Annie Maybeck influenced features?

February 23, 2016 by Evan Hart in maybeck

Annie Maybeck, Bernard's wife and great love, had a big influence on the man and on his work. They were involved with what we might now consider the hippy or environmentalist tone of Berkeley way before the Summer of Love. California was still in its early phases of development around 1900 and Annie and Bernard, along with their artist, poet, and environmental friends were involved in a number of clubs and institutions that were intended to form the blossoming SF Bay Area towards a sort of utopian ideal. They were involved with the Hillside Club which was focused on the Berkeley Hills which intended to implement a set of design principles that would impart a uniform tone of harmony and a certain lifestyle focused on the beauty and outdoor lifestyle possible in a California. The homes were more seen as "shelter in case of rain" rather than asserting themselves above or over nature. The homes were humbly nestled into the hillside and raw and "exposed" natural materials of redwood, cedar, stone and concrete. Paint was seen as unharmonious with the natural surroundings.

(Our home matches very well to the original ideals presented in a Hillside Homes presentation and pamphlet produced by the Hillside Club. )

But the home being part of and second to natural California beauty wasn't the only concern in the development of the Bay Area. Another way to take a backseat to the natural shape and character of the hillside was to create winding roads that didn't require terracing or cutting down trees. Annie was especially interested in the preservation of trees in the area since nearly all of the old growth redwood had been logged by the turn of the century and it seemed development might mean all the big old trees might be cut down in the name of progress unless someone was there to stop them.

And that she did! In one case, Annie famously marched down to city hall to stop an oak tree from being cut down that was in the middle of what was going to become a street. It was dubbed "Annie's Oak." This article sums it up nicely:

http://berkeleyplaques.org/plaque/annie-s-oak/

So what does that have to do with us? Well we have a tunnel in our house through the master bedroom that we believe used to have a tree growing through it!

Tree ramp through the original lone bedroom

I'm not suggesting that Annie Maybeck designed our house, but rather that Bernard was inspired or influenced by her activism to build our house around a tree. The two fed off each other and shared a lot of strong views about the natural order and our place in it. I think this is a very significant detail for any Bay Area home as it exemplifies the the type of thinking and activism going on around that time, led in part by the Maybecks. B. Maybeck had always considered the landscaping to be a part of the design and he often had nature built in or built around the design but never to such a literal extent. One example is the First Church of Christ Scientist that many consider his masterpiece. It was built next to a huge old redwood tree (no longer standin) that Maybeck called "the Steeple."

The inspiration for this idea could have also come from something I read in Maybeck's Landscapes by Dianne Harris. She writes, "No photographs of [naturalist John] Muir's Yosemite Dwelling have come to light, but documents describe a structure constructed entirely of wood, with a stream running through the house, and ferns growing through the floor. The house sat adjacent to the Hutchings Hotel of the 1860s where Muir had once been a guest, the lodging famed for the enormous cedar tree that punctured the hotel's living room floor and extended through the roof."

Another feature of our house we believe was designed by Annie for 2751 Buena Vista in 1932 is our garage top patio. How could your 1927 house have a feature designed in '32 you ask? Our garage was built without permits between '27 and '39. The original permit does not mention the garage, while the '39 additions have it listed as existing. So our Maybeck looking garage was probably done in '33-38. From my research it seems Maybeck tended to use neat little design features for about five to 15 years and at that point they either became part of his repertoire or he shifted his focus elsewhere. One such example would be the exaggerated faux door hinges that were used from around the mid-20s until he retired in 1940. (From what I can tell - not all of his projects have readily available pictures of the front door.)

In Maybeck - The Family View by Jacomena Maybeck she writes, "[Annie] had the carpenters put a floor over a roof and on on top of the garage for decks. 'Don't waste space,' she said."

Our garage with Maybeck features: exaggerated fake hinges that match the front and side doors, a board formed concrete Gothic arch (a key Maybeck touch), and Annie's garage top patio

here are a lot of similarities between our house and the '32 Wallen Maybeck house on 2751 Buena Vista Way. I'm hoping to be able to visit the home soon, owners permitting. If that goes down you'll hear about it here!

In Search of Style

February 19, 2016 by Christina Flores

When Evan and I first saw this house, we were overwhelmed by its design and style. The staged furniture and decor was simple and basic and did not beg for attention in the slightest, which isn’t to say it was not well done because that is exactly what stagers strive for. But once Evan bought the house, we knew that this simplistic style was not what we were going to pursue.

For a second, we did consider furnishing and decorating the house in a way that would match what it must have been like when it was built in 1927, but not only would that be incredibly difficult and expensive, it would be uninspiring to our tastes. So instead, we decided to start off in a logical and budget friendly manner and use what we already had. Luckily, Evan’s love for all things thrifted meant we had a solid starting point. He already had numerous lamps, tables, chairs, and plenty of good ole “bric-a-brac” amongst other items. I had begun to accumulate a bit of decor myself from all the thrifting and estate sale shopping Evan and I had done since we started dating and before. Since the move-in process was quite strenuous (both Evan and I had to move all of our things down stairs from our previous living situations and then back up the way-too-many stairs to the new house), we kind of dumped all of our things in the music and living rooms.

The living room was quite honestly a huge mess for quite some time, but I did not feel it was worth cleaning and setting up until the roof construction was done since an incredible amount of dust and dirt kept falling down into the house. But once construction ended, I was able to clean things up slowly. Then, towards the end of October, I was lucky enough to have my parents and sister come up to help me speed things along. To everyone’s amazement, the room looked like a completely different space by the end of the day. With my dad vacuuming all surfaces, while my mom wiped everything down and I putting things away, we accomplished what I alone would have accomplished in 3-4 weekends in just a few hours.

From that day and on, I have been able to start setting up and decorating the room with all the items Evan and I already had before moving in and those we have since purchased.

If I were to have to name the style we are going for in the living room I would either say “eccentric” or “wonderful thrift vomit.” As I sit here writing this post, I cannot think of a single item in that room that was purchased new. But that is not to say that there won’t be a few someday since, really, the decor is a collection of things Evan and I love and find beautiful and unique. While I am very happy with the state the room is at now, with its budget friendly items and arresting aura, I cannot wait to see where we take it. This room will be forever changing and constantly unique.

Laundry Sink: New Plan, Different Old Sink

February 18, 2016 by Evan Hart in craigslist, diy, salvage

After milling through the salvage yards a while back, I posted earlier that I had decided on the concrete laundry sink since it is readily available and era appropriate. But something always felt off about it - mainly how ugly they always looked and how they usually had hairline cracks and would need a special epoxy to fill the cracks and hold water. Since we're not in a huge rush for a laundry sink, we were waiting for one that was cheap or free and looked good and was the right width. One popped up that was a deep single bowl sink and Christina said that it would be enough sink for us which made me think we could fill the rest of the space with a countertop. It would also work well since the faucet isn't centered at 1/2 way or 3/4 of the way on the backsplash. (Centered on 3/4 would mean the faucet would be centered on the second bowl of the sink which is better than nothing). Any double sink was going to look odd. I measured for a 48" sink or 42" sink and there was no clear way to cheat either sink a little to one side or the other to make it look right by having the sink centered between the bowls or centered on one of the bowls.

I started thinking about the single bowl idea again and I would be able to center the sink on the wall faucet (which couldn't be moved without replacing original tiles which would be a different color). Going back to the start... I thought how about an antique sink, but single bowl and maybe not concrete and I searched for '27 sink and found one that had sold in L.A. The picture got me excited with the cool old style of it -

Hey those look like "Carthage" tiles from Tunisia!  The spacer on the bottom of the stand is because the sink is probably 30-33" tall max while kitchen countertops are 36" — Hey those look like "Carthage" tiles from Tunisia! The spacer on the bottom of the stand is because the sink is probably 30-33" tall max while kitchen countertops are 36"

The sink has an interesting feel to it. The stand reminds me of "peg leg" pedestal bathroom sinks of the time.

The one for sale in L.A. was sold but it looked just one I had seen on Craigslist and I checked and it was still for sale and had the cool stand!

I found the sink for sale locally with the same stand for $200. I'm not paying that but it's been up for a while so I bet I could get them down.

I found the sink I wanted and built an old school countertop around it. The red clay tiles are still easy to get. The cobalt blue sink trim had to be special ordered as the inside corner quarter round tiles - called AUs - are only used to tile in sinks which people don't do much anymore.

The front edge tile is vintage to match the yellow of the backsplash. The original wood side piece was in the living room closet. The wall faucet is still sold at Home Depot. I really like how this looks!

Maybeck Feature: Observation Deck uncovered

February 17, 2016 by Evan Hart in construction

I've been deconstructing the building phases and analyzing the features as they relate to Maybeck's Hillside Homes pamphlet where he goes into his philosophy of building residential hillside homes. The pamphlet has been a godsend as it shows how he liked to build houses like ours and the specific features he liked, most of which are features on our house. Our house is actually a great example of a Maybeck hillside home and the observation deck is one of those very specific details that he liked that were pretty unusual on other homes.

I was thrilled to pull off the tarp of the master closet to see it was (poorly) converted from an observation deck as this is an excellent piece of evidence.

Above you can see the sills of the windows that used to be the open railings of the deck. I know it's original because it has the stucco splatter that's only on the original 1927 part of the house. Above you can also see the drain of the deck coming out under the eave which would allow the rain water to drain through the floor.

Here you can kinda see the interior of the closet used to be the stucco exterior of the house.

Below you can see the roof line is cut out, for an open area to stand and "observe", I suppose. The roof rafters are also cut back in certain areas to allow light into the windows past the large eaves around the house.

The flat roof that was added did not perform well. The "skylight" is simply a plastic pane top screwed to a wood lip. The rules of flashing dictate that you do not penetrate the top of something that is supposed to be waterproof because it will inev… — The flat roof that was added did not perform well. The "skylight" is simply a plastic pane top screwed to a wood lip. The rules of flashing dictate that you do not penetrate the top of something that is supposed to be waterproof because it will inevitably fail

The roof and skylight as well as the weird homemade clerestory windows were built poorly and the whole thing was covered in a tarp which is why I didn't notice what the closet used to be until I started pulling off the tarp to do the roof.

In Maybeck's hillside homes lecture, he says "an observation deck to the West." Ours is facing the East so the house must not be a real Maybeck. Just kidding. The Hillside Home pamphlet is is for the Berkeley Hillside Club, and the views up there are probably mostly to the West. Our house is in a valley so the view is better to the East in our case.

Below is an odd transition to the music room which was added later to the west. This could have been a dormer window or something like that facing the West originally. I'm still doing research on the appearance of this back corner of the house. It's hard to tell as this hall seems to have had the dormer and a back door somewhere which have been redesigned as two different additions at different times were added to this area.

These details will become more clear as we work on a 3D model of the original house and the additions.