East Bay Home and Gardens

About the House: On Getting Caught

By Matt Cantor
Thursday June 05, 2008
There’s an old aphorism that says that it’s easier to ask for forgiveness than permission. Bad phrasing, I’d say. What this old saw attempts to convey is that you are more likely to get what you want when you go ahead and do something and face have to ask for forgiveness than if you were to ask for permission in advance, facing the possibility that your desire may be withheld. -more-

Pondering the Pillar

By Jane Powell
Thursday June 05, 2008
Like the Wicked Witch of the West, the humongous clinker brick pillars of this bungalow appear to be melting onto the lawn, as does the chimney. This bungalow is still extant in Seattle.
In my 20-odd years of studying and writing about bungalows, there are a few questions that have not been answered to my satisfaction. One of those questions is “What’s up with the big honkin’ pillars?” When the bungalow was exported from Britain to America to become an architectural symbol of the American Arts and Crafts Movement (and how that came to be is another question, which will not be answered here), gigantic pillars didn’t seem to be part of the deal. -more-