I'm in the process of buying the house below, and wondered if you had any ideas about the "style" of house. It's a single-family home, built in 1926, but it resembles many of the "doubles" I've seen in Toledo, Cleveland, and Buffalo, with "Craftsman" touches like the built-in bookcases, etc. There is no back stairway, meaning there were never maid's quarters, and a shower in the basement suggests to me that it was a workingman's/factory worker's home. It's in a solidly middle-class neighborhood in metro Toledo. Any ideas?

 

 

 

 

I've seen those tapered columns in a lot of Craftsman-style homes; that motif appears on the porch columns, the stairwell cut-out and the divider. The brackets under the eaves are another Craftsman element.

I've seen those tapered columns in a lot of Craftsman-style homes; that motif appears on the porch columns, the stairwell cut-out and the divider. The brackets under the eaves are another Craftsman element.

 

Thanks MayDay - the inside of the house suggested Craftsman to me, but the old aluminum siding makes it difficult for me to imagine what the outside originally looked like. The siding is quite old, so once I update the furnace and bathroom, and maybe the kitchen, I'd like to work on the outside.

I'm by no means an expert on architectural styles, but try doing a google search on "Western Reserve Architecture Style" and that will get you started in the right direction.

 

I don't know what style it is, but I like it! I especially like the built-in furniture.  :-)

 

The outside is going to need a little work - but it will be fun to peel back the garbage to expose the real house...

 

I'm no expert either, but it looks it has some elements of American Foursquare - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Foursquare too along with the craftsman. Those types of homes can be found throughout Cleveland including parts of Old Brooklyn, Miles, Brooklyn Centre, West Park.

 

Looks like a lot of the original wood is still there, great !  :clap: My house is similar, but some of the wooden features had been already removed (for example, near the stairway and the archway between the living and dining rooms).

^Exactly.

Thanks folks. It doesn't strike me as a foursquare mostly because of the gable roof; Foursquares tend to have hipped roofs, and the house is not exactly square, but goes deep into the lot. I notice these kinds of houses around Toledo, but never knew what to call them.

 

The Western Reserve style appears to be earlier than this house, built mostly in the late 1800s as a blend of Connecticut and revival styles. http://www.examiner.com/architecture-in-cleveland/the-architecture-of-the-western-reserve

 

The siding is a big question mark for me; it's old but in good condition, and I'm not sure I'm prepared to peel it off just yet. Hopefully there is still good clapboard underneath that can be restored.

 

I was thinking of sanding and restaining the floors, but I decided against it because it would be very difficult to get the same rich, honey color to match the woodwork.

 

Thanks again for your comments and suggestions.

 

Perhaps because its had aluminum or vinyl siding applied to it, some of the original flavor is missing but this house fits broadly into the Bungalow family which is more of a house type than a style. Given the interior details, is does lean stylistically towards the Craftsman category but that does not necessarily mean it was ever featured in Gustav Stickley's THE CRAFTSMAN magazine. (published from 1901-1916) It could very well be a pattern book house design from Radford or a Sears (Roebuck & Co.) kit house, and/or even an Aladdin "Redi-Cut' home. More research would be needed but the formal details suggest it was a popular design for its time. The original colors were likely to have been earth tones (reds, browns, yellows and greens) favored by the American Arts & Crafts movement. Great interior details in this one.

Great looking house!!  Yeah the first thing that came to mind when I saw this was craftsman style.  It's got a few touches of a bungalow style, but think it as intended to be built as craftsman.

 

A house like that in Chicago would sell for millions of dollars, especially since it's in good condition and a ton of the original woodwork.

I'm starting to think that there isn't a definitive "style" for this house, but that it's the product of the evolution of bungalow/craftsman, gable-front, and a Great Lakes vertical vernacular. There are many houses like this in the Toledo metro area, probably built for working families during the 1910s and 1920s, when the region's economy was as rich as it has ever been.

I'm still calling it  "Western Reserve"...but just curious.  Does it appear that the top (3rd) floor was built originally for habitation or was that an attic.  From the looks of the windows from the exterior photo it appears as finished living area...but was it designed that way or converted later?  My guess, it was converted later.

I'm in the process of buying the house below, and wondered if you had any ideas about the "style" of house. It's a single-family home, built in 1926, but it resembles many of the "doubles" I've seen in Toledo, Cleveland, and Buffalo, with "Craftsman" touches like the built-in bookcases, etc. There is no back stairway, meaning there were never maid's quarters, and a shower in the basement suggests to me that it was a workingman's/factory worker's home. It's in a solidly middle-class neighborhood in metro Toledo. Any ideas?

 

 

 

 

 

OMG that house is gorgeous.  I'm design inspired. Please get rid of that Wallpaper!

I would classify it as a Craftsman.  The interior details definitely point to it. the large overhanging eaves supported by the brackets is indicatiive of the style.

 

When you peel off that siding you may see combinations of lapsiding with shingles or lapsiding with stuco and banding (tudor details) which often appears on these later houses and  there was a tudor revival period that began in the 20's. You may likely find you will need to "add Back' wider window trim around the windows which was usually removed when alum.siding was installed. GREAT HOUSE!!!

Thanks Restoration for the thoughts about the original siding. I'm wary of taking on that job too soon, but I hope you're right about what's underneath. Certainly can't be less inspiring than the old wide aluminum siding.

 

The finished attic does not have heat, so even today it's not meant as a year-round living space. I swear, there isn't an inch of wasted space in this whole house, though. Even the attic makes really good use of what's there.

 

MTS, that wallpaper is gone. But I'm not sure what to do with the plaster walls. I'm not too fond of Craftsman-style wallpaper/paint schemes, and I want new furniture for the place.

 

 

My late Victorian Brazilian Oak dining room set won't go well in here, but I don't want to overdo it with mission-style furniture. Baby steps, right?