Retro Renovation» ranch

Dovecotes in storybook ranch houses

pam kueber — Sun, 05 Dec 2010 11:00:32 +0000

I am super fascinated by the archaic features and fixtures of midcentury houses…. Things that have been superseded by something more modern, or which simply faded from fashion. Quick! We better get them on the blog fast, so’s we don’t forget them. Stuff like hudee rings, and push-button plumbing, and appliance centers, and today: Dovecotes in storybook ranches. No, these are not “birdhouses”. The are: Dovecotes. Vestigial ones, that is.

These photos both come from Tiki Lisa’s flickr photostream. You can click directly on either photo or on the link just prior to see her whole set — it’s pretty fantastic, the houses in the neighborhood are all sweeties like these two.

Dovecotes: According to Wikipedia, dovecotes are used to house pigeons and doves which “were an important food source historically in Western Europe and were kept for their eggs, flesh, and dung.” The dung was for fertilizer. They add, “In some cultures, particularly Medieval Europe, the possession of a dovecote was a symbol of status and power and was consequently regulated by law.” Dovecotes could be free-standing or, as in the above mid-century examples, built into the ends of houses.

Here (below) is a dovecote from yee-old times:

This photo’s (above) caption says: “The doocot (dovecot) at the new stables, Eglinton Country Park, Kilwinning, North Ayrshire, Scotland.” (Public domain/Wikipedia). Below: Another photo from Tiki Lisa’s set:

So now to the “why”. I am not a PhD historian, but from my studies and general exposure, I speculate the following:

In the 1920s and especially the 1930s, there was a “romantic revival” in housing styles in America that gave us Tudors and Spanish Revival and the like… Homes that harkened back to old Europe and included sentimental “romantic” features. This all kind of died down during the depths of the Depression and WWII.
After WWII, housing began booming again. But, we evolved to new styles — and on the west coast, especially, to ranch houses.
Now that you have the context, here is my hypothesis for why-dovecotes: I suspect that on the west cost, which has always been full of fruitcakes (just testing to see if you’re reading this; just kidding; I am a born Californian, so I can kid), I mean, which was beginning to lead in design innovation, the so-called “merchant builders” — who were responsible for building the gazillions of tract house subdivisions across America — adapted the basic mid century modest ranch house box design to add some “romantic” features, as they had done in the 20s and 30s. Only this time around, the one-story plan was amenable to Hansel & Gretel type houses — “storybook ranches” — also known as “cinderella ranches” — or even, “swiss chalet ranches.” The dovecotes were included, in this spirit, along with other flourishes that, when you analyze them, look pretty easy to execute… they were mostly decorative.
For example, see this storybook ranch house, which by the shrubbery appears to be one the west coast.
But note this storybook ranch also, which I stumbled upon just a few miles from my house — in Pittsfield, Mass. Surrounded by basic colonial-ranches… someone had a different vision!
Note, that Wikipedia also says that dovecotes went out of functional use late in the 1800s…but that there was a revival in the 20th century among pigeon fanciers. They don’t say when in the 2oth century, but if it was around the middle of the century, then perhaps this archaic style was back in the public consciousness.

Thanks to Tiki Lisa for permission to feature the photos and for documenting this very fascinating feature.

Storybook ranch houses On Sunday I took another walking tour of a little...
1953 storybook ranch home – envy strikes, bigtime! I love my home and everything in it. But when...
Julia Baum captures the “vibrant display of personality” in cookie-cutter tract houses — 50 years later Take a neighborhood full of cookie-cutter tract houses … let...

Let’s help Jordan add curb appeal to her 1955 Houston suburban ranch home

pam kueber — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 11:00:17 +0000

Readers, put on your thinking caps and ready your fingers for your keyboards: Today we’re looking for reader suggestions to help Jordan add curb appeal to her 1955 suburban ranch home in Houston, Texas. Jordan writes:

I love your website and have combed through almost every article! I’m having a problem with our 1955 built ranch house. We live in a small neighborhood in Houston, TX and most of the houses were built in the 50′s and 60′s with a few odd new builds in the mix. My husband and I love the house and really want to be here for quite a long time, but I just can’t stand the exterior of our house. I bought the house because the floor plan was great, the price was good and a fair amount of updates had already been done… but I knew I didn’t like the exterior.

She continues:

My main bone of contention are the glass blocks in the front of the house. They are there to cover up a old wood burning stove (fireplace) but they are so ugly… also, the bay window on the left is in the dining room and that looks a little off to me as well. We are planning to re-pave the driveway and walk way this upcoming spring and want to tackle the rest of the exterior at the same time.

I have racked my brain and don’t have any good ideas yet… if you have some suggestions, I would LOVE to hear them… thanks for your help!!

Jordan

NOTE: The interior photos above are from the real estate listing — not Jordan’s furniture.

Jordan – your house looks lovely, but I have to agree with you, those floor-to-ceiling windows all along the front of the house are new to me. Yes, readers, look closely — those are floor-to-ceiling window / nooks to the right and left of the fireplace, which has the floor-to-ceiling glass block behind it. And in the dining room, that’s a bumped out bay with floor-to-ceiling glass. Someone sure wanted to add light!

What do you think, readers? Let’s assume Jordan says we can get rid of the wood-burning fireplace. I’ll let you run with this one, and my pipe in at some point after noodling the question myself….

Shopping for a midcentury home — and what to do about postwar homes lacking curb appeal In this RetroRenovation classic re-run from April 2008, Madison Sarah...
Improve your home’s curb appeal with shutters: How to choose the right size & more tips from landscape architect Ted Cleary Are you interested in adding shutters to your windows in...
Add curb appeal to your midcentury home with ornamental metal porch columns — 3 sources for this old school product Researching ornamental iron and aluminum columns and railings to help...

James and Robi’s 1949 ranch house with 1964 St. Charles kitchen cabinets

pam kueber — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 10:00:30 +0000

James and Robi recently became the third owners of this 7,400 s.f. (woah!) ranch home near Fort Worth, Texas. As you would imagine, this was built by some folks with some dough re mi — it includes an indoor pool and a fabulous 1964 St. Charles steel kitchen has all the bells and whistles. Moreover, the kitchen is interesting, because we can see what vintage metal kitchen cabinets look like when they are finished with granite countertops — which were added by the previous owners. Robi writes:

Hi Pam,

I have been enjoying the Retro Renovation site and am so happy to know that there are others who love and appreciate their postwar homes. I was extremely fortunate to purchase my dream home a few months ago, and want to share some photos. The short version of a long story: The house was built in 1949 in a small college town an hour southwest of Fort Worth, Texas. The second owner purchased it in 1954, and cared for it meticulously for 50 years. The original owners’ son bought it five years ago, but decided to downsize. Now it belongs to my partner, two cats, and me, and it’s home!

.
I write back right away and ask James to tell me his “Retro Renovation Story.” He replies:

My partner, Robi, and I were living in Fort Worth, in a nice early-1990s home in a great neighborhood. We both thought of it as our permanent home, and I was content to spend the rest of my days there. Several years ago, through mutual friends, we met Jim and Cissy, of Stephenville, Texas. They soon came to be our friends, too. We had admired their huge (7400 square foot) 1949 home and Robi’s half-serious comment to Cissy was, “If you ever want to sell this house, let us know.” This surprised me, because I have always liked older houses, but Robi prefers new ones. Go figure.

Through fate … the house became available this past spring, and Jim sent us a note. After much deliberation, we took the plunge and bought it, giving us a one-hour drive to work in the city, but we knew we’d have to make some sacrifices. This much said, a little history on the house.

Jim’s dad owned the feed mill in Stephenville, a town of about 15,000, and an important dairy and agricultural center in North Texas. His wife, Kathryn, wanted a stylish new home to reflect their standing in the community, and hired a noted local builder. They lived in the house for about four years, then for reasons not entirely clear (too big?) sold it to another family, who owned it for the next 50 years. They added the pool room around 1963, hiring the original builder and his crew to construct it. I am lucky to have several snapshots of the room and pool being built. Over the years, they meticulously cared for the house and yard. Jim and Cissy bought the house in 2005 from the estate.

He and Cissy redecorated a bit and made some changes, which might be cringe-inducing for dedicated midcentury-ists, including new bathrooms and updated the kitchen with the granite countertops you see in the pictures. Fortunately, we don’t mind the updates, and they left a lot of the good vintage details intact, including the magnificent circa 1964 St. Charles kitchen cabinets, Vent-a-hood, laundry room, and pool room. There are two vintage NuTone doorbells and a working NuTone Heata-venta-light. The house retains its original woodwork and moldings, and has a great, comfortable mid century feel.

The Hobart KitchenAid dishwasher was rescued (by me, the finder and fixer of things) from our local Habitat for Humanity store and restored, so it works as good as new, plus the house is home to our mostly mid-century traditional furniture and accessories and my vintage appliance collection.

Thanks again for letting me share the house on your site! Stephenville has some other cool mid-century homes, including a terrific 1961 era Eichler-style on an estate-sized lot. The original owner died this year and I’m not sure what the family has planned, but I went to the estate sale and it’s a wonderful, untouched example of uninhibited sixties modern! I will keep an eye on it and if it comes up for sale, send some pictures.

Thank you for hosting this fabulous site, which is interesting, educational, and always inspiring!
Sincerely,
James

To view slide show, click on the first thumbnail, the image will enlarge, and you can move forward or back via the arrows below each image. You can start the slide show anywhere…

.
Thank you so much for sending all these photos, Robi, and for sharing your story. What’s particularly interesting about your kitchen, is that, if you showed it to folks who weren’t into retro or mid century, I bet they’d think it was a modern “today” kitchen – what with those granite countertops and marble (?) backsplash and floor tiles. No question, those St. Charles cabinets have staying power. I recently saw my first set of vintage St. Charles cabinets “live” at the Re-Store in Springfield. Woah, those cabinets are honkin’ heavy — heavier than my Genevas, even. I am now a first-hand believer that St. Charles’ were top-of-the-line among steel kitchen cabinets. That said: I am pretty sure my Genevas will last forever, too.
.

Congratulation on your and Robi’s new/old home — it’s a lucky house!

Kersten and James create a retro blue bathroom for their 1957 ranch home Kersten and James are gold-star Retro Renovators: With determination, imagination...
Custom green 1964 St. Charles kitchen Look at this lovely St. Charles kitchen that appeared this...
Chris and Angela’s 1964 mid-century modern ranch – 18 photos! Chris and Angela wrote to me a few months ago,...