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.