It’s that time of year again; a time when haunted houses bask in fleeting celebrity and a time when the horrific gains new prominence.
Speaking of horrific, get a load of these formerly normal structures which have received creepy alterations… and have a happy Halloween!
A clunky addition to the back of a Victorian house includes an enclosed stairwell… a decorative “Mansard” roof snakes along the top of it.
This former ranch-style house has been SuperSized with what appears to be a Neo-Shed addition! Source: zillow.com
The remains of an old house lurk beneath this facade of synthetic stucco; the fake quoins are impressive – but not in a good way!
Is it just me or does an enormous wall of wood planks stuck to a brick chimney seem more than incongruous? Source: zillow.com
Haphazard window type, infill, and a missing cornice section make this once-beautiful building tough to look at.
This former Craftsman bungalow is now in full “Victorian” drag. The upper portions of the porch piers have been decorated as pedestals while the battered (tapered) columns have been given moldings to create a panel effect. An Italianate scroll-sawn balustrade is capped with Colonial style handrails – and anchored with box newels. In the gable, original Craftsman roof beams have been bolstered with Italianate brackets. Paneled fascia boards and a scroll-sawn gable ornament complete the look. Thanks to Chad for finding this! As he notes, you can still see the J-channel of the vinyl siding quite plainly in spite of all the expensive millwork. Image courtesy Google Street View.
Not scared yet? Here are some Before and Afters to send a shiver down your spine:
BEFORE. Image courtesy Google Street View.
AFTER! I’ll sure be happy when this current fad for natural cedar goes away. Source: zillow.com
BEFORE: This house did not get remodeled, but one identical to it (across the street) received a new addition… Image courtesy Google Street View.
AFTER! The original ranch-style house can be seen at right. Source: zillow.com
BEFORE: Innocuous, maybe a bit boring, but blending in well with its historic neighbors. Image courtesy Google Street View.
AFTER! More cedar! Weird “landscaping”! Source: zillow.com
These are so great! Happy Halloween Eric!
Same to you, Camille! I’m sure that there are much scarier alterations out there, but Halloween snuck up on me this year and I didn’t plan in advance. Have a spooktacular evening!
Ouch! It should be a crime to slaughter innocent houses this way!
It’s already a crime in my book!
it is just you. I don’t know how you can malign that attractive red mulch. combined with that stark white crushed rock and a border of plastic flowers, it gives curb appeal a whole new meaning.
Aah, I’m OK with that last one, minus the blood splatters on the parkway landscaping. I wouldn’t have picked those finishes, but I know what they were striving for. I think if you removed the landscaping and the fence this would be much improved.
Thanks for the laughs!
Agreed; the landscaping is the worst of it. I really don’t mind the “natural look” of cedar in new construction, but it really grates on my preservation-oriented perspective when I see it imposed upon historic buildings which were intended to have painted finishes.