Storybook House Downloadable Cardmodels:

Fairy Tale, Disneyesque, Hansel and Gretel- these are all common synonyms for the Storybook Style we've chosen for a worthy collection. Its a rambunctious portrayal of medieval Europe, and surely the most delightful home style of the twentieth century. It appeared briefly on the American scene in the early 1920s, reached its flowering shortly before the Great Depression, and was all but forgotten by the late 1930s. Storybook Style houses were the product of architects and builders with a distinct flair for theater, a love of fine craftsmanship, and not least a good sense of humor-attributes that make them especially endearing to the jaded modern eye. This unique style appeared briefly on the American scene in the early 1920s, reached its flowering shortly before the Great Depression, and was all but forgotten by the late 1930s. Storybook Style houses were the product of architects and builders with a distinct flair for theater, a love of fine craftsmanship, and a good sense of humor.

The Spadena House- aka The Witch's House, Beverly Hills, Ca This is an excellent example of Storybook Style, as well as its most literal link to the film industry. The house was designed by Harry Oliver in 1921 and constructed in Culver City to provide offices and dressing rooms for a movie studio. With its cartoonishly lopsided walls and roofs, the entire design is a clever caricature of dilapidated mediaeval antiquity. It is known for its fanciful design that intentionally cause it to look dilapidated and old, and is a landmark included on tours of the area. The house appeared in a number of silent films of the era before being moved to Beverly Hills in 1934 and converted into a residence. The residence still appears to this day in movies, including 1995's 'Clueless'. In July of 1998, the Witch's House was sold for $1.3 million to Michael Libow, a real estate agent who plans to preserve the historic house. Also, there is a new intricate garden wall which accurately reflects the textures of the original building... an addition which looks as if it had always been there.)

The lovingly crafted front door of the Spadena House is composed of odd-shaped wooden slabs with their edges rounded over to make them look old.	Dormers, which in medieval times merely provided access to the loft of a farmhouse via an external ladder, evolved into windows after the adoption of interior stairs made lofts more convenient for sleeping.	In Storybook Style homes, dormers are generally small-scaled in keeping with the modest scale of the homes. Sometimes they are 100% decorative.

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Fiddlersgreen Story Book Collection:

Robert's Roost (first model) Clockmakers Cottage (in progress)

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Here's a tour of a few Story Book Houses to wet your imagination- (should it even need wetting....)

Carmel California is well known for its Hansel & Gretel building style. Note the curved sides	An old photo of a rambling home in France not intended to be Story Book House but truly is anyway.	Rush hour in Brubach, Germany..Located on the right bank of the Rhein
A pair of diminutive towers flank the main entrance of this Long Beach home dating from 1928. It seems to be mimicking the drawbridge of a medieval castle.	The Tuck Box retail store of 1926 has inspired many a Carmel architect since and has been instrumental in establishing the quaint atmosphere of this seaside attraction	Kudos to the loving Dad and Mom who put this one together. Its so much harder to build 'wonky'
Welcome to Richey and Karen Morgan's Olalla Washington home begun in 1980 and is still a work in progress.	The handcrafted 300 pound front door with flame cut hammered hinges. The image of a Hobbit springs to mind.	Comically over-the-top hinges decorate the massive hand crafted garage door. Note the bird house at the peak of the roof.

Cookie Hill was hidden away in the little Sierra town of Pollock Pines.,el 4000 ft. Kitchen on the left, living room in the center with the sleeping area above. Note the tower is in the shape of a giant speaker which would amplify the enclosed pipe chimes when played. The rear entrance, patterned after rustic Holland, is shown to the right. The owner lived in the UK for a few years and was foolish enough to rent it temporarily to a seemingly nice family man who turned out to be a sleaze bag druggie who trashed it along with the help from his sleaze bag pals.. The El Dorado building department leveled it in 1994. The bill was the value of the property

Shower room with fireplace on the right. This was the last photo taken of Cookie Hill The porch was supported by two full sized hobbits sculpted from concrete. A length of re-bar firmly set the support into his curly hair and they were mortared to the river rock column below. You guessed it...This was my (Chip Fyn) home built my yours truly and a few of his friends

This is a view of ' Normandy Village', an eight unit apartment building, next to the University of California, Berkeley	We all need a little place to go to when we need a little peace. This has a Masque-style shingle domed roof
A roofer's delight ! Weathered shakes in abundance shouts of a beach side location. The style has a Scandinavian feel	Elegantly curved aslar masonry on this Milwaukee home mates nicely with the rectangular chimney to the right.
Spokane's spectacularly ivy-draped Cunningham House built in 1929	A steeply peaked roof, deeply recessed front door, and rounded steps work to bring this Milwaukee residence off axis composition all together
This looks like a grand kids playhouse at the bottom of the garden. Look at the 'created' swag roof and wonder how they did that. Warped lumber perhaps ?	Kunstdrechslerei (wood turning shop) in Schwerin, Germany. Notice that the 'Jetty' is only along the right hand side

 

Chimney of brick and rubble stone. Perfect for Santa to climb every Christmas	This massive chimney combines crazed brick and stone with two differently shaped sides	A tower-like 'Bee Hive' chimney capped off by an arcaded cap and finial	A delightful Carr Jones chimney combining both a rectangular and a round forms	A roof-side view of the Morgan's 'Hobbit' house. (more above). The materials are colored asphalt shingles it would seem. These guys must have had money to burn

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Bibury, Cotswolds, England	Broadway Tower- Cotswolds, England
Broadway, Cotswolds, England	Burford, Cotswolds, England
Burton-on-the-Water, Cotswolds, England	Burton-on-the-Water, Cotswolds, England
Chedworth	Chalford
Castleton	Burton on-the-Water
Cheltenham	Chipping Campden
A Cotswold Farm	Eastleach, Cotswolds
Some interesting -and very British- architectural embellishments
Glouster-Cathedral, Cotswolds	Northleach, Cotswolds
Painswick Church Yard	Sappertpon, Cotswolds
Chipping Campden, Cotswolds	Cirencester, Cotswolds
Some typical Pub Signs
Winchcombe, Cotswolds	Glouster, Cotswolds
Slad-Valley, Cotswolds	Snowshill, Cotswolds (my favourite!)
Stanton	Stow-on-the-Wold
Stow-on-the-Wold, Cotswolds	Cheltenham, Cotswolds
Stanway, Cotswolds	Sudeley Castle, Cotswolds
Upper Slaughter, Cotswolds	Lower Slaughter, Cotswolds
Lower Swell, Cotswolds	Minchinhampton, Cotswolds
Winchcombe, Cotswolds	Woton-Under-Edge, Cotswolds

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