Tales from the UC

Why do I like this picture?

Well, let's take a look. Here we have two completely different styles. One is an  English cottage and the other is a newly built, 2005 contemporary.  Individually these homes are great, but what makes this so cool is the fact that these two homes are right next door  to each other and are living cohesively and beautifully.

***This next part is purely assumptions...Just go with me.***

Rather than finding a beautiful lot in a beautiful new neighborhood, this smart (and tasteful) contemporary homeowner opted for the tear down route. Which is a great idea. Good for him. Now, if you look closely at the cottage style home, it actually looks to me like this was once maybe a rambler. Originally, it was probably a pre war home, maybe 1920 ish... But I think this homeowner opted for the renovating route. It looks like he added a second level to this once boring home, turning it into a beautiful English cottage that anyone (with taste) would love to have.

I saw this picture from one of my favorite blogs: A Daily Dose of Architecture. They were highlighting the contemporary's architect, (Thank you Teeple Architects for your innovative design) but the concept of the neighborhood caught my eye. How wonderful that people are starting to tear down, renovate, remodel etc... No, you won't get  to live a "theme" neighborhood... (wouldn't that be nice) Instead, you will have the opportunity to live next to more aware neighbors,  better approaches to design and probably (judgment) more creative people. If I recall correctly, this is from somewhere in Toronto.

Although, I am skeptical I could pull this off in my area, (The whole city would be up in arms) I would encourage anyone with the opportunity to follow these leaders.

Good job on doing your part to cut down on the urban sprawl.

Cool facades. Cool concepts. Cool homeowners. 

Yes, I did just build a home in a new neighborhood. I know, a bit hypocritical. In my defense I have remodeled, renovated and practically torn down. It was great every time. We just couldn't find a neighborhood we could take advantage of this time... Give me a break. I never said I was perfect, I only said I wanted to be.