April 29, 2009

More House Gawking

I had gone out this afternoon with the intent of taking lots of pictures of azaleas and dogwood, two of my favourite flowers. But I got distracted by more stunning architecture in Guilford. It's funny, but having lived in a nearly adjoining neighbourhood most of my growing up life, this is the first time I've really explored the streets in a purposful manner.

1) I would take this house in a heartbeat. Look at the way the two smaller windows above the front door help balance everything and keep it symmetrical.
Look at the incredible front door with the fanlight over it. Check out the pineapple in the broken pediment over the front door and the two lion-heads on the doors. I love how the glass front doors allow you to see straight through to the back. I am pretty sure that there's an amazing garden back there, given what the front looks like. 2) This is a semi-detached, meaning two houses sharing a common wall on the same property. Even if you divide this in half, it's still pretty massive. It's hard to tell that this is two houses, and there are about four like this on a little piece of the road. This house would not be out of place in England.3) I am trying to wrap my head around this one. I think it's got a lot of potential, and it's got some good features, but I worry about how small the windows are and how dark the house would be. What does it need? Plantings? Shutters?
4) This is the pumping station for the reservior that serves the neighbourhood. Classic. Simple. Elegant. I wish modern industrial buildings were still built like this. This would make a great house. A talented architect could do wonders with this. Too bad the city owns it.

5) I like the lines of this house a lot. It's pretty straight-forward, but with enough detail to make it special. The arches over the front windows and then the sidelights on the windows above are terrific.

But what caught my eye were the shutters and the detailing over the front door. Great fanlight. Great keystone. Great black iron urns. But the diamond in the circle in the square on the shutters! Whew!!

6) This house was probably designed by Edward Palmer and William Lamdin around the early 1900's. They designed a number of houses in this neighbourhood which all have a special flair to them. As a recent article put it "Flourishes such as dovecotes, turrets, round windows mixed with rectangular ones and the aptly named “eyebrow dormers” peek out." I wish they had done something different with the downspouts, like painted them.

Your turn. Which do you like, and why do you like it?

23 comments:

  1. Hmm I love them all! That first one is magnificent and very grand but #6 is my favorite -it's homey and pretty and I love the stone and slate!

    ReplyDelete
  2. I like #1 because it is classic colonial and black shutters are my favorite. I agree with you on the door of #5. I do like looking at homes!

    ReplyDelete
  3. 1 and 5 - I'm so predictable. But they are all lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  4. hmmmmm . . .

    of course I love #1 . . that's the easy one . . . lol.

    and, frankly, I'm kinda fascinated by our semi-detached option.

    and, yes, #6 is the most lovely little (kinda!) home I could imagine. But I'm a sucker for a 'flourish'

    ReplyDelete
  5. #1, but so not a fan of the semi-detached. One nice feature small semi's wouldn't have: a dividing hallway where you wouldn't pick up the noise of the other family as much...and I've always loved looking straight through...it's an elegant effect.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Looking at number 6 again - those aren't the original gutters, those are new white aluminum ones! The original house probably had beautiful copper gutters that would first get a brown patina and then that beautiful green! It could possibly had wood gutters & downspouts,which would have rotted, but I think it's unlikely. We need to convince the owners to get copper gutters!

    ReplyDelete
  7. Why isn't there a book about Baltimore houses????

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh I love the next-to-last one with the black shutters and the funny curvy dormer! It's a little quirky and needs a landscape makeover but it just looks happy and friendly.

    ReplyDelete
  9. i love #1. i'm kinda OCD, and all that symmetry / harmony would be very calming. it's a perfect house.

    i think the guilford pumping station is very handsome ... and i really love #5. it's just right. sweet.

    ps i agree with al! ... there should be a book on baltimore houses. who better than meg fairfax fielding to compile images, etc., for a title on baltimore?!

    ReplyDelete
  10. I like the pumping station. I has splendid materials in a straightforward manner that while restrained, sighs with elegance.

    ReplyDelete
  11. I'll take number six thanks. The textural variety and the slightly large windows with those round dormers are perfect. Its probably small for a huge family, but as a one person cottage, its perfect.

    ReplyDelete
  12. I like #5, especially the informal greenery and the old brick front walk

    ReplyDelete
  13. You are right about #3. Lots of potential. It needs landscaping. Get out the photo shop!

    ReplyDelete
  14. i actually love #3 - it's fascinating. i love the roof - coming down to a small front door - very Saladino - he loves that. you need to take another shot of this from the right side!!

    that low front window is wonderful. it just needs some cool shutters and the right landscaaping. is this is an old house really?

    ReplyDelete
  15. Joni... all of these houses were built in the early 1900s.

    if i am up there today (it's close to the book thing), i will try and get a picture from the other angle.

    ReplyDelete
  16. #1. Sometimes these are things you just can't explain -- it hits you in the core. (I love them all though..)

    ReplyDelete
  17. The quirky originality of #6 really captivates me ... and it's just right size for a bachelor. The irritating downpipes (I think architectdesign is right: they are distracting modern additions) have got to be replaced with real metal downpipes, moved to the edges of the structure, and (preferably) painted in Farrow & Ball's "Down Pipe No. 26" gray. Thanks for the photos and the post.

    ReplyDelete
  18. I love everything about #5, its symmetric, shutters, the front door, even that old stone (brick?) walk way!

    ReplyDelete
  19. I like #1 as well. I didn't know there were semi-detached homes in the US! I never knew about them until we moved to the UK. At least these two houses work well together (and really do look like one house). I've seen semis here that make you want to ask "Why?!"

    ReplyDelete
  20. I like the detail on the shutters--those are NOT from Home Depot!
    : )

    Love the neighborhood tour!

    ReplyDelete
  21. I love the pediment of that first home. Just gorgeous with the pineapple motif. East Coast homes are so beautiful. I lived in Bel Air for 15 years and now am a West Coaster (Silicon Valley). When I go back to visit family, I am always awestruck by the homes and the greenery!

    ReplyDelete

Thank you for reading and commenting on Pigtown*Design. I read each and every comment and try to reply if I have your e-mail address.