns. The columns or column bases frequently (but not always) continue to ground level, without a break at the level of the porch floor.  The siding is usually wood (shakes, as in the house below), but clapboard siding and stucco are occasionally seen as well. The windows are often fairly narrow, paned windows - sometimes even leaded glass.

The house below is a nice example. Note the shake siding, the low-pitched side-gable roof, the exposed rafters on the porch and under the eaves, the decorative braces on the front porch. It aslo has narrow, paned windows. The exception here is that the columns that support the front porch don't continue all the way to ground level.

Perfect Craftsman

Mrs. E tells me that I'm sometimes overly critical in here, so here's a house that I can find nothing wrong with.

I love this house. I love the Craftsman style. I love the paint colors. I love the window styles and the trim. I love the front porch, especially the stone supports and that wonderful little touch of shingles above it. I love the front door. I love the fence and the simple, neat landscaping.

This is perfection, to me. The only thing I'd do to this house would be to duplicate the nice stone supports on the front porch and cover the chimney with them.

Ruining an otherwise nice craftsman tudor blend

This is a craftsman Tudor blend. The steep roof pitch is a Tudor style, and the exposed rafter ends and (probably decorative) knee braces near the chimney on the right and at the top of the entry are craftsman. And for the most part, this works. The contrasting siding styles (stucco and shingle) are nice. The paint color is OK (I would have painted the stucco a slightly darker share).

But whoever put those ridiculous diagonal-pane windows in ought to be shot. They completely destroy the architectural integrity of the house. An otherwise nice house ruined by a thoughtless renovation.

Another nice one

Another terrific house. The narrow clapboard siding is great (as is that sage green color). The shingle siding on the second floor is great. The windows all go with the style of the house. The porch looks inviting and the railing is wonderful.

This is one of my favorite styles, and the owners have respected it. Well done!

Potential

This house has great potential. The arbor over the driveway is great, and so are the new stairs up to the front porch. The porch itself is terrific. All they have to do now is replace the siding with clapboards and replace the too-modern second story windows with ones more in keeping with the style of this house. Otherwise, it's a great house.

Oh. My. God.

Someone has beaten this house with an ugly stick. Good lord. That phoney French mansard roof - with shakes? And that fake stone facade on the front? I felt like gouging my eyes out after seeing this.

Another Cape Cod renovation surprise

A craftsman style front porch on a cape cod. The surprise is that although I'm usually a purist (i.e., don't mix and match styles), I like this.

I love these windows

I have no idea what it is about these four-pane windows, but I think they look great.

Cape Cod houses - an exception

In my original post on Cape Cod houses in the neighborhood, I posted this definition of the style:

"usually one-story. It has clapboard siding mostly (but not always). It has a low-pitched roof-line, with minimal fascia (roof overhang). The shape is usually square (but not always). The front door is usually in the center. There is seldom much in the way of ornamentation."

Here's one exception to the rule. A brick Cape Cod.  I can't tell you why, but I really like this little charmer.

Off-topic - automobile architecture

If you think the new Mini is small, compare it to the original Mini. Now that was really Mini!

Cape Cod renovation done right

I've done a lot of complaining about bad Cape Cod renovations, so here's one that I think is about as good as you can get.  They've completely altered it into a nice modern house in which the underlying Cape Cod is almost unrecognizable. You can see a little bit of the original house on the lower right of the photo above.

What's right about this house? Almost everything. The roofline is interesting. The colors are great (three great colors: the sage green body, the off-white contrast and trim, and the dark windows).

If you look at the two photos below, you can see additional views of the original, underlying Cape Cod.

Well done!

Cape Cod renovations - a slightly better second story job

Here's a second-story addition on a Cape Cod that maintains the look of the original. Is it beautiful? Certainly not. But at least it doesn't ruin the (minimal) charm of the original architecture.

The problem of Cape Cod renovations (in my opinion, for whatever that's worth) is that it's a very plain style, and unless you're willing to completely change the character of the house, there isn't much you can do when enlarging the house to make it more charming.

I'm sure this house is more "livable" thanks to the addition (and I suspect there's a view from the upper story), but let's not fool ourselves into thinking this is gorgeous. But at least the second story is in keeping with the style of the original.

Pride of ownership

Nothing says "pride of ownership" like tattered, sagging, awnings.

Nicely done!

Baby E (OK, she's toddler E now) and I walked by this house about once a week or so for six months, waiting for the car that parked in front of it (and blocked the picture) to move. One day the car was gone, so I could share this lovely home with you.

Another second story job

It's two ... two ... two houses in one! And one of them is really ugly.

OK, this isn't a cape cod, but it is another dreadful second story addition. Put your hand over the second floor addition and marvel at what a charming stucco craftsman house this was. They even kept the original windows.

Now cover up that charming ground floor and look at just the addition. Aside from being the same color and the same roof pitch and material, can you find one similarity between this and the rest of the house? The windows aren't remotely similar, the siding is wrong, and the fascia on the new roof is just plain stupid.

This is a travesty.

Cape Code renovations - another second story job

When I first saw this, I thought I was looking at two different houses. But to my disappointment, it was only one.  Aside from being the same finish and color, the new half (one the left) has little or nothing to do with the old half (on the right). And those two arched windows are ridiculous.

Cape Cod renovations - a second story job

If you're going to add a second floor, why not make it match the original style? Would that be so terrible? The paint color is wonderful, but that second floor addition clashes with the first floor.

Cape Cod renovations - what not to do (even more)

A bad (really bad) late 1990's remodel. The thin vertical windows are so bad that they almost prevent you from noticing that hideous addition.

Cape Code renovations - what not to do (yet again)

WTF were they thinking? A super-hideous pseudo Dutch Colonial roof added .... for what? Was it just so they could add that skylight? There isn't enough room for a second story, so this makes no sense at all.

Pictures from vacation

Mrs. E and I spent part of our vacation in Palm Springs, so here are a few photos of houses in the neighborhood near our hotel. The neighborhood ("Deepwell") looks like it was mostly developed in the 1940's and 1950's, and most of the houses are mid-century ramblers. I bet many of them started out looking like the one below.

Now, onto the renovations.

Adding some privacy at the front of the house is a pretty common renovation in this neighborhood. The first one below is a pretty basic example. Most of the renovations emphasize the long, low lines of the original architecture. This one exemplifies that as well.

Raise your hand if you think the fake Babylonian sculpture makes the house look classier. I didn't think so, either. Otherwise, a nice exterior.

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Below are three well-done renovations, keeping with the character of the house and not going (too far) overboard. The angled rooflines are a nice touch.

Everything below is well-done. I bet keeping that grass green is pretty expensive. But they can probably afford it - most of the houses in this neighborhood are worth $500,000 to a million.

This one is also well done. The classic mid-century modern roofline is terrific.

Cape Code renovations - what not to do (again)

Siding done wrong

If you're going to renovate a Cape Code, just slapping on some wooden shingles and clapboards isn't going to do it.

You should also change the window trim to complete the transformation.

...and done right

Cape Cod renovations - a coat of paint (part II)

Here's another Cape Cod that doesn't appear to have much done to it aside from a coat of paint and a small front deck, but it too makes me smile every time I walk by.

Great job!

Mrs. E's favorite house

This is Mrs. E's favorite house

I like it as well. I love the color choice. I just wish they'd get around to finishing the front steps.

3 April - on vacation

Mrs. E and I are on vacation. We'll be back in three weeks or so.

29 March - Cape Cod renovations - what not to do (part II)

Nice paint, but those fish-scale shingles don't belong.

This one isn't as bad as the previous one. In fact, with one or two exceptions, it's actually pretty nice. I like the color choice, and the windows have been upgraded without destroying the simple charm of the Cape Cod. The french doors in the basement are a nice touch. The landscaping is well done as well.

However, there are two problems with this house:

1. Although they come from the same geographic area, Cape Cod houses are not the same thing as colonial houses, so the very formal colonial touches like the trim above the windows and around the door doesn't really belong. But that's not the real problem here.

2. The real problem here is that the very formal trim around the entry door and above the first floor windows clashes quite badly with the very informal fish-scale shingles under the gable.They should have just left the clapboards in place above the window. That would have made the slightly out-of-character colonial trim (as well as that nice round attic vent) the emphasis of the house.

27 March - Cape Cod renovations: what not to do

What were they thinking? This looks like an episode of bad design 101. Take a nice simple Cape Cod and add a really ugly 1970's upper story. News flash: adding shutters to the upper story window doesn't make it tie in with the rest of the house. And that phony wrought iron railing isn't fooling anyone - there's no access to that potentially-nice little front deck. Now it just looks stupid. As, I'm sorry to say, does the whole house.

Cape Code renovations - a coat of paint

One simple update for a Cape Cod is with not much more than a coat of paint. I watched them replace the siding of the house above over the summer. When they were done, it looked just like it did before they started - classy.

As for the one below, it's an unusual color choice but it makes me smile every time we walk by.

20 March - the ubiquitous Cape Cod

The ubiquitous Cape Cod

This is the first in a series of comments about a house style that's pretty common in this section of West Seattle - the Cape Cod. I'd bet that most of them were built in the years following WWII, before ranch style houses became popular. Almost all of them were probably two bedroom, one bathroom, less than 1,000 square feet in size, and because of their simplicity, cheap to build.

What are the characteristics of the Cape Cod?

A Cape Cod is usually one-story. It has clapboard siding mostly (but not always). It has a low-pitched roof-line, with minimal fascia (roof overhang). The shape is usually square (but not always). The front door is usually in the center. There is seldom much in the way of ornamentation.

There are numerous examples of renovated Cape Cods around, and I'll be commenting on the good, the bad, and the ugly. Stay tuned - pictures (but not film) to follow.

15 March 2012

Why yes, my architect DID used to design double-wides. Why do you ask?

This house was apparently abandoned or foreclosed last fall. Aside from its resemblance to a double-wide, it isn't terrible.  For the most part, it looks well-kept. Nice paint, nice windows. But there are at least three serious issues:

1. What's with the highway construction blocks for landscaping? They look trashy. Either plant something to cover them, cover them with tile, or tear them out and put in a rockery.

2. Speaking of looking trashy, check out the guard rail in the picture below. Really? Do you expect this house to sell with crap like that?

3. You can't see it from the picture below, but the house numbers are actually written on the front door frame. How cheap can you get?

13 March - Christmas leftover

What a great idea for decorating your house for Christmas!

I like this craftsman style house a lot. The sage green is one of my favorite colors. My *only* complaint (and it's a tiny one) is that the lavender color is too light. A dark purple would look better, I think.

9 March 2012

Taken March 8. I guess Spring is getting close. I hope Spring is getting close.

8 March 2012

All that's missing is a dead refrigerator on the lawn

All together now:

I scream
You scream
We all scream
"Eyesore"!

The paint's shot

There's some kind of ratty, torn, plastic film inside the windows.

No glass in the boarded-up basement windows