Arts and Crafts Houses

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Only if citizens would ban together and not give up hope on older communities so somedays the older historic structures would find new life like Old Town Pasadena. We live in a disposable society. We sell our home and move to a newer suburb. The ways we live created the sprawling landscape of Southern Ca. We throw away the things that we do not like rather than repairing them.
 
<p>Bk:</p>

<p>Since you're full of knowledge. Any idea on how to reclaim these older communities from it's current state? </p>

<p>I guess what I am trying to say is. I love to purchase one of these older homes. But I am left with fending off the criminals in the neighborhood.</p>
 
<p>bk, Craftsman homes are my favorite ! I used to live in Pasadena, but couldn't find just the right one...so I bought a 1922 English Tudor. Lovely home.</p>

<p>Brad Pitt is doing a major 4 million dollar reno on a Craftsman mansion in Los Feliz ! See, not everyone wants to knock them down ! </p>

<p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="angelina jolie brad pitt mansion" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/6356/1216/400/angelinajoliebradpittmansion1.0.jpg" /></p>
 
If the resurrection of the Castro district of SF is any indication, you need a concentration of "reputable" residents such that it tips to a better neighborhood. It's not easy, and doesn't often work, but sometimes does. In this instance, it would also require political will and the dedication of the police department.
 
<p>Read the post again reason, I said "I used to live in Pasadena". Bought and sold that Tudor years ago. </p>

<p>Also, I plan on buying another house someday, but not until things slow down....probably in Palm Springs. </p>
 
<p>Bix, there's been a revival of this craftsman-style in the Pacific Northwest, including a firm that will draw up new plans if you want to go that route. The problem with many of the original homes is that they were built for a much older generation: smaller rooms, fewer bathrooms, tiny kitchens, and narrow stairways. As Bk pointed out in another thread, the materials used then are simply not available, practical, or (in some cases) legal to use in home-building today. Most of the homes in the Seattle area undergo extensive refurbishing to bring the electrical, plumbing, and heating systems up to code. Since most of these homes were built when plumbing was a luxury, and the rooms were kept small to minimize the amount of heat needed, and the term "R factor" was yet to be invented, most of them get a major remodel too.</p>

<p>Here's a link to <a target="_blank" href="http://www.thebungalowcompany.com/">The Bungalow Company</a>. While they are a bit on the spendy side, their work is awesome. I've been inside several homes they have designed and the overall effect is stunning and their attention to detail is only surpassed by their willingness to adapt their plans to your specific ideas. I'm passing on the info just in case you find some total rathole stucco coffin in a decent neighborhood and you have the means to bulldoze it and put something classy up in it's place. It's my way of keeping the world beautiful </p>

<p>FYI, Gustav Stickley was the driving force behind the American adoption of the Arts&Crafts movement at the turn of the 20th century. He founded a magazine titled "The Craftsman" in 1901 and, with help from his associates, he published plans for homes and funishings within it's pages. These plans were so popular that other contemporary architechts began selling their own "craftsman" home plans. For many years, you could order a set of these plans and <strong>all the materials needed to build it</strong> from a Sears & Roebuck catalog for $1200 dollars, and have local labor build it for you on your tract of land. Anyway, my point is that the terms "arts&crafts" and "craftsman" are interchangeable when looking for one of these homes built after 1901. Good luck in your search.</p>
 
For those that are interested in Spanish Revival, there was an interesting interview with Diane Keaton on AirTalk yesterday about her new book about homes of this style. Go <a href="http://www.scpr.org/programs/airtalk/">here</a>, and search for "California Romantica". The book is available on Amazon, if you're interested.





(Paging BK! I miss you!)





And <a href="http://www.latimes.com/features/printedition/home/la-hm-romantica1nov01,0,7940624.story?track=rss">here's</a> a LAT article regarding the book with lots of great pictures.
 
<p>Nudist!</p>

<p> Thanks for the Info, I have been a long time fan and collector of Stickley furnature. I only have a few pieces throughout the house, but they have been preserved and well taken care of. My only beef with doing a full on build is that it will cost ALOT of money to do so. Easily in the 700k range to do just the basic work. </p>

<p>As for plowing the land flat, well, it used to me my hobby, I get a piece of land, clean it up, zone it to what was popular and sell it. So that's no big deal. The CCR's might get in the way and the neighbors might get a bit uppidity, but it just depends on what you're building. A monster or a moderate.</p>

<p>Goodluck</p>

<p>-bix</p>
 
<p>You must be using 2006 prices </p>

<p>When the price of raw materials and labor finally hits bottom, due to complete lack of demand, I think building a custom home in 2009 won't be prohibitively expensive.</p>

<p>Now, if I had the money, this is where I would start my neighborhood beautification project:</p>

<p><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=33.639311,-117.909994&spn=0.031691,0.057249&z=15&om=1&msid=116222996135479138279.00043e5a80f876d33ed6f">http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&hl=en&msa=0&ll=33.639311,-117.909994&spn=0.031691,0.057249&z=15&om=1&msid=116222996135479138279.00043e5a80f876d33ed6f</a></p>

<p>Lots are long, great schools (Mariners, Ensign, Newport-Harbor) nearby, no CC&Rs, easy 55 Freeway access, close to Back Bay and the beaches, and a Costa Mesa address to keep the prices down.</p>

<p>All I need now is a few million and a bulldozer...</p>
 
<p>^Yep, i do agree prices have come down, but raw materials won't be that much cheaper than they are now. But we will see.</p>

<p>I've already got a nice little grandma house project in Santa Fe New Mexico. Its only a tiny bit of land, but it was on the side of a mountain... filled with very dense rock. Anyways take it easy and don't work too hard.</p>

<p>-bix</p>
 
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