Bagging on Peg's Back at Work House
Fitzpatrick – First Peg, these folks were extremely lucky you agreed to come in and rescue their job. Had they not had a prior relationship with you, they would have had a hard time coming up with someone to fix their mess, period, let alone for a reasonable amount.
I’ve seen the house Peg’s griping about. It’s in a historic district of our fair city, and what these clients have chosen to do to it has actually lowered its value. For instance, as I recall, it’s a kit-type bungalow (a simplified Craftsman that one could buy as a kit back in the day) and the owners replaced the front door with one of those god awful contraptions of panels, beveled glass and curlicue brass. They also opted to replace their fenestration with white vinyl windows with fake grids. At least they’re double-hung. Wood windows folks, with clad exteriors. It’s the only way to go to give a house like this it’s due.
But I disagree with your pronouncement on oak, Peg. It’s all in the stain and the grain. I’ve seen great slab-front pickled oak cabinets in a modern kitchen and terrific quarter sawn oak recessed panels in a Craftsman house. As always, the details and the context matter.
If these clients had spent a few hundred dollars on design consultation they would have saved thousands in lost value. A grand or so on an architect and/or kitchen designer and they could have had something really special and valuable; a bungalow renovation of integrity on a beautiful tree-lined street in a historic neighborhood. Instead, they have a badly-modernized home that doesn’t realize its potential aesthetically, as an investment or as a member of the community.
I’ve seen the house Peg’s griping about. It’s in a historic district of our fair city, and what these clients have chosen to do to it has actually lowered its value. For instance, as I recall, it’s a kit-type bungalow (a simplified Craftsman that one could buy as a kit back in the day) and the owners replaced the front door with one of those god awful contraptions of panels, beveled glass and curlicue brass. They also opted to replace their fenestration with white vinyl windows with fake grids. At least they’re double-hung. Wood windows folks, with clad exteriors. It’s the only way to go to give a house like this it’s due.
But I disagree with your pronouncement on oak, Peg. It’s all in the stain and the grain. I’ve seen great slab-front pickled oak cabinets in a modern kitchen and terrific quarter sawn oak recessed panels in a Craftsman house. As always, the details and the context matter.
If these clients had spent a few hundred dollars on design consultation they would have saved thousands in lost value. A grand or so on an architect and/or kitchen designer and they could have had something really special and valuable; a bungalow renovation of integrity on a beautiful tree-lined street in a historic neighborhood. Instead, they have a badly-modernized home that doesn’t realize its potential aesthetically, as an investment or as a member of the community.
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