Greene and Greene Style

Gamble House A Symphony in Wood

2016-03-04T14:20:00.000-08:00

Here is a gorgeous video of the Gamble House recently posted on Houzz

Greene and Greene Style Homes, New Construction

2014-07-13T18:22:00.002-07:00

If you are a Greene and Greene fanatic you probably enjoy looking at pictures of new construction as well as the original masterpieces from the brothers Greene. I have collected a variety of websites that feature some new construction projects and a few sites with photos of original Greene & Greene's that aren't in the books on this subject.

It's always fun to see how modern day architects develop this style.

A gallery of websites featuring new construction of Greene & Greene style homes

Follow the links below for many more pictures
This home was featured in Diablo Magazine and is near Walnut Creek, CA ....... link

Bruce Aidell's house, video from Fine HomeBuilding magazine. I had never seen this video until today and found it quite interesting. Other magazine features from the past made the kitchen look very dark whereas I think the lighting was more favorable when they did the video. The kitchen is way to big for me but you may find other elements of interest here. And at 8 minutes there is a lot to see! Link

Erler Design, Loblolly House, I want to do some of these on some of our windows.
I sketched something similar when on the Behind the Ropes tour of the Gamble House where you get to see detail up close. Link

A few years ago I had the chance to help with the wine crush of Greene & Greene furniture maker Tom Stangeland. Another man there said he owned a home in Medina, Washington that had been featured in American Bungalow in the early 2000s as a Greene & Greene inspired home.
I am pretty sure this house is his. Link

The Lodge at Torrey Pines is a large-scale new construction built in the Greene & Greene style that is a fun place to visit. We went there for lunch one day and walked around the property. Link

Here is another architect's take on Greene & Greene Link

Robertson House

Some detail of our house in process ...... we are involved with the cabinetry, lighting, and plumbing now.

Original Greene & Greene Homes Rarely Seen

Robinson House

The Robinson House was lovingly restored after earthquake damage, the story is found here: Link

Pratt House

Casa Barranca is actually The Pratt House in Ojai, California, the current owners contract with yoga groups for destination weekends. If you love yoga, I think this would be a great way to "live" in an original Greene & Greene for a weekend. It sits on a gorgeous piece of property. Book early to get a private room. Link

We are always interested in finding more websites that feature Greene & Greene, please let us know of any you recommend ! Thank you.

Arts and Crafts Travel--The Grove Park Inn, Asheville, North Carolina

2014-03-26T18:00:00.000-07:00

image from Grove Park Inn website

I have always wanted to visit the Grove Park Inn in Asheville, NC and this month I finally did!

Each year a HUGE conference takes place there in February for people interested in the Arts and Crafts Movement. March is our spring break so we missed the conference --my plan was to meet with the conference organizer Bruce Johnson but he was travelling when I visited. I secretly wish I lived in Asheville so that I could work on the conference each year--to me it would be the perfect job. Here is a link if you are interested in the February 2015 Arts and Crafts Conference this is probably the largest gathering of vendors and Craftsman aficionados each year in the country.

The main lobby is flanked end to end with huge fireplaces.

The hotel is pretty amazing. It was built in 1913 in just 362 days by 400 men working 10 hour days 6 days a week. The scale of it alone is awe inspiring.
Pictures of the notable people who have stayed there over the years hang on the walls, including 10 of our United States Presidents and countless well-known Americans. More ... The Grove Park Inn Story

While waiting for an elevator I noticed a photo of Thomas Edison, Henry Ford, Harvey Firestone and one of their sons. Evidently they used to camp or hunt on the property and got to know Mr. Grove. These stories always amaze me. Our world was so much smaller back then and our degrees of separation smaller as well.

When we first arrived I asked for a room in the old hotel. We did not have time to read about the hotel before visiting, we didn't know anything about the hotel except its' furnishings. We were directed to the elevator INSIDE the fireplace!

My daughter and I are both tall-- and at 6 feet-- her hair was skimming the ceiling of the small elevator inside the great fireplace. I could only imagine what we would have looked like if my 6'9" son and 6'4" husband had been with us. The four of us would never have fit inside with the elevator operator (yes they have one of those to close the door and pull the iron gate shut) let alone our luggage. As it was we were shoulder to shoulder and head to ceiling, people are just taller these days I guess. It was a riot ! I loved it.

Elevator inside the great fireplace--yes inside!

Our room was on the 7th floor. We did not know about the ghost. Upon entering the room my daughter felt a cold spirit presence, ultimately we changed to a room in the new part of the hotel which was fabulous. I do believe that some people have the ability to feel spirits that I cannot. We have a home in our family that is on the National Register of Historic Places and my daughter had a similar experience when she stayed in a room in that house where a blue hazy spirit roams. At the Grove Park, I met a woman and her daughter in a Pilates class in their athletic center--they couldn't stop talking about their room in the old hotel. They stayed in the room for two nights, each night a dresser in the room was uncontrollably shaking--but only when the lights were out!

The mysterious Pink Lady at The Omni Grove Park Inn

(this section is an excerpt from Wikipedia.....)
She has been seen, felt and experienced by hotel employees and guests for more than a half century. Little was known about the Pink Lady - just a swirl of stories about a young woman dressed in pink who fell to her death in the Palm Court atrium around 1920. Mere rumors, tales and lore weaving through the inn's rich history. In 1996, the Omni Grove Park Inn conducted in-depth research on the Pink Lady phenomenon and the resulting evidence focused on room 545, two stories above the Palm Court atrium floor. Research suggests the Pink Lady ghost is the grandmother of the noted local author Bruce Johnson. (yes the same one mentioned above)

A painter from the late 1950s or early 1960s and the hotel's current engineering facilities manager have reported strikingly similar tales about room 545. Both got cold chills on their way into the room so severe they never again attempted to enter. Interestingly, neither employee knew of the other's experience, or about room 545's connection to the Pink Lady. Another employee who has seen the Pink Lady several times over the past five years describes the apparition as "a real dense smoke - a pinkish pastel that just flows...a real gentle spirit."

Warm Summer Nights at the Grove Park Inn

The Grove Park Inn has great outdoor dining and fireplaces and a view of the Blue Ridge Mountains. It is obviously a very, very busy place all summer long but the sheer size of it allows for lots of places to sit and hang out and enjoy the view. They also have a fabulous spa though we did not imbibe. Instead we spent our 4 nights enjoying all the gluten free food options Asheville has to offer. Once I write that post it will be at CookingGlutenFree.com
We also spent a lot of time in Edison's watching basketball at the bar and had an excellent meal there on our last night.

I think we missed some lovely weather by a few weeks. For us it was gorgeous, a bit windy, and we even got a dusting of snow:

In the summer the trees will all be covered in green leaves and the grounds will be planted with flowers.

The lobby is a great place to listen to live music and enjoy a glass of wine. Take in the Roycroft furnishings and enjoy the new light fixtures proudly made by Old California Lantern or perhaps their new line called Wentworth Avenue.

Biltmore Estate

Aside from all the eating in gluten free Asheville heaven, we spent a day dreaming.....

The Vanderbilt's house was completed in 1895 and is a must-see for Downton Abbey fans visiting Asheville. The house has been open to the public since 1930 and boasts gardens by Frederick Law Olmsted, paintings by Renoir and John Singer Sargent, and tapestries from the 1500s. And the rooms have been beautifully restored--just gorgeous!

Downstairs is just as interesting as the upstairs. Featuring technologically advanced infrastructure for hot water, central heat, electricity, and refrigeration it's easy to imagine the servants domain bustling with non-stop activity. Also downstairs a bowling alley, swimming pool and gymnasium.

When you go, plan to rent or bring bicycles. I think this is the best way to visit the 8,000 acre estate. Locals have an annual pass for hiking and cycling the property. Plan your visit at Biltmore Estate
Or if you prefer it might be just the perfect day to see the estate on horseback m'lady.

Asheville has some fun shopping and dining-- we visited quite a few restaurants which I will review over at my other blog as noted above. But for now don't miss Posana Cafe!

A Primer on Greene & Greene and their Elements of Style

2014-01-22T07:03:00.000-08:00


One of my favorite books!

As we build our home in the style of Greene and Greene, we find ourselves explaining to friends the various elements that will define our home, it is quite unusual yet beautiful. If you have lived in Pasadena then you know the details...as do most architects. But in this time of Pinterest and houzz.com many new people are being introduced to the Craftsman style and Greene and Greene in particular. Once you have been bitten you want more information, more pictures, more ideas on how to do the kitchens and baths that fit today's lifestyles without abandoning the essence of a G & G home.

With this post I will give you a brief synopsis of the Greene brothers work, their elements of style, and what lies ahead on our project this year.
As we begin working on the interior, this blog will be updated more regularly and the Pages listed on the right column will grow with more content.

A book with a thorough history of the brothers Greene and lots of photos.

Greene & Greene Homes In Pasadena Near Arroyo Seco

By the time of the depression in 1893, the Greene brothers had earned architectural certificates from MIT and some experience with apprenticeships in Boston. The poor state of the economy led them to Pasadena, California to live with their parents. The warm, healthy climate attracted a wealthy class and the Greenes' father tended to the respiratory ailments of this group as a homeopathic physician.

About 20 years earlier, land speculators known as the Orange Grove Association founded Pasadena with a plan that cut a central avenue, known as Orange Grove Avenue (Blvd.), parallel to the Arroyo Seco canyon. They envisioned attracting east coast people to build large winter homes along the Avenue and surrounding neighborhoods.

Not only was the weather fantastic but many of the homes in these neighborhoods enjoyed views of the Arroyo Seco and the San Gabriel Mountains. It was the perfect location for the homes the Greene brothers would eventually build.

It should be noted that before 1902 Greene and Greene homes looked very much like homes on the east coast with colonnade porches, steep roofs, and applied plaster ornamentation. It took about 8 years of working with clients in California for the brothers to develop their own style.

The brothers settled into their roles as business partners-- with Henry handling the business side and Charles the design side. Eventually their homes began to show a roof line of gradual slope designed for sun rather than snow and rooms that flowed from one to another with transitions from inside to outside through the use of sleeping porches, interior courtyards, and careful window placement for airflow.

In 1859 Japan opened its ports to foreign trade and Japanese exotic beauty began to influence the rest of the world. Charles Greene, the artistic brother, collected Japanese block prints and he began to incorporate Japanese architectural elements into his designs around 1902. House Beautiful magazine featured the Duncan Irwin House in a 1911 issue and called it "A Bungalow in Japanese Style". Greene and Greene were recognized by Gustavo Stickley as well. Stickley published his first issue of The Craftsman in 1901 and through 1916 featured the work of the Greene brothers in the journal.

The weather certainly did attract the wealthy east coast clientele the founders of Pasadena planned for and the Greene brothers were perfectly situated by 1902 to begin building noted homes belonging to David Gamble (Proctor & Gamble), Charles Pratt (Standard Oil), David Tod Ford (coal & steel), Robert Blacker (lumber), James Culbertson, Freeman Ford (son of David Tod), William Thorsen (lumber), Theodore Irwin (family wealth), and Lucretia Garfield (President Garfield's widow) to name a few.

A few maps follow to give you some perspective of the area:

Map from www.rovingarchers.com

Here is a closer view of the neighborhood where several Greene & Greene homes are located, just NW of where the 210 and 134 freeways intersect today :

(The map above is available for purchase at the Gamble House bookstore for a self guided walking tour of the surrounding area.)

A partial legend of Greene & Greene designed homes shown in the map above:
1. Gamble House 2. Cole House 3. Ranney House 4. Willet House 5. Hawks House 6. Van Rossem-Neill 7. White Sisters House 8. Charles Greene House 9. Duncan-Irwin House 10. James Culbertson House 12.Van Rossem House II

When you are on either Arroyo Terrace (near Culbertson House) or on Scott Place behind the Gamble House you can look out across the Arroyo and see the Rose Bowl in the distance. From the Robinson House the view is of the Arroyo Seco and this viaduct.

The Arroyo Seco Canyon
(find this art at www.karenwinters.com)

Arroyo Seco means dry creek bed in Spanish and it factors large in my husband's fond memories as a kid growing up adjacent to it and playing there (he lived in a Pasadena home that was built with similar design elements to the Greene and Greene homes). In case you were wondering, the Arroyo Seco is open to the public for hiking, biking, and horseback riding. It stretches from the Rose Bowl to South Pasadena.

The Elements of Greene and Greene Style

The Duncan Irwin House

There are many identifying elements of a G & G home. Those who visit the homes today are captivated by the unique attention to detail and quality of these handcrafted homes. The Gamble House offers a Behind the Ropes tour with Jim Ipekijan that provides an in depth look at this detail. I have been on Jim's tour and also the regular tour and have been in The Robinson House twice, with each visit I notice something new and incredible. I spent a lot of time in the homes just savoring the moment and wish I had taken more pictures than what you see here, I guess there's always another trip to Pasadena! While some pictures are posted on the internet, the real treasure trove of photographs are in books. We own close to a dozen Greene & Greene books, the two shown above and the three pictured below are my favorites---full of pictures and relevant information.

From these books I have developed a list of design elements that I continually consult as we go about building and specifying everything in our handcrafted home. You may want to use the list as a guide in your own craftsman bungalow renovations, the result is a very warm and inviting home. I will begin to feature photos of our house, right now the exterior is coming along nicely.

Exterior Greene & Greene Elements of Style

Gabled roof lines with broad overhangs

Exposed structural timberwork

Forward or side-facing gabled roof

Rafter tails

Steel strapped beams

Horizontal bands of redwood delineate interior floors

Many windows for air circulation

Duncan Irwin House

Clinkerbrick and large stones from Arroyo Seco canyon (or locally sited) for walls and chimney.

Stacked stone walls, some walls faced with stucco

Van Rossem-Neil (I believe) just around the corner from the Gamble House

Extra wide front doors, often the shape of Japanese temple entrances

The Gamble House front door, side doors open for air circulation. photo from gamblehouse.org

Generous outdoor porches and terraces (open and covered)

Sleeping porches

Beautiful screen doors to sleeping porch

Courtyards

Cloud lift pattern in porch railings or door trim (now just called "lift" pattern)

A new construction home with lift pattern in railing, erlerdesign.com

Leaded art glass in windows or doors

Copper roof drains/downspouts

Gamble House dining room window and copper rain spouts

Red clay pavers and red brick used on driveways and sidewalks

Front porch of Gamble House

Rolled Malthoid roofing

Charles Greene House

Wood varieties include: Douglas fir for exposed structural beams, redwood shakes 3 feet long, white quarter-sawn oak or Burmese teak windows, sugar pine screen frames, mahogany or teak doors.

Robinson House-- inside of
front door

Shingle siding with each individually dipped in creosote for green patina.

Our house, but we didn't dip in creosote!

Stucco used on some homes instead of shingles and also used in retaining walls.

Stucco is a hand dash coat---gunite concrete is pressured through a hose and sprayed onto wire mesh frames or external wall surfaces.

Lanterns made of metal and art glass (Japanese influenced).

The Robinson House stucco dash coat and light fixture example

Wood for doors and window frames left in natural state oiled with transparent stain.

Gamble House window

Garden pottery in ceramic and terra cotta often made with glazes that Charles mixed and applied himself.

Hand rail and garden pottery in front of Gamble House

House and garden designed as one

Okigata-style Japanese stone lanterns

Interior Greene & Greene Elements of Style

Over the next year or so I will have photos of our house. I don't have many from the homes I have visited because I am always so involved with the people I forget to take pictures and the Gamble House tour doesn't allow cameras (this is where those books come in handy!)

Natural world integrated into the interior

Sight lines through doorways or windows to the back garden (in many homes)

Inglenooks and bookshelves near fireplaces

Built-in cabinetry with wood handles

Built-in closets, desks, file cabinets

"Revealed construction" in staircases and furniture--exposed joinery

Custom furniture from Jeff Grainger (grainger-arts-and-crafts-studio.com)

An example of new cabinetry in the G & G style (the-cabinetmaker.com)

Fireplaces made of either large boulders, brick, art tile such as Grueby, Batchelder, or Rookwood. Some with decorative hand hammered copper hoods and some tiles with inlays of brass, copper, or silver.

Leaded art glass in light fixtures, windows and doors, also used in interior windows between rooms or within a staircase

The front door of a new home called Loblolly from erlerdesign.com

Wall sconces of mahogany and art glass in public areas such as living and dining rooms

John Hamm restored this Blacker House light fixture hammartglass.com

Ceiling height 7'6"- 9 feet

Wood trim headband circles the room aligning the top of doorframes and windows

Robinson House

Wood varieties include: Port Orford cedar for wall paneling and trim; oak, ash, and cedar for furniture, also in mahogany and teak with ebony trim. Mahogany windows and doors.

Wood carvings in wainscoting, furniture, and frieze work.

Furniture was often custom designed by the Greenes, Stickley, or Roycroft. Some furniture with inlays of fruitwoods, ebony, abalone shell, brass, copper, or silver.

Oriental rugs or Greene designed rugs

Lighting materials include: low watt bulbs, mica, leaded glass, frosted glass, fabric, wood, metal, leather straps.

Robinson House

Lighting styles include: hanging, wall sconces, surface mount, waterfall chandelier, lamps (sometimes Tiffany) some with inlays of brass, copper, or silver.

Robinson House

Simple bathrooms of white subway tile, wood framed mirrors, and simple light fixtures. (I wasn't supposed to be taking pictures inside the Gamble House--but noone was watching in here!)

Simple or decorative steel or wrought iron andirons and fireboxes.

Custom firebox by Jeff Grainger (grainger-arts-and-crafts-studio.com)

Greene and Greene Kitchens and Baths

In these grand homes, kitchens were for the staff and bathrooms were very basic. Today we operate a little differently, for our home we plan to have a cook's kitchen, (we don't have a staff, we want to have fun in there ourselves!). We will attempt to create a hard working kitchen that will get extensive daily use but make it feel like it's been around for a long time. Restraint will be critical in the bathrooms in an effort to stay with a simple design. It looks simple on paper right now, I hope we can achieve it in reality.

We Will Sell No Wine Before Its Time

There is something to be said for patience......without it we would not have had the experience of building a house together with our now college aged children....and when you think about it, our long construction time line is actually in the Charles Greene way......

While recently studying Greene & Greene I ran across an interesting note in the book Greene & Greene: Developing a California Architecture, Smith/Vertikoff. While reading it I had a bit of a bonding moment with DL James. Charles built a unique stone-faced seaside home for Mr. James in Carmel (by this time Charles was on his own and was without Henry's assistance on the business side). Evidently when Charles was building this home he told the client it would be a two year project. One year passed and all that had been accomplished was the building of the foundation and retaining walls. (exactly our state after one year) After 4 years the house was still not finished but the client demanded that he be allowed to move in....... DL James..... I am feeling your pain!

In all fairness though to my husband, it is quite challenging to build a handcrafted home in your spare time! 2014 will mark a huge turning point in our new construction, Greene and Greene style home.....we finally start working on the inside!

Have nothing in your houses
that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.

William Morris, The Beauty of Life 1880

Rosellini A Bit of Seattle History

2013-11-11T13:15:00.005-08:00

Something very wonderful happened a few months ago. I was estate sale shopping at Victor Rosellini's house and found a fantastic stained glass light fixture. Victor was a well known restaurant owner in Seattle and is a bit of a legend around here. I am into food and wine so for me to stumble upon this light fixture and have the opportunity to put a little Seattle history into our house is pretty cool. We don't know if this was installed in his home or one of the restaurants because the sale was packed with a combination of home and business. In any case it will be a welcome addition to our home.

The apron of the fixture

Here you can see how rippled the glass is inside, and colorful.

Steve from Seattle Stained Glass holding it to get some sense of the color.

Steve from Seattle Stained Glass repaired the two broken pieces for a fair price and Tom at Mary Davis Vintage Lighting will bring it up to current electrical standards. This might be the only time I ever get a screamin' deal at an estate sale but at least it happened once. You know what I mean, we read these magazine articles about how a whole house is furnished with found objects for almost nothing. It generally means the homeowner is a designer and has spent a lifetime collecting. Or that person could be someone like my mother-in-law who lived in Pasadena for many years and loved to collect old house parts that people used to throw away. In a future post I will show you what she saved for us. I will leave you hanging with the fact that when she was living in Pasadena her mother-in-law and Mrs. Gamble were friends ......

A new beginning

2013-03-26T22:40:00.000-07:00

It's been about six months since my last post. I was sparing you the heartache of a long, wet winter without a roof. We are now seeing lovely warm(er) days and some blue skies so hopefully the roof will be completed in the near future. While waiting for this to happen I had to divert my attention elsewhere so this post will be all about that diversion. It came in the form of light fixtures!

But before I get to that, I wanted to show you one of the first interior finished pieces. This is a little exposed rafter in the master bath above a window that provided a special surprise to us. My son helped to build this with one of our craftsman--and at age 18 it is something to be proud of and grateful for the experience of learning how to build.
When the window was cut in we realized we have a view of Puget Sound to the south. We thought our only view would be due west but most of the maritime traffic is to the south so we now get a little peek of it each day.

Right now the masons are in the house building the fireplaces so I need to get some pictures soon since the fireplace is an important central element to most Greene & Greene homes.

Lighting the Greene and Greene Style Home

The kitchen is where I decided to start with lighting since it concerned me the most. Much of the lighting in the rest of the house will be with lamps and wall sconces. We also plan to use hidden rope lighting where it makes sense. And of course a few art glass fixtures will be in the main living areas. The objective is for the house to glow and for the eye to never ever meet a visible light bulb. We'll see how successful we are when it's all finished!

You may recall from previous posts that I am attempting to go "no cans" in this new construction. A challenge to be sure since most architects can't live without recessed lighting in their plans these days. Our architect appreciates the goal of a period home where recessed lighting did not play a role in the early 1900s but he didn't eliminate them entirely from the lighting plan but I aim to do so.

So I went back to my friends at Mary Davis Vintage Lighting in La Conner, Washington and poised the challenge. Using photos of the Gamble House and the Robinson House kitchens shown below we tried to find fixtures that would provide great task lighting and overall light for the room. The Robinson House was completely refurbished in the past 10 years, it was in pretty bad shape following a big earthquake but the current owners have taken great pains to restore it beautifully.

Robinson House (photograph from phaedra.biz)

Gamble House (photograph from gamblehouse.org)

With the above kitchens as our guide here is what we will use:

Three small halophane pendants over the island.

A large halophane over the kitchen sink.

The middle fixture will be used throughout and is surface mounted near the ceiling

The inside is mercury glass.

The net effect of the metal surface mounted fixtures with mercury glass interior will probably be very similar to recessed lighting but it does look old (because these are all old fixtures with new insides) and they won't be cans! Yay!

Dimmers will be used --at certain times of the evening it drives me crazy to have a room completely lit up. And undercabinet lighting will be throughout the kitchen and adjacent laundry room too.

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Construction September 2012

2012-09-15T14:59:00.003-07:00

This part of the blog is more for our family so they can see the progress of the house. We are in a race against the weather to get the roof on and the house dried in within the next month.

Guest room

Kitchen

Laundry room

Construction July and August 2012

2012-09-10T18:15:00.000-07:00

So much of what is happening on the house now can only be appreciated by someone who builds homes. When these photos were taken, much of the work was structural. This blog is an archive for us and it will soon be beneficial to others who are interested specifically in the Greene and Greene style as we begin to delve into the finishes over the next year. (though already there are some posts on furniture and lighting etc.)

Our home is much smaller in scale than most of the homes built by Greene and Greene but it gives us a taste of how complicated their work must have been using simpler tools and having multiple projects in process simultaneously.

The speed with which they built homes is due in part to the large numbers of people working on any one project.

On the day our basement floor was poured I was ecstatic to see more than two people working on our house at one time!! We now have a crew onsite of 3-4 people most days and we hope to be weathered in by mid-October.

The challenges of living on a sloped lot
Because we are on the side of a hill with a sloping front yard there are many challenges, for me the biggest one is the fact that the basement has no windows so I don't imagine I will spend much time down there at all. The good news is there is plenty of storage.

We do have to walk up a lot of stairs to get to the front door BUT there is a sidewalk ramp on the south side of the house so we can be wheeled into the main level of the house if we are ever wheelchair bound. (no kidding, in these parts a level entry home can garner a higher than market price especially if all living areas and at least one bedroom are on the main floor)

We have big ugly retaining walls in the front yard (a common occurance for homes with sloped front yards) but we will minimize all that with plants to make it less imposing at street level. Other homes in the neighborhood have concrete walls and neighbors complain, initially, that they are eyesores. When a landscape architect is hired, the end result is well-planned and beautiful. Our goal is to wisely plant for seasonal color, wall coverage, and street appeal.

The Basement floor
The room in the back left side of this photo is a wine cellar. As many of you know I have been learning much about the world of wine. This room will be stocked full but it won't be a place we bring any guests so I am relieved of having to decorate a wine cellar. You may remember we recyled every piece of the original house and kept the front door which was commissioned in 1961 ---we may use it for the wine cellar door--it will certainly go in the basement somewhere (even though it doesn't match the G & G style it has to stay in the house). There is a short hallway to the cellar and a few steps down to make you feel like you are going into a "cellar".

wine cellar, back left

Costco would be impressed that we have a room to store the Kirkland brand---straight down the back stairs from the kitchen, oh and don't forget about that Kirkland Chateauneuf du Pape! Good thing the storage room and wine cellar are nearby.

It used to be that the back stairs were for the help...well that would be me. I cook a meal every night and do all the cleaning so I guess this is my wing. Once you come up the steps the kitchen will be straight ahead and the laundry room is to the left. I had to argue for a laundry room on the main floor and am very happy that I won out (especially once I spent a year working on fall prevention for older adults we learned how important being able to live on one level can be).

stairs down from kitchen to our Costco room

The end of this long dark garage is a workshop but it also doubles as a two car garage for parking inside when on vacation.

garage/shop

main floor with a peek at Puget Sound in the distance

The rest of these photos are various shots of the basement (part of our archive)

metal support beams under entry

chimney platform

entry

Just in case you are wondering about the two plastic chairs in many photos....they are there for the guys who congregate on the site at the end of the day. Someone invariably stops by or the guys hang out after a long day. It has become such a guy hang out I am wondering if we will ever get to move back in someday.

Mort's Cabin

2012-06-16T19:03:00.000-07:00

Pendleton Blankets

It's not just a store, it's an adventure.
I have never seen so much packed into a little store--lots to discover for lovers of all things arts and crafts, cowboy, vintage, and Native American plus many unique items.

Darold's family had a cabin near Mt Rainier National Park. The cabin, being owned by his father, was called Mort's Cabin. Darold truly loved the time his family spent there and his store is filled with things that remind him of the time spent at the cabin --so naturally it has the same name. Mort's style is what Darold calls: rustic design.

I see the store as a fantastic resource for Ephraim Faience and Roseville pottery. And as I spend more time exploring every nook and cranny I have found books on Greene & Greene and Stickley, collectibles, and an eclectic selection of all things new and old.

I hope you have a chance to visit sometime and if you do, go to Pete's Wine Shop just a few blocks down the street for a large selection of wine from all over the world.

Here are just a few things I found in Mort's Cabin in the past weeks:

Custom made light fixture

Bing and Grondahl Royal Copenhagen

Roseville Pottery

Ephraim Faience Pottery "Honey Thief"

Bessie Pease Gutmann

Stan Miller

more Pendleton blankets

Yoshiko Yamamoto cards

Old Stock from Frederick & Nelson
La Huffman China Platter

Vintage signs........

Space Needle Vintage Photos

Charlie's Angels Lunchbox

Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Lunchbox

Duran Duran t-shirt signed by Andy Warhol

Totem Pole

Construction --The Big Pour

2012-06-16T18:00:00.000-07:00

It has been a long wait but the weather improved enough for the radiant heat elements to be installed in the basement floor and the concrete pour was this week.

Here is the proud Papa watching over a professional crew--this is a huge moment for us---to have a whole crew working at once. And since we have a short window of time to get the house weathered in before fall, my hope is that this trend will continue through the summer. Finally you will begin to see some good resources here.

While I have been waiting to collect bids on the various elements of the project I have become immersed in vintage stores, estate sales, antique shopping, consignment stores. I am keeping a notebook of all the great things that I find along the way and their prices. Recently I visited a unique store in Seattle called Mort's Cabin and will post about that next.

Daniel Ridgway Knight Artwork in Gamble House

2012-05-12T06:08:00.000-07:00

During my recent behind the scenes tour of the Gamble House with Jim Ipekjian I noticed an oil painting of a Dutch girl. Since we were not allowed to take pictures I wrote down the name of the painter and looked up information about him later online.

His name was Daniel Ridgway Knight (1839-1924) and if you search his name for images you can see a whole collection of his work, any of which would be gorgeous in a bungalow home. It looks like prints are available and there are some reproduction services out there but I am not sure what to think of that idea--maybe someone can enlighten me.

I took this picture of a picture to show you the painting hanging in the Gamble House (from the Randell Makinson book Greene & Greene: The Passion and the Legacy). This book features large scale photographs to drool over while you dream in Greene & Greene!

Daniel's son Louis Aston Knight also has work that would beautifully grace your home.

Here are a few more I like:

Connecticut Shoreline in Autumn

by Louis Aston Knight, Daniel's son

Vintage and Antique Lighting Field Trip

2012-05-10T09:05:00.000-07:00

I went on a field trip recently----to the tulip fields---but also to a fabulous vintage lighting store in nearby LaConner, Washington. And I can't wait to go again.

The store is Mary Davis Vintage Lighting surrounded by antique stores on a quaint La Conner street adjacent to a gorgeous cottage neighborhood.

As I entered the store Tom greeted me, and as we talked about my lighting needs he enthusiastically showed me various light fixtures. Tom had either restored or created most of these fixtures from the wide variety of lamp pieces he collects at such fun events as Brimfield in Massachusetts. There is a garage behind the store full of lamp pieces that you can select from, if you wish, for a completely custom vintage light fixture--by the time Tom finishes bringing it up to date, it will operate for today's standards yet still retain vintage quality.

Lamp Parts

Tom building a new, old lamp!

It is truly the best of both worlds.

You will have a safe fixture that has patina and is restored vintage lighting.

I was so impressed with their selection I wanted to buy right then and there but I need to really plan my purchases so that I have just the right mix of antique lighting and also art glass lighting for our bungalow home.

Visit their website for all they offer, there is so much to see----be sure to look through the whole site, their photographs are so much better than what I could produce.

An example of a pendant on a pulley that can be raised or lowered.

Ceiling fixtures perfect for the bath

Antique Glass

Mercury Glass

Edison Bulbs

Many antique lighting stores have not weathered the storm of our economy over the past several years. Very few remain in our area so I was excited to actually be able to visit a store of this quality. Their friendliness and professionalism will make it a pleasure to do business. They are well equipped to help long-distance customers too.

I will support them because I want them to continue to be able to offer their unique service. As wonderful as the internet is, we have to support our merchants with brick and mortar stores as well.

A Lighting Plan Allows Your Home to Glow

2012-04-27T08:08:00.001-07:00

Even if you are not remodeling right now, any craftsman home is enhanced with warm, inviting light fixtures. Craftsman homes are filled with color; and a lighting plan allows your home to glow like a treasure box. Well-planned lighting sets a mood, is welcoming, provides light for specific tasks, and can enhance certain architectural elements in your home.

Bungalows shine with beautiful lamps, wall sconces, and lighting tucked behind architectural elements. Two of the quickest ways to improve the quality of any room is with “period appropriate” paint color for the walls and improved lighting. I love considering the possibilities using these two simple ideas.

Lighting Plan for New Construction

When our plans were drawn up, a lighting designer developed a plan that included recessed lighting in the ceiling which is so common in new construction today. Later our architect made adjustments to remove many of these cans from the plan. As I look at it today I have a great deal of interest in making some further adjustments to avoid the use of ANY can lighting in the ceiling. This type of lighting seems to defeat the purpose of building a home in the era of the early 1900s. To avoid it altogether may be a challenge, especially in the kitchen where task lighting is so important but I think I have a plan now……

A Visit to the Ultimate Bungalows

On a recent trip to southern California I had a chance to meet a number of people in the Greene & Greene world. I spent one day in the Gamble House and also the Robinson House. Being in the homes that Greene & Greene built galvanized my sense that cans don’t have a place in a home of this era. The light fixtures below are found in both the Gamble House and Robinson House kitchens. Placed correctly, a modern kitchen can be outfitted with the needed task lighting with this style of fixture on adjustable dimmer switches to serve all your needs:

Obviously today we need more light than this one fixture can provide.....

The Robinson House kitchen uses lighting correctly and in keeping with the period.

An Important Lighting Rule of Thumb

When you plan your lighting, keep in mind that your goal is to
have your eyes shielded from the direct shine of a light bulb. This is very important in living rooms and bedrooms. For example, sit down on your couch and in each chair—be sure that the placement of whatever light fixture you use is such that the eye does not see the light bulb from either a sitting down or standing position. Many bungalow ceiling light fixtures with art glass are designed so that the light is directed up to the ceiling which is then reflected back down--- many use art glass or mica that shield the eye from a direct light bulb glare. Keep this in mind when you shop for light fixtures to avoid problems. The kitchen lights shown above are placed at the right height near the ceiling for this reason.

Light Fixtures Made to Order at Old California Lighting

My brother and his wife live near Orange, California where Old California Lighting is located. Over the years I have visited their showroom several times but my last visit was unexpectedly interesting. We walked in early on a Saturday morning and by chance we were greeted by the owner Tom Richard who then treated us to a factory tour--- which included the opportunity to see nearly finished custom made light fixtures. One of these fixtures was a huge Greene & Greene octagonal chandelier for a home in Bend, Oregon, it was about 3 feet in diameter and quite impressive. A smaller fixture of similar design is also shown:

Tom has the capability to build fixtures to order for a wide range of styles. Using wood, art glass, and various metals, this family run business can design and build anything from classic arts and crafts light fixtures to contemporary designs.

Also in production during our visit were rustic but modern wall sconces and a chandelier with a southwestern flair and modern touch. These two pieces were designed to add a warm glow to an Arizona hotel:

Very difficult to see in these photos-- but these hotel light fixtures are quite hip.

Imagine in a Scotsdale hotel lobby or lounge.

Even if your idea is sketched on a napkin it can be designed and tweaked to your satisfaction. Of course there are many traditional bungalow light fixtures available on their website ready for your home right now too.

While on our tour we learned about patina finishing:

Patina bath

Parts drying from a dip in the patina bath.

....how items are carefully packed in a self-forming foam shell for shipping using instapak:

.....and wrapped as a secure pallet for shipping—these two pallets are for one home:

The photo below shows some glass work prep for what I think is their Iridescent Green.

I just found something very cool on their website.

On this page when you hover over a color of glass it lights up so you can see the light lit and unlit!

A new favorite item for me is the lighted house number box. On a dark, rainy Seattle night it can be tough to find house numbers and unfortunately we have far too many nights like that around here.

While in Pasadena I met with several craftsmen specializing in custom light fixtures which I will feature here in the future. In any home there is room for a few custom pieces but it would be difficult for most people to afford very many of them.

Old California Lighting offers many beautiful options and they have the economies of scale in place so that you can feature these light fixtures in your home throughout. Tom and his family will go the extra mile to help you get the right lighting for your bungalow, it’s a small investment that's sure to bring much happiness into your home!

Now when you look at photographs of craftsman interiors be sure to look at the element of lighting.

How is lighting tucked into architectural elements used? Where are lamps placed in the room? Is recessed lighting used and if so is it directed like the photo below?

Directed recessed lighting (sorry not a bungalow but it's hard to find examples).

If we use recessed lighting it will be to carefully wash a wall with light as shown above. What ideas do you have now?

Arroyo Canyon Stone and Clinkerbrick Wall

2012-04-11T16:43:00.003-07:00

I took this photo-- this house is around the corner from the Gamble House.
It is one of the most perfect examaples of clinkerbrick movement and great stone placement.

We have someone working on our landscape design and we need to figure out what the exterior elements will be for our house. A process I am sure many people go through at this stage is pouring over books and magazines and websites searching for photos of what other people have created to collect ideas. Here is what I have collected......

Greene and Greene Clinkerbrick and Stone Wall Photos
Last week I searched for photos of walls made of stone and clinkerbrick so we can develop some designs of our own. In order for the proper entities to receive credit for the photos posted here, I will group them from the source. There are just a few resources for Greene and Greene photos (usually books and magazines) and I can tell you (as a publisher myself of a gluten free cookbook) that quality printed materials are very expensive to produce.

In this "I want it for free on the Internet" time we live in, you need to seriously consider making some purchases from these publishers so that they can continue to produce books and magazines that you can hold in your hand. If you don't support them by buying their products, the books and magazines will go digital.
(I have not been paid to say this, it is simply a fact.)

Use the information provided here to help you get started, but make the small investment and do your part to keep printed materials available. Buy the books and subscribe to the magazines before they are gone forever. And support the retailers who bring you specialized Arts and Crafts interior elements such as light fixtures, furniture, pottery, etc.

I was surprised to find a number of Pasadena businesses that specialize in Arts and Crafts interiors closed or near closure on my last trip.

From the book Greene & Greene by Rand:

Irwin House wall and chimney

Neil House wall (I think this is the same as the one I took at the top).

Pratt House wall

Blacker House posts

From Greene & Greene Creating a Style by Makinson and Heinz:

Neil House wall detail

Charles Greene house (also around the corner from Gamble House)

From Style 1900 magazine:

A simple low wall of stucco(or concrete?) and brick in Long Beach.

Pennsylvania home, a new wall using what looks to me like regular brick.

Charles Greene and an Arroyo Terrace home.

Grand Avenue house with simple wall--sometimes simple is best!

Gamble House backyard wall with greenery.

From Along Bungalow Lines by Duchscherer and Svendsen:

Los Altos new construction

Outdoor stucco fireplace with tile in the Batchelder tradition, a San Diego home.

From American Bungalow magazine:

Mostly river rock wall topped with brick, Aidell House.

And I am not sure where this photo is from:

Wall on the property line behind the Gamble House that faces the Arroyo.

As you can see there are many ways to approach the building of a wall in the style of Greene & Greene though it can be quite challenging to recreate the look without clinkerbrick.

Our home is on a rather small city lot in a hilly area so we have more wall than any traditional G & G home. The Robinson House is faced with stucco as are other G & G homes. For our house, instead of concrete walls (and minus the brick post in the photo below) we will likely incorporate stucco walls topped with some brick and a capstone of 3" concrete like this photo:

A wall in our neighborhood. (see note below about grout haze)

We will incorporate posts in appropriate locations with clinkerbrick and river rocks. Since it may prove difficult to purchase very many clinkerbricks, we can't plan to use that treatment in too many places. With the amount of terraced wall we will have, landscaping will be a critical element.

Grout haze is a problem around here that I need to research so we can avoid it in the future. The photo above shows it well--something white leaches from the grout and covers the brick. There are solutions you can buy to remove it. We have experienced it on the floor of a slate shower in another house and I have noticed it on exterior brick walls quite a bit around Seattle. I believe that once we removed it in our shower some sort of sealer was used to prevent it from coming back. Be sure to ask about grout haze and how to avoid it for any tile or brick project. Be sure your mason or tile setter addresses grout haze while installing (especially for interior tile and stone) because it is almost impossible to get them to come back and fix it later!

Pasadena Trip

2012-03-31T10:12:00.002-07:00

from Karen Winters- Arroyo Seco Trail

If you are passionate about the American Arts and Crafts movement then Pasadena California is your Mecca. I just returned from a trip to meet with highly skilled craftsmen in both stained glass and wood working. While I was there I had the opportunity to visit with a number of people who truly live the Greene and Greene lifestyle every day. Over the next few months I will feature those I met while in Pasadena.

Greene and Greene Inspired

Some of these folks work in the stately homes as docents or they are intimately involved with restoration work of the home --or they do both! Some of them own and live in a Greene and Greene home, others have crafted a business in architectural salvage, craftsman furniture or lighting, and stained glass—my personal favorite. The Karen Winters painting above shows a scene from where my husband grew up along the Arroyo Seco Canyon in Pasadena (a similar painting hangs in one of the G & G homes I visited this past week). A number of gorgeous G & G homes are also perched along the Arroyo Seco......

from Sotheby's a scene in Ojai

The Casa Barranca Estate

In addition to visiting two homes in Pasadena we went to Ojai where Casa Barranca is located, another Greene and Greene home. If you love yoga then here is your chance to live in one of these homes for a short time, April 27-29, 2012, for a yoga retreat.

The closest I was able to get to the house was sitting in the Casa Barranca wine tasting room (on the main street in Ojai) talking to the general manager Ricky and tasting wine.

Here's a Pinot Noir we took back to our cottage at The Emerald Iguana....

If only I lived in southern California again I could attend a May 19, 2012 event at Casa Barranca (my teenage years were spent hanging at the Huntington Beach pier in a bikini watching fellow classmates surf, those were the days).

If you will be in Ojai on May 19th here is how you can see the house:

Join the Casa Barranca wine club and you will receive an invitation to the wine club event at the house. I wish I had known this a month or so ago, I would have planned my trip for May!! Don’t miss it.

When you go, book a room at The Emerald Iguana Inn

–the rooms are unique and quite nice, in a lush tropical setting and unusual architecture.

Back in the 20s numerous cottages circled a center courtyard which is now a pool

The current owner has completely refurbished and updated the cottages, we stayed in the Gecko cottage.

A Greene & Greene Work in Progress
Check back often, my goal is to post about my trip throughout the spring and share the things I learned during my visit. We'll get into the nitty gritty details of showcasing the craftsmen and their work. I think that we will be working with most of the people I met in one way or another as we build our house. Each one has great talents that will fill our home with warmth and beauty, I can’t wait! You will find ways to add these elements to your home as well.

Jim Ipekjian Restoring Greene & Greene Grandeur

2012-02-17T15:49:00.002-08:00

I am going on a trip to Pasadena!

The last few Pasadena trips were to family. My husband grew up in the neighborhoods chock full of Greene & Greene homes, and we always drive through the streets during every visit dreaming about our finished home (someday) in Seattle .

Greene & Greene Craftsmen
This time I have the unique opportunity to meet a number of the talented craftsman who have replicated or restored furniture, doors, and light fixtures in Greene & Greene homes....Details and Joinery class by Jim Ipekjian, it's a behind the scenes 3-hour class....
And while I have toured the Gamble House in the past, this time I am attending a

Jim's story is well told in this Popular Woodworking story.

His techniques are greatly admired, it should be an interesting class.

While you are here and thinking about Greene & Greene be sure to vote to help save the Thorsen House:

Dwell magazine has created a competition called "Rethinking Preservation" that will donate $10,000 to a worthy preservation organization. A panel of judges will select the winner from the top ten projects with the most votes. There is a huge list of worthy projects in the competition so the Thorsen House will need your support.

Here is how you can help save the Thorsen House:
Please go to the link below and vote for the entry "Last of the `Ultimate Bungalows': the William R. Thorsen House of Greene & Greene".

Voting closes on February 20, so vote as often as you can.

Tell your friends, tweet about it, post to facebook, and do whatever you can to spread the message.

Please VOTE now...Thank you!

Go now to http://tinyurl.com/7h47rgu and VOTE !

Help to Save the Thorsen House

2012-02-08T10:42:00.001-08:00

Photo from Dwell magazine

If you follow Greene & Greene you are familiar with the Thorsen House.
A masterpiece of the American Arts and Crafts movement, the William R. Thorsen house in Berkeley, California (1909), was the last of the masterfully crafted ‘ultimate bungalows’ designed and furnished by renowned architects Charles and Henry Greene.....

Dwell magazine has created a competition called "Rethinking Preservation" that will donate $10,000 to a worthy preservation organization. A panel of judges will select the winner from the top ten projects with the most votes. There is a huge list of worthy projects in the competition so the Thorsen House will need your support.

Here is how you can help save the Thorsen House:
Please go to the link below and vote for the entry "Last of the `Ultimate Bungalows': the William R. Thorsen House of Greene & Greene".

Voting closes on February 20, so vote as often as you can.

Tell your friends, tweet about it, post to facebook, and do whatever you can to spread the message.

Please VOTE now...Thank you!

Go now to http://tinyurl.com/7h47rgu and VOTE !

Greene & Greene Furniture

2012-01-11T11:12:00.001-08:00

Curiosity.....Knowledge....Passion......Craftsmanship

Tom Stangeland has each in abundance; even in his early days when he made small motorized airplanes these qualities were evident. As I was driving away from his woodworking shop/winery I couldn't help but kick myself for not getting a photo of those early flyers.

Now Tom makes absolutely gorgeous furniture—and that has always been the case but the furniture wasn't always in the Arts & Crafts tradition inspired by Greene & Greene. A turning point in his craft was in 1990 when a music industry icon visited the Seattle gallery where Tom's furniture was displayed.......

The Blacker Chair

The gentleman and his wife selected three different pieces of furniture from the gallery. They wanted to contact each furniture maker in their quest for someone to craft a chair like one in the famous Blacker House by Greene & Greene. To their surprise each piece of furniture in the gallery they selected that day was made by Thomas Stangeland. They admired his quality and style and they knew he was their man. They commissioned a selection of furniture with Tom for their San Juan Island home.

A chair is one of the most difficult pieces of furniture to make: comfort, quality, and aesthetics are critical.

Toms' version of the Blacker Chair hits every mark and is designed to last a lifetime. After crafting this chair, he was hooked on Greene and Greene style and now offers this furniture style for every room in the home.

When we get to the furnishing stage of our house we will undoubtedly need a few of these chairs and just about every purchase we make these days is with the plan of having it forever. I like to use a mix of various patterns of china, crystal, and silver on our table—especially when we have more guests than my basic set of place settings. This same concept works with dining room chairs.

the Strand Chair

Tom designed the Strand Chair, the same high quality as the Blacker Chair with a bit less embellishment; oftentimes customers will buy a combination of the two chairs for their dining room.

Not only has Tom developed perfection in his furniture but over the years he has trained 10 apprentices in wood working, it is so important to pass on the knowledge, passion, curiosity, and craftsmanship.

Washington Wine –Cloudlift Cellars

Merlot Grapes

I first met Tom when our paths crossed through the Northwest Wine Academy. Tom finished the program a year or so before I enrolled and was already producing his own wine when I had the chance to help him with his 2010 crush. I wanted to volunteer somewhere and when my teacher gave me his name I immediately recognized him from having seen his work many years ago at Northwest Fine Woodworking gallery (which is now in the hip Belltown neighborhood) and of course his name is often within the pages of American Bungalow and Style 1900.

I was excited to help with the crush; it was an opportunity to see Tom's workshop and winery! Along with family members and friends I was able to help on several weekends and learn hands-on the various elements we were reading about in class.

I am in the back on the left. Joining me in the sorting of the grapes
are co-owner Joannie, their daughter, and my friend Suzanne.

Pressing Chardonnay with two guys from the NW Wine Academy program.

And to my delight someone who had also built a home in the style of Greene & Greene (and went through the NW Wine Academy) was also helping with the crush. I hope to someday see his home as well.

Once you get out into this community of people one thing leads to another…..

Tom's label is Cloudlift Cellars. Cloudlift is the name of the unique pattern used by the Greene brothers on sleeping porch railings, interior/door trim, and furniture detail. I think curiosity drove Tom to pursue winemaking, just as curiosities lead him to begin working with an anvil to make his own copper handles for his furniture.

Tom has four red wine blends using varying percentages of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc. His two white wines are Chardonnay and a Semillion/Sauvignon Blanc blend (this is the one I had the opportunity to help with most).

Tom has begun to win some awards for his wine and he has long been recognized for his furniture. For me it was fun to see the two coexist within one space….

One last thought.

At first I debated about revealing the name of the gentleman who inspired Tom to create his version of the Blacker Chair but I love this story.

Growing up, my parents absolutely loved Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass' Whipped Cream album, in many ways it was the soundtrack of my childhood. Same thing is true for my husband's family and probably every other family in the 60s. Not only did everyone marvel at the lovely lady on the cover but the music is happy and fun. When my husband and I married we, of course, had to get the CD version.

Every time I look at the Blacker Chair I will think of that album and the couple who made it possible and here's why:

The gentleman who asked Tom to make the Blacker Chair is Jerry Moss ---the M of A & M records (the A is Herb Alpert). One of the first records they produced was the gold-selling Whipped Cream. This team built A & M into the nation's largest record company not owned by a conglomerate, though just after selling out to Polygram in 1989 the Moss's visited the Seattle gallery and commissioned the furniture from Tom.

We already love to crank up Whipped Cream on sunny afternoons….I can't wait to do so when we have a Blacker Chair or two in our Greene & Greene home!

Construction--Looking Forward into 2012

2012-01-02T18:01:00.000-08:00

Much has happened with our construction since the last post in June but not enough to interest the casual observer. Instead of posting news of the house we will feature the people and businesses that have a love of all things Craftsman and specifically Greene & Greene. I now have time to explore these resources, learn about their stories, delve into why they are so passionate about their craft, and report it back to you.

I hope you join us on the journey.....in the near future I will be visiting a Greene & Greene furniture craftsman, living for a short time in an actual G & G home, and learning more about Ephraim Faience Pottery.

For those interested in the actual construction....

the planters and front stair supports are in

this area will be filled with dirt and will be a front patio

this is the base of the living room fireplace and the north side of the house

basement floor

Construction Retaining Walls and Front Stairs

2011-11-23T16:20:00.000-08:00

Construction Footings and Foundation Wall

2011-06-12T12:36:00.001-07:00

Thirty truckloads of dirt had to be hauled away to get to this point. The footings are in--our house will actually have rebar to support the foundation walls. Homes in this area weren't built that way years ago......

The stacked blocks of concrete are temporary while the foundation goes in.

Today is a big day for the pour. Alan, Dan, Carmen, and Sam have been building the forms for the foundation walls working very hard to get to this day.

Surrounding neighbors uphill for several blocks called to say "there is a huge crane in your yard today". That was my tip off to get over there and take some pictures.

Alan pumping concrete into the forms, you can't tell from this picture but it took everything he had to keep control of that powerful hose. He was so focused that he never even knew I was there taking pictures.

Here is Dan the Man securing a spot that wasn't quite right. A few days later the kids (on their first few days of summer vacation) were at the site pulling nails and brackets out of these forms.

A pump operator guy in the background operating the boom and float with a remote control strapped to his belly. I wish I had known that at the time I would have gotten a better picture of him.

That's a lot of concrete.

Construction Reclaimed Materials

2011-02-06T11:52:00.001-08:00

We bought our home in Seattle from the original owner. It was a 1961 split level that had not been properly maintained. We had to make some choices about whether we should remodel or rebuild. Was there anything worth saving?

After living in the house for 5 years and learning about all of its' needs we decided to deconstruct the house, save the pieces we could reuse, and rebuild. The deconstruction has been a long process......

We recycled aluminum

We saved our fantastic front door, which we may turn into an interior door in the new house----this is my friend about to do a little dance.

Reclaimed all of the hardwood floors, sold the 60s era shelving and light fixtures.

Reclaimed other solid building materials that you can't see like big support beams etc.

Our kitchen cabinets have been retrofitted and have a new life in another home in the area. Here they are awaiting their new home.

Pretty much everything else had used up its' useful life, unfortunately that is how things were built in the 60s.

We look forward to putting a quality home in place, one that fits the neighborhood. Even though many of the homes that surround us are from the 60s era they have deep overhangs like the Greene & Greene homes. Our scale will be similar to those on the street.

Here are a few photos of the exterior deconstruction over the past few months:

One of the nice things of living in a small community is having friends stop by and the guys in the neighborhood love hanging out at the job site at the end of the day. Before the fireplaces came down they regularly gathered to enjoy an outdoor fire and a warm beverage. They have all decided that the new house now needs an outdoor fireplace built into the plans.

Over the holidays our daughter, home from college, and our son helped with the deconstruction.

Sam claims he is now 6'9"

In addition to reclaiming building materials one of the best parts of this project so far is having the kids involved. Very few teenagers know the reward of physical labor today.

A little father/daughter time:

These kids rose to the challenge too, they worked in rain, snow, and miserable wind. A friend helped out as well and on those days the job was definately more fun, especially on a sunny but cold day!

Over the past week we have had a big dirt mover on site removing the old foundation that was not up to todays' code, shoring up the perimeter, and removing old concrete and bricks that could not be reclaimed. We are getting very close to being able to pour a new foundation.

The Beginning

2010-09-20T12:05:00.001-07:00

We are about to begin building a Greene & Greene inspired home. Most reading this blog already know who the Greene brothers are, those who are not familiar with these well-known architects from the early 1900's should look at The Gamble House in Pasadena, California.

Another gorgeous example of their work is The Robinson House, also in Pasadena.

Phaedra and Mark Ledbetter are the current owners and several years ago I had the good fortune to tour their home when they opened it up for Pasadena Heritage. Afterwards Phaedra was very helpful by directing me to the various craftsmen responsible for helping to restore her home. I love that she restored the kitchen in an accurate representation with modern conveniences:

That was several years ago....finally we are about to begin.
It takes a long time to plan a home of this nature.

The purpose of this blog is to help others find quality products to restore or rebuild their home. I know it will be an interesting journey and I will meet wonderful people in the process and I will feature them on this blog.

My husband grew up in Pasadena and as a boy he roamed the neighborhoods where most of the Greene & Greene homes are located in this country. They represent to him what a home should be and he has always wanted to build one himself. He extensively remodelled a previous home of ours---- acting as the general contractor---and loves the process. It is quite gratifying to see a project take shape that you have built with your own hands.

Over the past 10 years we have noticed there are very few resources out there providing examples of homes in the Greene & Greene style so we will add this blog to that tiny database and see where it takes us.

So stay tuned in on a monthly basis for new posts, we won't be ready to pour the foundation until probably ~~November~~ January.


A new construction home with lift pattern in railing, erlerdesign.com


The Robinson House stucco dash coat and light fixture example