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Category: House Tours

House Envy: Endearing Bungalow in CA

by , April 6th, 2012
Pasadena Bungalow

cottageneighborhood.com

HOUSE STYLE: Bungalow

LOCATION: Pasadena, CA

PRICE: $749,000

HOUSE STATS: 2,560 sq. ft., 4 bedrooms, 4 baths

Pasadena Bungalow

cottageneighborhood.com

Organized Confusion. No two rooms are identical in this postcard Pasadena bungalow where unique painted finishes and surprise architectural details differentiate every space. For a taste of the home’s idiosyncratic flavor, take one look at the nursery. The stenciled walls and ceilings suggest a sunburst, or even a carnival tent. It’s fun, but it’s not too loud. Throughout, beloved hallmarks of the bungalow style, such as built-ins and wood trim, help establish continuity and unify the house as a whole.

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House Envy: Brick Beauty in TX

by , March 29th, 2012

HOUSE STYLE: Neoeclectic

LOCATION: Austin, TX

PRICE: $295,500

HOUSE STATS: 2,176 sq. ft., 3 bedrooms, 2 baths

The Open Plan. You’d never know it from the exterior but inside this bulky, brick home are tall, arch-topped portals mark the transition from one airy room to the next. While encouraging family interaction, this layout also accommodates the need for privacy, especially in the tucked-away bedrooms. Throughout, the high ceilings slope at a irregularly pitches, adding a further dimension to the home’s fluid feel and making it seem larger than the modest footprint would lead you to expect.

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House Envy: Modern Colonial in MA

by , March 20th, 2012

findnewenglandhomes.com

HOUSE STYLE: Modern Colonial

LOCATION: Brookline, MA

PRICE: $4,999,900

HOUSE STATS: 5,786 sq. ft., 6 bedrooms, 6 baths

Modern Colonial

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House Envy: Victorian-Era Home in GA

by , March 13th, 2012
OldHouses.com Victorian-Era House For Sale in Millen, Georgia

OldHouses.com

HOUSE STYLE: Folk Victorian

LOCATION: Millen, GA

PRICE: $148,000

HOUSE STATS: 3,200 square feet, 3 bedrooms, 2.5 baths, sitting room, dining room, office, front and back porch, detached garage

WHY WE LOVE IT: Improbably, this 1890s Folk Victorian home in Millen, GA, manages to be both rustic and refined at once. That’s the view from the curb, at least. The interiors are, if not lavish, then generously proportioned and finely detailed. The original tongue-and-groove pine floors have been completely refinished and a grand staircase greets visitors upon entrance. Enhancing the home’s period appeal are elegant light fixtures, high ceilings (10-14′), and five (count ‘em!) fireplaces.

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Remembering Vizcaya

by , December 28th, 2011

Vizcaya, Miami

While visitors to Miami primarily come for sun and fun, the city offers a wealth of artistic, cultural and architectural wonders, among them Vizcaya—the former winter residence of American Industrialist John Deering.

My first memories of Vizcaya date back to 1960 when I visited the grand estate with my parents and grandmother one Sunday afternoon. It may well have been the spark that ignited my love of old houses and classical architecture. The house is a perfect Italian Renaissance Palazzo. It was built in 1916 by Deering, a vice president of International Harvester, to resemble a 400-year-old Italian estate that had been occupied and renovated by several generations of family. Much of the actual building components (ceilings, doors, floors and mantlepieces) were bought from Italian antiquarians and installed here along with a ship-load of antique furniture.

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“Great Camp” Architecture of Today

by , October 20th, 2011
Treetops Adirondack Camp

Treetops, a five-year-old "Great Camp" near Keene, NY

Five years ago, friends of mine finished building a gracious family retreat on a beautiful, remote site in the Adirondack Mountains. My friends’ getaway—Treetops, they call it—is a mini version of the rambling, timber-and-stone “Great Camp” compounds constructed by the Gilded Age wealthy.

The original camps—less than 40 survive—combine stylistic elements from Swiss chalet design and the English Arts and Crafts movement. On the material level, however, Great Camp architecture, with its reliance on locally sourced timber and indigenous stone, exemplifies a special, uniquely American vernacular mode.

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Downsizing with Style

by , July 6th, 2011
tumbleweed homes,

Photo: Tumbleweed Homes

With rising energy costs and the lingering effects of the mortgage crisis, demand for smaller houses has never been greater. Which is a boon for Jay Shafer, who’s been preaching the gospel of downsizing since 1997, when he founded Tumbleweed Tiny House Co. in Sebastopol, California, and began designing and constructing homes that range in size from 65 to 172 square feet. But his petite abodes pack a lot into their wee footprints. The company’s 65-square-foot XS-House, for instance, offers built-in storage, a kitchen, bathroom, sleeping loft, and front porch.

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