Our house, is a very, very not-so-fine house(With apologies to CSNY)... but we love it anyway. It was originally built in the late 40s, in a style that I can only call "Forties modern", with slanted, not-quite-flat roofs straight from the Jetsons, sloped interior ceilings (some even slope in two directions!), big, bold windows separated by 2x4s, and an open floor plan. (If anybody who knows about California architecture from the time, I'd love to hear more about it.) A barn-style second story was added in the late 70s, both to add space and to increase the house's inability to shed rain. The barn-style roof sheds water directly onto the walls below; the slanting roofs puddle water against the walls of the second story; nobody seems to have considered that it rains in redwood forests. In any case, the clash of the two styles makes for a nicely schizophrenic living situation. Tired of the 40s? Go upstairs. Tired of the 70s? Go downstairs? Want to hide from the family? Seek out any of the nooks and crannies. About the only thing you can't escape is the light, which floods in through the windows and skylights, courtesy of somebody taking out the redwoods just south of the house in the early 90s. If you're coming to visit, click here for directions and maps. And here's some photos for the curious:
The house:
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The deck:
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Family room:
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Upstairs play room:
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Kitchen and dining room:
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Bedrooms:
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Office and TV room:
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Bathroom and laundry:
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