Category — Architecture

Serendipidy can be your friend. In my case, a maps.google.com search for the fastest route to Dillon Beach told me part of my drive should be on Roblar Road. It’s been a while since I drove that stretch of Sonoma County between Petaluma and Sebastopol, so this morning I went for a drive.

Man, it was beautiful.

Part of it was the light, but the magic was part green, part quiet, part animal, and a big dollop of pace. I was lucky that I left an hour early for my appointment. I had hoped to get some pictures on the drive, but the final results were much better than I had hoped for. It wasn’t just that I got some fun pictures, but that my mood got a chance to get mellow by sharing some space and time with a very special place.

The critters that get to hang out all day munching luscious Sonoma County grass may not notice that they live in a great area, but I think the California Cheese commercials on TV actually capture something when they talk about California cows. I haven’t seen any TV for sheep, but they seem to be in on the action as well.

The one bee buzzing around the picnic was an issue that I hadn’t been aware of until my drive today. There are efforts to open a quarry on Roblar Road. I don’t know enough to take sides on this, but I feel strongly that a neighborhood as peaceful and rural as Roblar Road deserves a chance to opt out of the path of progress if they choose to. You can read more details of the issues in this Sonoma West Times and News article

Not too far from the energy of the Airport Business Park and Shiloh’s Wal Mart and Home Depot is Faught Road. It’s only a couple of miles long, but it’s miles away in space and time from the urbanizing 101 corridor. This classic farm house on six acres is architecturally pleasing on many levels. The three dormer roof lines echo the larger gable and break up the roof plane. The wrap around porch makes a symmetrical division of the house height and creates blocks of space that comes close to fitting into the “golden ratio” that has always been a pleasing shape. The house itself from the peak of the gable to the width of the entire structure is also close to the golden ratio.

The photograph to the right uses color masks to show the way the house’s design is a series of golden ratios. The use of these proportions is probably an unconscious element on the architect’s part; just good design that pleases the eye.

I had a chance to visit a terrific ten acre property on Eastside Road near Forestville today. You’re never quite sure what you’re going to find on a place you can’t see from the road, but I have been driving past this secluded driveway for years and have never had a chance to see the house or gardens. First, let me say that you aren’t going to see it here either. Instead, I’m going to tease you with a handful of lovely details and encourage you to visit the “official” web site.

Small details matter to me. This place is filled with deft touches that indicate a deep affection for doing things right. The picture you’re looking at might be hard to make out, so feel free to click on it to see the larger view. What you are seeing is a gently curved piece of wood that serves as a bridge at the pond. Wood has the potential to be very slippery when it’s wet, and the builder has taken the time to carefully insert metal bumps to provide traction. It’s subtle and almost invisible when you’re walking, but it represents a care that is echoed elsewhere on the property.

At the same bridge, there is a lovely railing detail with a curved copper hand cleanly attached to the post. The two side rails are close enough to provide a secure feeling when crossing the bridge and are big enough to feel comfortable in the hand and look correct in the scale of the garden and pond. Again, just the right touch of design sense, choice of materials, and execution to be a fine detail.

The entry courtyard, home of the cactus in the first picture, is also graced with nice details. In addition to the diamond plate cactus, there’s a multi-tiered fountain, and a second small piece of metal art to the left of the gate and a host of fruit trees and flowers. The gate itself has two wooden swinging doors and a bell in the opening in the door that has a melodious gong sound to announce visitors. The whole thing is topped with an exuberant potato vine in a pretty arch. Details make the difference on this Sonoma County Russian River valley parcel.

Healdsburg has an interesting architectural history with ornate Victorians and classic Craftsman era homes downtown interspersed with more humble bungalows, and the rare, but ugly, 1970’s condo complex.

Healdsburg’s Growth Management Program mandates an average of 30 new homes per year. For the past several years, that program has funneled growth into Area A, in the northern part of Healdsburg. Part of the planning was to encourage diversity of style, and that has turned out to be as architecturally interesting as was hoped for when residential development was encouraged in this small, hilly neighborhood.

Almost half of the lots in Area A have been built on, and the Clear Ridge subdivision, which was the first to start building, is looking quite complete. There’s a strong Mediterranean feel in general in this neighborhood, but there’s been a lot experimentation with roofs, wall textures and materials, and styles.

The amount of experimentation is very interesting in itself, and the end result of all the variation adds to the charm and visual interest in these view-rich homes.

At the foot of Clear Ridge Drive where it intersects Poppy Hill a new house is nearing completion that is a beautiful example of the designer’s vision. Stone foundations with natural wood siding and copper flashing and gutters are traditional elements that are used to great effect by the designer. The repetitive roof planes and eaves are beautiful. For my taste, this is one of the most elegant and timeless houses in Healdsburg.

If you have some time on one of these harvest weekends, have a drive through this area to see what’s going on. We do have a couple of buildable lots for sale if you think you might like to live in the neighborhood.

It was beautiful driving weather today, so I thought I’d check out some fixers along Bodega Highway. Northwood Golf Club is a beautiful spot for a little recreation, but I didn’t have time for nine holes, let alone eighteen, so I just stopped to admire the redwood shaded grass for a minute and headed west. I took a quick detour into Monte Rio since I remembered a pretty gate at the Village Inn that would help flesh out my gate postings.

Just as I rememberd, this iron gate was roofed in foliage that was echoed at an interior courtyard gate. This inn is nestled in the redwoods along the banks of the Russian River so it doesn’t really need the addition of a green oasis like an urban location might, but we believe in plenty of nature in west Sonoma County.

If a couple of measly redwoods don’t give you enough plant material in your life, you can stick some plants on your fence and gates…and add some planters for good measure. Actually, all kidding aside, the “doorness” created by the ivy in the gate is an important element to add human scale to the environment, particularly in a redwood forest that reaches so high into the sky. The gate in the first photo is just visible on the lower left of this image and you can get a sense for the sheer size of the redwoods, both height and girth. The Village Inn has done a good job at building a comfortable and cozy environment within the redwoods.

I was creating some graphic headers for this site and realized that I had just made a whole bunch of pictures of entropy in action. I could do a complicated discussion of the second law of thermodynamics, but you can read that here if you’re interested. From our real world perspective, entropy is iron rusting, roofs sagging, paint peeling, and all the other signals that what was once orderly is becoming chaotic. The effects of gravity, rain, freezing, and other natural processes are at work on our buildings from the day they are completed. We only need to do a few things well to keep our shelters functioning well. Here’s your short list of absolutely positively should do tasks.

Stay Dry. It’s a simple command. Harder to do than it sounds, however, since nature is hard at work trying to sneak water into your building systems. Rain, flood, groundwater, low house elevation, and high winds work on bad shingles, missing ridges, clogged gutters, improper flashing, leaking doors and windows, bad weatherstripping, ineffective corner trim, bad building paper installation, and I’m just getting started with the external threats. Actually, that’s almost a complete list, but most of your major water problems are going to start with something in the first half dozen items. What’s illustrated very clearly in this photo is a roof with half the shingles missing. When the rain starts falling directly on your plywood, you are looking at some serious entropy, baby. I’d rather have a blue tarp than a shingle-less roof.

This sad structure is missing more than one window. The roof could be in perfect condition, but open windows are going to let in the rain and once that starts, it’s not gonna be good. What happens is that the wall and the floors both start to suffer expansion and contraction and materials like wallboard (sheetrock) and cheap trim materials start to decay almost immediately. It doesn’t take very long before structural damage to wall studs, floor joists, and subfloor materials starts to happen.

This is a great example of a floor and wall framing intersection that has suffered a catastrophic amount of water damage. Click on the image (or any image on this blog) for a large image of rot that’s beyond repair. Water did this. It does it all the time. Stay Dry!

One of the saddest things we experience in the real estate business is a building collapse due to the inability of heirs to make decisions on maintenance issues. There are frequently urgent needs for roof repairs that were deferred during the final years before someone passes. Some heirs want to sell and others may want to fix and others just don’t know and before anyone notices, the building has already fallen into complete ruin. Everybody loses when that happens, so if you find yourself arguing about what to do with Grandma’s house some day, just remember entropy and get the blue tarps ready.

I headed up to Occidental where I needed to get pictures of some of the Italian style family restaurants for an article Wild Jane is writing on the main sonoma.net site. I made sure to get photos of both the Union Hotel and the classic Howard’s Cafe two blocks up the street. The Union Hotel is a whole complex of buildings including a pizzeria, saloon, ballroom, and a residence at the end of the street. I had mentioned a few posts back how gates can be used as inviting features within a longer property divider. This mixed residental and commercial fence is a useful reminder that in a town with busy restaurants and saloons, the good citizens living next door probably want some peace and quiet.

There isn’t a residential break apart from the driveway in this long fence. It’s a fairly elegant “stay out” sign. There is, of course, a pretty gate into the restaurant’s courtyard and a driveway gate for the residence.

Howard’s Cafe is a beautifully converted residence with great original detailing on the lower and upper covered porches and eaves. It’s a lovely spot and one of my favorite breakfast hangouts on Sunday when I can get away. If you get a chance to stop by, have a look at the detailing on the upper porch beam where they echo the post-top detailing in the middle of the span. It’s a nice touch that you absolutely won’t see in production building today. Of course, you’re not there just to look at the architecture. The food really is great.

The builders also created a very intricate detail at the eaves that’s a little busy for my taste, but it’s certainly a great example of what pattern books, the power saw and an abundance of wood made possible. Sort of like desktop publishing in 1986…too many fonts, colors, and styles, but hey, see what I can do.

The Potter Schoolhouse in Bodega is one of the few remaining buildings from Alfred Hitchcock’s filming of “The Birds”. It’s been a schoolhouse, bed and breakfast, and private residence. I’m a fan of the simple symmetry of the building with the round-top windows, corner columns, and octagonal tower. It’s a timeless building without the gingerbread of a Queen Anne or the stripped down plainness of the Craftsman style. There are a couple of other buildings in Bodega that I really like.

This simple residence features dramatic yellow painted quoins which are elements that were traditionally used to imitate how stone walls meet at corners. These wooden quoins are common in buildings of the late 1800’s and appear in everything from a Italianate to a Queen Anne to this plainer example. One of my favorite fixers on North St in Healdsburg shares this detail.

The final gem on my trip was this attractive two story, two porch farmhouse behind a white picket fence. The eaves, porches, and windows all have nice detailing that is highlighted by the simple horizonal siding. The relatively steep, hipped roof and arched windows make this a good example of an Italianate style building. Just outside the picket fence is this old weathered sign which probably proclaimed this as an inn or commercial establishment. Now it’s a great example of the forces of nature on human construction.

I’ve bemoaned the loss of stone and brick as building materials due to earthquakes. We end up with a lot of faux walls where a thin stone veneer is glued to concrete block or even wood framing. This Freestone property has always had one of the most beautiful wooden fences in Sonoma County. They are in the process of adding a stone entrance to the property and we can see the solution for an earthquake resistant stone wall.

If you look carefully at the large image you get from clicking on the thumbnail, you’ll see that the stone being used here is real, and almost half a foot thick. You’ll see the reinforcing steel emerging from the earthquake resistant reinforced concrete block wall that becomes the bond that ties the rock and concrete block together. It’s not cheap to build this way, but it’s the only way to get an authentic stone wall that will pass building codes and remain standing when the next big one rumbles by. I tip my hat to the V bar C folks for doing it right, and for keeping that beautiful fence intact.

One other facet of the changing face of Sonoma County emerged when I was taking a picture of the wooden fence. If you look carefully at the upper right corner of the image (click to enlarge), just past the stump-sliced V bar C sign, you’ll see some of the most westerly grapevines in Sonoma County marching down the hillside. Ten years ago this would have been considered outside the range of grape growing climate. Now it’s home to the lovely Pinot Noir.

Twin Valley, home of the Macmurray Ranch used to have the most wonderful trimmed redwoods. The underside of the trees along the fence line of their western pasture used to be groomed as crisply as a golf course green…just upside down. It was the cows, of course, reaching as high as they could to nibble on the emerging green redwood needles. I’m embarassed to say it, but it took me longer than it should have to see the cause and effect relationship. As I was driving through Freestone today I noticed this willow tree with an equally crisp bottom trim job. Alert observers will see not just the standing cow, but her partner in inverted mowing laying down on the job.

Freestone is a charming hamlet. Osmosis Spa, an inn, a great bakery, a rhododendron nursery across the road, and a classic general store are a few of the businesses here where the road to Occidental intercepts the Bodega Highway. There’s also the world’s most over-built foundation. I’m not sure how this came to be, but I’ve never seen a water tank with such a forest of massive timbers holding it up. It would make an interesting challenge at Berkeley’s school of engineering to see if they could figure out just how much this foundation could hold.