News to share with all my readers... We've accepted an offer to sell our house. We're downsizing and moving to an apartment in the next month. Since so many of my blog posts were about features in our 1926 house, I'm going to rerun those posts (besides, I won't have time to work on new ones for several weeks.) Hope you enjoy these posts even though you might have seen them before.
I've written blogs about different items in my house, but I've never discussed what type of house I live in. Our house was built in 1926, so what type of houses were built back then?
It is a bungalow- a one and one-half story house with a low pitched roof - very popular in 1920s. The term bungalow originated in India as a dwelling of any size, but when bungalows came to the Unites States they were generally small homes like ours.
Ours was built out of brick so it is holding up very well for its age. In fact, when we moved in, all the windows were the original rope and pulley type. They're squeaky, but the ropes and pulleys still work. Since we've moved in, we've started replacing the old windows for warmth in the winter.
A bungalow usually had the living space on the ground floor and a full basement. It was common for them to have gables built in the roof to expand the upper floor and have access to light and fresh air. The upstairs areas were used for attic space. Most also had large porches on the front of the house, often enclosed to make sun rooms.
Ours was built with all the modern amenities of the time - electricity and plumbing. Of course, each room had only one ceiling light in the center, with a switch on the wall, and one electrical outlet, whether you needed it or not. Guess people back then didn't like a lot of light in a room. Not too convenient for modern usage, though. Both of our bedrooms still only have the single outlet in each room. Makes life interesting sometimes.
Our kitchen has the original electrical outlet from when it was constructed. The configuration of it is very interesting, so I'll attach a picture. When we first moved in we were skeptical that it would still be hooked to the power supply, but it was.The upstairs bedroom and bathroom were added many years after the home was constructed. Because of the low-pitch of the roof, it's difficult to walk around in most of the room except for the middle peak of the ceiling. At least there are more plugs up there to use.
The low-pitch of the roof-line make the stairs very interesting to go up and down. The clearance space at one point is only four feet high. No gable was placed in the roof over the stairs to make it more usable. That might be one thing we change in the years ahead. (GUESS THE NEW OWNER WILL HAVE TO DO THAT NOW)Thank goodness our children are all grown and married. With only two people in the house, we don't use the upstairs much at all. It's a guest suite when the grandchildren come to visit us. They like having their own little "castle" upstairs since you have to climb the steps almost like going up into a turret.
We love our bungalow even is if it is rather small. The historical woodwork and built in cabinets far outweigh what it might lack in size.
We will sorely miss this wonderful house, but it's time to move on with our lives.
Does your kitchen have much counter space? My great-grandparents lived at 509 64th Street in Wauwatosa. No kitchen counter space, but they had a huge pantry that accommodated a table where Martha could work.
ReplyDeleteThe kitchen has been remodeled so I have all that's nice about a modern kitchen - dishwasher, microwave, counter space - plus the historical pantry. It's wonderful.
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