Every once in a while I run across one of those increasingly rare houses which still maintains a true-to-the-period or original paint scheme. When I do, I have to photograph it because I know that at some point in the future that particular look will not be valued. Such was the case with this delightfully playful late 1950’s or early 1960’s ranch house. Clad in limestone and dark brown scalloped weatherboard, the house is smashing with pink trim! Fairly common at the time it was built, pink as an exterior color has fallen from favor.
Then many years passed. The side street was widened and a stone wall adjacent to the garage was lost in the process. The change of trim color was inevitable. Fortunately, aside from the new garage doors, there were no substantial changes to the exterior – only a swap of pink for a more masculine and contemporary taupe for the trim (second photo below):
This house is a good example of the power that color has to set the tone for a house — and how that house is perceived.
Is this what is called storybook architecture?
I appreciate rather than love the style.
Here is a more modest version:
https://www.google.com/maps/place/Emporia,+KS+66801/@38.4158202,-96.1827663,3a,75y,160.67h,86.71t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sGR3GgJ6evi6UeFD1Ci-HWw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4m5!3m4!1s0x87b94c2e7efbe5f7:0x1922ab348d2afacd!8m2!3d38.403903!4d-96.1816626!6m1!1e1?hl=en
And, yes, the pink was better.
Thanks, Ross – the house you link to does have a lot in common with the ranch house above. The Storybook style was most popular in the 1920’s, but clearly survived in a diluted form long after that. Here’s a link to a page specifically about Storybook ranch houses: http://www.midcenturyhomestyle.com/styles/storybook-ranch.htm