Lakeside cottage styles

Walking through Lakeside since 1974, I've seen a lot of changes. For some of these changes I've held the end of the tape measure, since my husband is an architect, who as a sole practitioner in 1994 said he'd never do a Lakeside house, and has now done over 30. Promises. Promises.

I see these cottages/houses a little differently than an architect, or even another homeowner or renter. I see people, sort of, or at least individuals. Mainly I see older women who used to have great bones, a trim figure and hair with a sheen who now have arthritic knees, a few love handles, a hip replacement, colored hair, and an outfit that doesn't flatter their figure. But if you stop and talk (or stare) you see the same sparkling eyes and smile they had 60 or 120 years ago (speaking figuratively here of a building).

So I thought I'd write a few blogs about cottage styles. We do have an archive here and I could just go there and see if there's an original photo or deed, but for now, I'm just going to look. I'm not super terrific on architectural terms, so I'm just starting with what I do know. Hip. Gable. Gambrel. Mansard. Four-square. Dormer. Shed. Porch. Board and batten. Bungalow. Shotgun. Ranch. Modular. Eclectic. And of course, Mish-mash.

Bungalows. Lakeside doesn't seem to have Chicago bungalows (with a stoop) or a true California bungalow (sort of arts and crafty), but there are some wannabes. I've seen every imaginable definition for bungalow, and American Bungalow, the magazine, has a very lengthy, and confusing definition. I'll hold judgement on this.

Hip roofs that are built on square-shaped structures look like pyramids. Those that protect rectangular dwellings end up with two triangular slopes covering the width of the house and two trapezoids running along its length. There are cottages at Lakeside with hip roofs on an almost perfectly square house, and I'm calling those Ross Hips, because a builder by the name of Ross built many of them at the east end and facing the park and tennis courst. I've checked with the current owner of one, and she says Ross went bankrupt during the Depression. I have a 1927 Lakeside program guide with an ad for Ross Cottages. Many have been remodeled and the porches enclosed, but if you stop and look and if the roof hip seems almost to come to a point, that's probably a Ross. When I see a cottage with some funny, odd shaped gables to the side under a hip roof, I suspect it is an early 20th c. remodeling of an old 1880-1890 classic cottage. I'm just saying. . .

Gable roofs are formed from two sloping sides that meet in a ridge at the top. Gabled roofs are common in the midwest with heavy rain or snowfall because they can shed the moisture. They were the most common beginnings here because they are easy to build and allow for ventilation from the lake, with some cottages laid out like a cross, to catch the breezes from the north or south, and allow a pass through.

Since I don't know how many Lakesiders read my blog, or who might be owner or renter, I'll have to keep quiet on really ugly, bodacious, outlandish do-overs, but there are still a few my husband hasn't rescued. I'll try to stay with the good bones, and original intent.

And we're off. The first item will be "Gable to the side, shed dormer to the street."