Bay Area Home Styles: Spotlight on the Mediterranean

A Mediterranean-style home in San Francisco.

This is the fourth installment in a series of bimonthly posts about architecture styles, each dedicated to a popular home type that can be found in the Bay Area.

The easy, breezy, beautiful Mediterranean-inspired home can be found all over California. This architecture style peaked in popularity in the 1920s and 1930s, then saw a revival in the 1960s.

“Spanish-inspired homes built in the first decades of the 20th century are usually described as Spanish Colonial Revival, suggesting that they borrow ideas from early settlers,” architecture expert Jackie Craven writes. “However, these homes might also be called … Mediterranean. And, because these homes often combine many different styles, some use the term Spanish Eclectic.”

The Mediterranean home took inspiration from romantic seaside villas and palaces and conjures images of European vacations. Key design elements include:

• Tile roofs — often red terra-cotta clay tiles
• Stucco siding — often white or pastel
• Curves and arches
• Tile, granite, or marbled floors
• Colorful and decorative tiles
• Balconies
• Courtyards and verandas
• Ornate touches like carvings, ironwork, and heavy wooden doors

The Mediterranean home is meant to stay cool and breezy in warm, sunny environments. Because of this attribute, this home style is popular in states like California and Florida. The home often features high ceilings, open floor plans, many windows, and access to various outdoor spaces. Ornate wrought iron is often an element of balconies, and lush gardens are a popular addition.

Interiorwise, the walls are most often painted white or a bright but neutral color, giving the home an earthy and natural feel. For more information about the design aesthetic, check out this HGTV page about Mediterranean Style 101. If its photos you’d like, head over to Pinterest to see an entire board called Luxury Mediterranean Homes. And check out Houzz to see thousands of Mediterranean exterior design photos as well as Spanish Mediterranean home design photos.

This style was used in hotels, apartments buildings, and commercial structures as well. A grand example is the Dolce Hayes Mansion in San Jose. This resort hotel was actually built in 1905 and is a California Historical Landmark that can be found on the National Register of Historic Places. The 41,000-square-foot villa features exquisite stained-glass windows, imported marble, and exotic wood.

If you are lucky enough to live in a Mediterranean, ¡qué bueno! And, if you are on the hunt for your dream villa, bonne chance!

(Photo: Flickr/Jérôme Decq)

Article and images sourced from http://blog.pacificunion.com/bay-area-home-styles-spotlight-on-the-mediterranean/

Bay Area Home Styles: Spotlight on the Mid-century Modern

An Eichler-style home in San Rafael’s Terra Linda neighborhood.

This is the third installment in a series of bimonthly posts about architecture styles, each dedicated to a popular home type that can be found in the Bay Area. 

Sleek, stylish, and sophisticated, the Mid-century modern home is truly a thing of beauty. The Modernism movement spanned the 1930s through the 1970s, and the Mid-century modern home style peaked in popularity in the 1940s and 1950s (hence the name). These homes can be found all over the country, but the style was especially popular on the West Coast.

Included in the Mid-century modern category are Ranch-style, Split-Level Ranch, Contemporary, and Shed-style homes. You can read more about these substyles in this CIRCA Old Houses article. (Warning: eye candy ahead.)

Flat, low-pitched roofs; sharp angles; and an open design concept are all hallmarks of the Mid-century modern home. If you can picture the home styles highlighted in the television show “Mad Men,” you get the idea. And, speaking of “Mad Men,” we think if the Mid-century modern home was a drink, it would definitely be a well-aged scotch, served neat.

Grown-up and a bit on the serious side, the Mid-century modern home removed the frills and added a touch of the future. A pared-down aesthetic, clean lines, and natural hues are hallmarks of Mid-century modern design. And with expansive walls of glass, this style also considered outdoor space in its philosophy of the home. The indoor-outdoor living concept was new to home design in the 1950s.

Bay Area residents are likely familiar with Eichler-style homes and may have wondered why a developer became so well-known that his name has become closely associated with the Mid-century modern style. According to the Eichler Network, Joseph Eichler (1900-1974) built nearly 11,000 single-family homes in California beginning in the late 1940s.

“In Northern California, they [Eichler homes] can be found in areas in and around Marin county, the East Bay, San Mateo County, Palo Alto, Sunnyvale, San Jose, San Francisco, and Sacramento. Three small communities of Eichlers in Southern California stand in Orange, Thousand Oaks, and Granada Hills.”

Eichler homes typically feature open floor plans, glass walls, and post-and-beam construction. It is said that Eichler became intrigued with the architect Frank Lloyd Wright after living in a Wright-designed home. Wright is best known for the long, low Prairie-school style home, which stressed organic architecture.

Interested in learning more about the Mid-century modern home? This Pocket Guide to Mid-Century Modern Style is a nice resource and includes more information about furniture, color schemes, and home accessories. The Mid-Century Modernist website is a tribute to the movement and features articles about homes, culture, architecture, and interiors. Make sure to check out this HGTV page all about Mid-century Modern architecture, which covers key elements and famous examples; don’t forget to take the video tour of a home while you are there. Still can’t get enough photos of Mid-century modern homes? Browse this gallery of Mid-century Modern Homes Across America, presented by Dwell.

If you are lucky enough to live in a Mid-century modern home, congratulations on having very good taste in design. And, if you are a home shopper on the hunt for the perfect sleek beauty, we hope you will soon be dwelling in your own modern marvel.

(Photo: Flickr/hunter lewis wimmer)

Article and images sourced from http://blog.pacificunion.com/bay-area-home-styles-spotlight-on-the-mid-century-modern/

Bay Area Home Styles: Spotlight on the Victorian

A Victorian home in the city of Alameda.

This is the second installment in a series of bimonthly posts about architecture styles, each dedicated to a popular home type that can be found in the Bay Area.

Ah, the beautiful, stately Victorian home. A Victorian home actually refers to a style born during the reign of Queen Victoria (1837–1901), though it transcends that exact time frame.
The Victorian home combined elements of Gothic architecture with French, Italian, and Tudor details. Victorian homes are typically on the larger size (two to three stories) and feature wood or stone exteriors. Victorian homes are usually asymmetrical, featuring ornate trim, scalloped shingles, and steep rooflines.
Victorians are often called “dollhouses” or “gingerbread houses.” Many Victorians are painted numerous colors, highlighting architectural artistic details in all of their glory. Some Victorian variations include the Queen Anne, the Second Empire, the Shingle- style, and the Stick-style.
Inside the home you’ll typically find smallish rooms and equally small closets if the structure has not been extensively remodeled. Ornate details such as wainscoting, picture rails, buttresses, and decorative ceilings are common features, and fireplaces are ubiquitous. Traditionally, the interior of a Victorian home was stuffed to the gills with furniture and covered in wallpaper.
At one time, there were approximately 50,000 Victorian homes in San Francisco, but it is said that nearly 75 percent of them were damaged during the 1906 earthquake and the fires that followed.
Without a doubt the most famous Victorian homes in the Bay Area are San Francisco’s Painted Ladies. This row of iconic, colorful homes adjacent to Alamo Square Park was featured in the beginning shots of the popular TV show “Full House,” and tourists from all over the world make it a point to stop and take photos of the homes. If you are interested in learning more about the Victorians of San Francisco, you can take a San Francisco Historical Walking Tour.
Another Bay Area Victorian of note is San Jose’s Winchester Mystery House, which was once the residence of Sarah Winchester, widow of gun magnate William Wirt Winchester. The home was in a constant state of construction from 1884 until Sarah Winchester’s death in 1922.
The house has 160 rooms and is filled with secret passageways and winding stairways, supposedly built to confuse ghosts and spirits. The Winchester Mystery House is now a California Historical Landmark and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is open to the public, and tours are available.
In the East Bay, according to Alameda Magazine, “It’s said there are more Victorian-style homes in Alameda, based on our population, than anywhere else in the country.” And though that statement may or may not be factually correct, there are approximately 3,000 Victorian homes on the island city.
Living in a historic home isn’t for everyone. Of course, due to their age, Victorians need special care and attention. You can learn more about Victorian homes on the HGTV website. This Victorian Homes website has a wealth of content about this architecture style, including restoration information, decorating ideas, and a photo gallery. And this The Old House Guy article follows the restoration of a Victorian home in New Jersey, complete with before-and-after photos.
Interested in a Victorian home? Make sure to speak to your real estate professional about the features you deem important. Together, you can find your dream “dollhouse.”

(Photo: Flickr/David Brossard)

Article and images sourced from http://blog.pacificunion.com/bay-area-homes-spotlight-on-the-victorian/

Bay Area Home Styles: Spotlight on the Craftsman

A Craftsman-style home in San Jose.

This is the first installment in a series of bimonthly posts about architecture styles, each dedicated to a popular home type that can be found in the Bay Area.

The Craftsman home is a piece of work. Literally. And by that we mean that the home builder’s highly skilled work is prominently on display.
Simple and natural, the Craftsman home often features porches with round columns or stone supports, low-pitched gable roofs, wide eaves with brackets or exposed rafters, and handcrafted stone or woodworking. The Craftsman home’s emphasis is indeed all in the craft — the pared-down, simplistic quality of the workmanship. In its original era, it was also a response to the ornamentation of the Victorian home.
Craftsman-style homes were built from approximately 1905 until the Great Depression. They were constructed all over the country and can be found scattered in most older Bay Area neighborhoods. Many homebuyers look specifically for the Craftsman-style home and make a project of restoring it to its original glory.

The bungalow is a popular version of the Craftsman, and though the name might suggest a small home, this isn’t always the case. There are definitely Craftsman bungalow-specific enthusiasts, and this website is an excellent resource for them and those who want to learn more.
There is plenty to say about the Craftsman home, but here are a few highlights:

The Arts and Crafts Movement
In the mid-1880s, the Arts and Crafts Movement made its way from Britain to Europe and the U.S. This decorative and artistic style presented a more natural, less ornate style of décor and architecture. This movement was the inspiration behind the Craftsman-style home.

The Prairie-Style Home
The Prairie-style home was popularized by Frank Lloyd Wright and the Chicago school of architects. Built from 1905 to 1920, it was said to be the first American architecture style. Prairie-style homes feature an open floor plan, strong horizontal lines, a central chimney, and built-in cabinetry.
“The Prairie style had many similarities with Craftsman-style bungalows — including a low, horizontal form and roof lines with wide, overhanging eaves,” according to a post at Historic Home Blog.

Sears
What does Sears have to do with the Craftsman home? The department store actually sold them through its catalog from 1908 to 1940. Sears had a selection of more than 400 different designs, ranging from small bungalows costing $450 to large two-story homes priced at $4,500. It sold approximately 700,000 kits that were shipped to buyers via boxcar and came with instruction books and 10,000 to 30,000 pieces. There are several ways to tell if you do indeed have a Sears-catalog home — check them out here.
The Internet is teeming with photos of, and resources for, the Craftsman-style home. You can check out 10 Bungalow Restorations from Old House Online. Houzz offers a gallery of Craftsman homes to further acquaint you with its unique features. HGTV will take you on a few tours that will give you decorating ideas. Better Homes and Gardens will give your some layout, design, and color inspiration.
If you do end up choosing a Craftsman-style home for your residence, congratulations on a great investment. You now own a work of art in a sturdy, square package. Enjoy!

(Photo: Flickr/David Sawyer)

Article and images sourced from http://blog.pacificunion.com/bay-area-home-styles-spotlight-on-the-craftsman/