June 23, 2013

City Chalet for Sale

The neighbourhood where I was raised was designed by the landscape firm of Frederick Law Olmsted, and one of their main tenets was letting the land speak and direct the building. My neighbourhood was filled with steep hills and deep valleys. In fact, our house had 24 steps leading up to the front door!

There are a series of four or five houses that hang from the edge of a hillside, overlooking a 100+ year old forest and a small stream. They are the chalet houses and everyone who’s lived in the area knows them. These houses were all built in 1905.imageAnd they don’t come up for sale very often, because the people who own them love them so much that they tend to stay for decades, rather than just years. imageThey were designed by Edward Palmer of the firm Palmer Lamdin, who designed many of the more unique houses in the area. They are quirky and unusual, not your basic square brick four-over-four. Luckily, many of the original details remain, because these houses don’t change hand very often.

The house is cedar shake siding on a stone foundation. It is only accessible via a flight of stone stairs leading down from the road. It’s been neglected, which means that there are no ghastly updates. imageSo you find the original glass-fronted pantry doors, imageand cupboards in the pantry.

One of the great things about this house is the screened porches like you see at the end of this room.  imageI can personally attest to the fact that this part of the neighborhood is a good 5* to 10* cooler than any other part of the area in the summer, and being up in the treetops is a great feeling.

imageThis is the porch from the outside. imageIt looks like the house could do with a slap of paint and some sanding on the floors, which are probably original.

The cedar siding and the other woodwork emphasize the chalet-style feeling of this house. image

There’s a great old wooden staircase leading up to the second floor,imageand down to the ground floor, which leads out to a small patio.

Because the lot is so steep and wooded, there’s no lawn at all, which is great if you’re not into yardwork!image

This is an Instagram I took of the little road that meanders behind this house. deepdene

For more details about this quirky city chalet, please click here.

19 comments:

  1. Neglected or rented out over the years?? So many estate sales I attend in Florida show the decline of the residents. ( And lack of updates?? there was a time a house style flowed into the interior -- you knew it was an architect not a mass produced home) All the assisted living items, canes, wheel chairs, commodes with handles, bags of unopened adult diapers, rooms filled with hobby items untouched it gives me pause . As I have my faculties, eating healthy, staying active ,watching ones weight will help. Now this Olmsted he thought like FLW as the house is of the hill not on the hill of the hill, Frank Lloyd Wright from what I understand was influenced by the Maya culture

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  2. So fascinating Meg!! Love the stair case and the wood flooring. One could do do much!
    Add some wonderful collections from over the years!
    xoxo
    Karena
    Giveaway from Enchanted Home!

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  3. Wow wish I could get my hands on one of these houses. xxpeggybraswelldesign.com

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  4. They look very similar to houses in the lake district in Austria on the outside but it is lovelier because of the wooden detail on the floors and that staircase!! I haven't seen these types of homes in decor magazines which seems a bit odd considering they are almost it's own category of home...

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    1. They are a unique style, and i think that if they had too much decoration, they'd be tacky.

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  5. if it wasn't for the long commute i'd so be there!!

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  6. Beautiful home and a fine prospect (I've been watching too much Jane Austin, lately). When you said that it had been neglected I thought I would see cedar cabinets with copper hardware and other eyesores. I would move in today and not change a thing, other than remove the 1960 daisy decals on the cabinet doors and have the fireplace brick professionally cleaned. OK, maybe sand the floors, but honestly they don't look that bad. It looks like a great price, too, although I only know DC prices.

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    1. there is some pretty ghastly wallpaper in some of the rooms. click on the last link to see all of the house.

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  7. This house is truly beautiful. I like the peaceful feel and the woodwork is amazing.

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    1. Right you are! I can't imagine anything better than sitting on the porch and reading!

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  8. this sounds/looks like a house Laura Lipman had one of her characters living in in a recent book - can't remember the title.

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    1. Probably! She knows the neighbourhood pretty well. Anne Tyler's written about this street, too.

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