I am walking with my sister-in-law, Karen,when she decides that I should be photographing the garage doors in Carmel. This is contrary to my Kansas mentality which is “garage doors are ugly- keep them out of every photo if you can”. As she points out various doors, I begin to snap away. She is right. Most are interesting if not “down right “charming.
And as I snap, I begin to think about this “new kind of outbuilding” that began to come about with the advent of cars.
The first garage door worked just like a barn door. (In actuality, that’s exactly what it was.) It was a double door, attached to the garage with strap hinges, that opened outwards. Garage doors in those days were really just basic sheds. And the doors were subjected to heavy wear and tear, being opened and closed almost daily.
The garage door at Tor House is such a door. Of course, the poet Jeffers made it more interesting by hanging the old horse shoes over the door. They are hung this way to keep the good luck from spilling out. Made of brick and covered with ivy , this is more that a shed.
Land being plentiful at the time, garages were detached from the house.
Carmel is quite hilly so some of those barn-door garages fit nicely on the down slope and raised your living room to an ocean view.
“Swiss Chalet”
“Major Coote House”
And “Windamere”
typify this style.
As land became more precious, garages became attached to their homes and echoed the style and color such as this Murphy-built garage at the Hasenyager Home.
The “dolled -up” Carriage style door still seems the most popular in the cottages.
My , oh, my look at all these great details.
This one is embellished with false half-timbering, vines softening its lines and even a “cat” caught on the roof.
This home owner has cleverly faux painted a window box on the door.
While this one has created a focal point with an iron bench used to display her plantings of ivy, swedish ivy, vinca, ferns and begonia. The door is pink!! And a wonderful shade, I might add. My homes association would have me tarred and feathered for this.
Clematis “Montana” is a favorite here as a draper to soften and enhance.
Wow! A two car garage. Very unusual in Carmel-by-the Sea, yet done with such good taste. I would bet that window is purely for looks and it achieves that “in spades”.
At Helen Browns Studio, the passion vine seems to have taken over. So the owner has simply given up and parks outside.
Other garages are now storage and potting sheds like the one at “Lilacs and Laughter”.
These three fascinate me. It is almost impossible to know what function they now serve.
But they are colorful and unique.
I suspect this one is now a bedroom.
I love the garage at Holly Oak Cottage. This is a true garage, but from the back side looks like a small cottage.
This free-standing garage
again mimics the style of its home
and is as lovely as any cottage.
The stone garage at “Biddlestone Cottage” is covered with climbing roses
Landscaped and its windows covered by lace curtains.
Other garages have become Guest Cottages. Don’t you love the awning over the door?
Edgemere Cottages has done this with a garage.
As has “Pied a Terre”
Some even hold cars!!
And here the homeowner has used a car port with its own grass welcome mat.
If you look at some of the garage blueprints and designs available today, you’ll see more than just a few carriage house styles. What people want now is the look of the old carriage house, with it’s barn-style doors.
I have written before about the fenced front yards in Carmel and about the charming gates that welcome us beyond that fence.
I love the diversity. Wooden gates are the most prevalent.
Some sit in wooden fences
Others in stone walls
Many are emblazoned with the name of the cottage they protect.
Arches or arbors with plants climbing on them, cover other gates
Still others are decorated with boxes
Bells
Or planters.
One of my favorites is quite tall but has this heart-shaped cut out in it. I peek through and decide that for this owner “home is where the heart is”.
I love the top of this gate , with its carved slats.
There are half gates
Double gates
White gates
and blue gates.
This is the only green gate I have seen.
“Lilacs and Laughter” has this charming yellow gate
Perhaps you have seen this golden gate on Ocean Ave.
There are fabulous wrought iron gates. Some intricate
some rustic
But I must admit my favorites are the red gates
Which seem to shout out “enter here”.
American Cowbells,
European Cowbells,
Sleigh Bells,
Shop-keeper Bells,
Mechanical door Bells,
Nautical Bells,
Musical Bells
Years ago, bells were used in shops and other public places. They announce a customer or other person coming in if the shopkeeper is at the back of the store. They are still used for small stores and in some people’s homes in Carmel-by-the Sea.
I like this idea so much that I become somewhat obsessed with bells.
“Sticks and Stones”
is one of the first cottages where I really began to notice the different varieties. The owners of this home are world travelers and I suspect that this is a mix of American and European Cowbells.
On the other side of the gate, sleigh bells are added for fun.
I like the way the bells hang separately on the gate
of “Hasenyager House”.
The owners of this sweet,little,pink Murphy House have covered both gates.
Cowbells on the back
Sleigh bells on the front.
“Hearts and Flowers”
is not going to hear this European Cow Bell ring. But it adds a nice touch up in the arch of the entry gate.
This recently sold home ( which I suspect is a Comstock)
Sports a shop bell on the gate.
The most exotic bells
are the ones beside the door of “Twisted Oak”
“The Stewart House”
Combines lots of different bells hung from the clicker of a nautical bell.
“Sunwise Turn”
Sounds a bell when I twist this key
“No. 5 Casanova”
Has this neat gong
“The Major Coote House”is taking no chances
With this nautical bell by the front door
This one on the guest house
And this chiming one on the gate.
The Kuster-Meyer Home
Incorporates the bell into a vignette with a light and “spider”
And adds a knocker for good measure.
“Curtain Call”
Has this sweet trio of sleigh bells hanging from a heart-shaped hook.
I can’t stand it anymore. I must have my own bells. Surprisingly, they are quite hard to find. Everywhere I inquire, they sold their last bell a week ago.
I score my first bell in a Carmel Valley Feed store complete with the strap to hang it around my cow’s neck, should I acquire a cow.
I hound Chip and Kathy of Wittpenn’s Antiques
Wittpenn’s Antiques – Carmel, California – Welcome
Until they find these and bring them from home to the store. These go on my front gate.
Still I am not satisfied because I remember this wonderful bell at
A Great Place.http://www.agreatplacecarmel.com/home.html
Now they are all three mine!!!
Oh, oh. Aslan’s Garden shop has these .Aslan’s Garden |
Maybe hanging on the fence?
There will always be a place in my heart for a cottage. How satisfying to stop in front of a picket fence with a gate that opens under an arbor covered by rambling roses. Ahead is a small home with smoke rising from a chimney. Shutters and window boxes frame the windows and rocking chairs wait on the front porch. SIGH
I love the myriad window boxes in Carmel. They add their welcoming touch to both homes and business. Let me show you some of my favorites, because even if one does not live in a cottage, one can have a window box. They add a bit of “soul”.
I love the way ”Curtain Call” paints the box to match the trim and plants it for spring with
Tulips
Primrose
And Sweet Alyssum
Many simply overflow with geraniums – more correctly referred to as Pelargonium. Although annuals in my native Kansas, in Carmel the temperate climate encourages year round bloom.
“Sea Beauty”
”Casa de Suenos”
Boxes contain stocky Pelargonium hortoum with large double flowers.
Whittakers
But more often hold Pelargonium peltatum with their ivy shaped leaves and spreading, trailing or climbing habit. These “Ivy Geraniums” adore the cooler temperatures of Carmel . They dislike my Kansas City climate when it gets above 85 degrees.
“Meredith’s Linens and Such”
I like this idea of building a shelf beneath the window on which to put the potted plants.
“Hearts and Flowers”
This gardener mixes geranium with fuchsia in rich colors.
Here is a creative mix of geranium
Johnny-Jump-Up
Million Bells
New Guinea Impatiens,
And white Petunias
Not to mention a “lawn” of Chilean Lily.
“Songbird” sports a box full of small,delicate, pastel blooms
Diascia
Lobelia
And Bacopa
A nearby neighbor also uses Lobelia but pairs it with petunia and uses bold color both on her house and in her pots beneath.
“The Irish Rose” just blows me away with this asymmetrical look. Charming.
Cyclamen is another cool weather favorite here.
The Cottage Of Sweets
replaces it in the summer with this riot of
Petunia
New Guinea Impatiens
And melampoduim.
“Chez Joy” faces toward the sun and uses sun-loving
Million Bells
And white Bacopa.
Three of my favorite window boxes are at the house I have named Twisted Oak
Chinese Lantern
Golden edged Ivy
Swedish Ivy
Begonia and wispy fern
Are artistically combined.
“Ocean’s End” gets fabulous results with the humble petunia.
“Sunwise Turn Cottage” chooses orange Impatiens used “en masse”
Above a planting of Crocosmia
Beneath the kitchen window
Variegated Geranium
And melampodium
Mix well.
On Mission Lane planters
overflow with begonia
And beneath the windows of The Grill On Ocean , geranium mix with
Pencil plant
And “Purple Queen” Aeonium.
Ok ,I really have to stop now. But I hope you got some good ideas to add a little “soul” to your cottage.
As I walk down to the beach from our cottage, I pass this wonderful old Craftsman- style home
with a large star-shaped feature
( a little like the one further down the street at La Playa).
It has changed identities several times since we have lived in Carmel. It was a “B and B” ,
then for sale, and now appears available for short-term rentals.
One day while I am reading Kent Seavey’s Carmel: A History in Architecture (CA) (Images of America) I find the house is built in 1906 for writer and patroness of the arts, Josephine “Nana” Baker.
Jack London,
Mary Austin,
Sinclair Lewis
and George Sterling,the uncrowned “King of Bohemia”,
are among her guests.
The home continues as a focal point for the arts until 1946,when, under the ownership of Harold and Miriam Brown , it becomes a visitor accommodation.
Edward Weston
holds week-long photographic symposium on the site and
Ansel Adams is a regular visitor.
Wow! So much history two blocks away.
So today I vow to explore this home. I love the porch on the east side with built-in benches on each side covered by a large pergola.
The hydrangea are in full bloom.
I knock and leave my card and then approach one of the handsomest gates in Carmel.
The path is interplanted with sweet alyssum and lobelia. The alyssum gives up its sweet scent with every step I take.
The main entrance to the home in on the west side.
Now this is a PORCH.
It is glassed in, well furnished
and lighted by these bird-cages made into lamps
Gifts from the sea adorn the windows.
If I could see thorough the walls I would be looking into the living room from this floor plan.
Although sketches represent it to look like this
This view is more current
And this is the sun room to the right, flat screen and all.
I descend the stairs and continue around the house on the gravel path.
On the east side I see fuchsia, acanthus
and dahlias in bloom.
From the floor plan, this side has the dining room
And the kitchen.
Very handy to the lovely patio on which I stand.
Looks like guests can even grill outside.
The upstairs looks like this
And has all the bedrooms
Many of which named after “the Bohemians ” who met there.
Lovely as it is, I wish I could step back in time and see London, Austin, Sterling and Lewis , young and full of life, enjoying each other’s company in this house totally unaware of what life will hold for each of them.
London will write such works as “The Call of The Wild”, White Fang”, and “The Valley of The Moon” and will die in 1916 on the sleeping porch in a cottage on his ranch. He is in extreme pain from uremia and taking morphine which may have contributed to his death.
Austin will write “The Land of Little Rain” among other works and will die in 1934 in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Sterling will become a poet not well-known outside of California . He carries a vial of cyanide for many years and finally in 1926 uses it at his residence in the San Francisco Bohemian Club.
Lewis goes on to be the first American writer awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, writing such works as “Main Street”, “Babbitt”, and “ Elmer Gantry”. He dies in Rome in 1951, aged 65, from advanced alcoholism.
Born in London, England on Sept. 22, 1874, Major Coote was a career army officer and a veteran of both the Boer War and WWI. Upon retiring from the military, he inherited the Coote estate at Ballyfin, Ireland. By then the staff had been halved and then some. The land was being redistributed by law, obliterating the remnants of the feudal age. Ballyfin was no longer the pride of a man’s title. In other words, he couldn’t afford it. And so this huge plantation
which was self-sustaining and highly productive in its day, was passed on to a Roman Catholic teaching brotherhood, the Patrician Brothers. They founded Ballyfin College.
I would love to know the story of how Sir Coote then settled in Carmel, CA in 1932 and took up painting as a hobby. In 1934, he asks Hugh Comstock to build a two-story Tudor influenced home.
It is an example of English Arts and Crafts Architecture and costs $9,500.
In 1935, he adds a Studio for $418.00
Although this home is lovely, it is a far cry from the Coote estate at Ballyfin, Ireland that he inherited in 1920 .
He only lives in this home for 7 years before his death in July, 1941.
I have hunted for this home for some time and finally find it this trip. It sits back from the street. The sparkle of the leaded glass windows catch my eye.
I am up to the front door
where I rap the knocker
and admire the porch light,
“door bell”
and the plantings.
When I find the original elevations, it look much more like a cottage. It is simpler. Now additions and plantings obscure the original design.
I love the way Mr. Comstock has provided a “sectioned” view to show what lies on the other side of the walls. It is like looking into a doll house.
When no one answers, I start around to the side gate. I am tempted to join the “window peeping” ducks, but refrain.
and I push my camera past the bells on the closed gate.
and snap a few shots of the garden.
I backtrack past the garage
to the studio on the north
And ring the bell.
No one answers so I follow a path past two small cottages.
I love the ornamentation.
Wow! Serious gardeners live here. There is a wonderful garden shed
and potting bench tucked away behind a huge oak tree.
What a charming house and patio.
Later at city hall, I find this is an addition and the original home looked like this.
There is even a cross-section drawing so we can peer through the walls.
The back patio is a work of art with its brick walls and floor, wrought iron furnishings and potted plants.
Along the south side of the lot is a mixed border.
This is more formal than most Carmel gardens and reminds me of the formal borders I have seen in England.
Later, at City Hall, I find the landscaping plan.
As I research on the internet, I find that Sir Coote’s estate in Ireland had a magnificent garden with bog, vast lake, deer park and “gardens in the antique style and extensive and elegant”.
The afternoon sun warms the south side of the house.
I pass a fountain
on the way to the gate
Which bears a small metal marker “ Grays Gate”.
The original plans show a smaller home. The first floor is quite elegant with a curving staircase, beamed living and dining rooms and large kitchen.
I love the second floor plan. Each spouse has their own dressing room and bath.
How very civilized. Scenes from Downton Abbey play in my head.
Major Cootes’ former home is now a 5 Star Country House Hotel in Ireland.
Luxury Hotel Ireland | 5 Star Country House Hotel | Ballyfin …
I would love to know more of this story.
My next stop is Allan Memorial grove
where a slate-colored Fox Sparrow greets me.
The path curves ahead
As the sun rises in the sky.
Douglas Iris
And Star Lilly announce that it is already spring here.
To my right stately Monterey Pine,
To my left rocky shores. I can hear the Sea Lions barking from Seal Island.
Beauty below me
Beauty above me
This is the Red Lace Lichen growing on the gnarled Cypress struggling to stand erect in the ever-present wind blowing in from the Pacific.
Back in the parking lot I get my water and sandwich and rest a bit. There is always a docent here answering questions. Today a pod of whales has come quite close to shore.
I start up the trail toward Sea Lion Rocks
Beautiful Headland Cove
And South Point are to my right
Ahead I see the rock formations of Punta DeLos Lobos Marinos.
I am not going down onto the rocks today and continue around the point for these views of the south shore.
Seaside Painted Cup
And Bluff Lettuce
Bloom around me.
At Weston Beach , the rock patterns amaze me.
A Red Billed Oyster Catcher lures me a little too far out.
Wow! That was refreshing.
Then on down to beautiful China Cove with its turquoise water.
Past succulents,
Dune buckwheat,
And other native plants
To the stairs that go down to the beach itself.
The beach is warm and sheltered today.
Now it is back up that flight of stairs.
The last stop on the walk is Bird Island, but the trail is closed for repair. So I will have to let you discover it for yourself.
Now time for home, a soft chair and a cup of tea.
I never miss a chance to take the short drive south down Highway One to Point Lobos.
I come with friends. I bring relatives. I come alone. I usually bring a sandwich, jacket,and always my camera for this is a magnificent spot.
Let me take you for a quick tour – then you can come back and explore at a more leisurely pace.
I pay a small fee at the gate and get this map
to help guide me and take the first right toward Whaler’s Cove . I park here
and walk back up to the Whalers Cabin.
As unbelievable as it sounds, Chinese fishermen and their families sailed directly from China to Point Lobos in junks, arriving in the early 1850’s. They built a small village on this site which became the first Chinese fishing settlement in California. They occupied the Cove for 30 years and built this cabin in 1851.
The cabin sits in a grove of Monterey Cypress with their huge trunks and contorted limbs.
Today the only sounds are of the surf, birds and wind in the trees.
No sounds of the fishermen who came before
Or the Japanese who harvested abalone from the depths wearing weighted diving suits.
The Portuguese whalers have gone,
leaving only whale bones,
tools,
and the pots in which they boiled the whale parts
for the oil with which to light the oil lamps of the time. All gone with the invention of Kerosene lamps.
Gone the diary farmers whose cattle grazed here.
Gone are the miners who dug the granite from the shore line.
It all reminds me of a favorite part of “Carmel Point” a poem by Robinson Jeffers:
“The extraordinary patience of things! ……the people are a tide
That swells and in time will ebb, and all
Their works dissolve.
Meanwhile the image of the pristine beauty
Lives in the very grain of the granite,
Safe as the endless ocean”
I follow the Granite Point Trail.
Now I see dappled sun,
Seal sunning themselves,
Ice plant
Seaside Painted Cup
And Bluff Lettuce.
I retrace my steps past seal “ having a moment”
And start up the rocky path of North Shore Trail
walking around boulders
And over tree roots
Whenever I dare look up there are beautiful vistas
And dramatic rock formations
And below me always the foaming water in a dozen shades of blue and green.
I struggle a bit,
but joggers pass by,
children hop from rock to rock
and parents lift strollers up the stone stairs.
By the time I reach the car, I am ready to take a break. Lets drink some water and rest a bit before our next stop.
I am strolling up San Antonio on my way home from the beach still listening to the sounds of the sea when I approach a home I have not noticed before.
When a sign announces that this is Edgemere Cottages, I am intrigued. Carmel is discreet about mixing its “Bed and Breakfasts” into residential neighborhoods.
I start up the stone steps toward the welcoming light in the window.
What a charmer, looks like an M. J Murphy build to me.
I knock on the door- no answer
But a garden gnome seems to point the way along the path to the south of the home.
At the end of the clipped box hedge a cottage sign announouces
Piccadilly Cottage
“LIGHT AND AIRY”
Split-level cottage with two sleeping areas
Photos from the website show a decor with the charm and character of another era.
I move on south away from the main house drawn by a small gravel patio
in front of
Devon Cottage
“WARM AND COZY”
Romantic sunny cottage with a queen bed…
lots of closet space with cute upstairs kitchen nook
Front door aiming straight to the beach
As I retrace my steps,
I enter a garden courtyard.
This is January so the mood is more somber
Than the photos taken in July.
I love the bells outside
The door of
Patio Room
“LARGE PRIVATE PATIO”
Only room located inside the Inn…
A beautiful room with a queen bed.
Fresh and pink with new decor.
Sounds of the ocean and smells of
fresh lavender outside the window.
French doors leading to private, enclosed patio.
Private bath and shower.
Garden views.
Little gardens and places to sit surround me.
Now I look to the open Dutch-door of the office
Geranium are gamely climbing a trellis.
It is here I am greeted by one of the owners.
Gretchen and her brother were raised in this house. It was indeed built in the 1920’s by M.J. Murphy as a family vacation compound and is now a B and B.
In the wing just east of the office door is the final unit
Rosemont Cottage
“SECLUDED AND ROMANTIC”
This cottage is a favorite…
Large bedroom featuring a vaulted ceiling, hardwood floor, king bed and twin bed and a gas-log fireplace
Living room featuring a Carmel stone wood-burning fireplace, travertine tile floor
Gretchen walks me out and we talk landscaping in the arid Carmel climate. She is now using water-thrifty plantings enlivened by garden ornaments.
She serves breakfast to her guests in this room.
Continental breakfast with fresh organic fruits, sweet breads, with quiche or egg dish
Orange juice and fresh ground Pleasant Morning Buzz coffee
Warm atmosphere, garden views and classical music
This is charming and very unpretentious and I wonder what kind of reviews the cottages are getting from their guests.
They have a loyal following- and I quote a guest review.
“Staying at Edgemere Cottages is just like taking a step back in time – the time when Carmel was intimate and moved at a quiet pace. My stay in the Patio Room was like visiting with Aunt Chlotilde in the 40′s. The room is pleasant, unpretentious, sunny with lovely french doors overlooking a walled garden patio. I could hear the sound of the waves, smell the ocean and eucalyptus and could sleep most comfortably. Gretchen, the inn owner, makes sure you are well taken care and because she has lived in Carmel, in this same home as a child when her parents ran the Inn, she knows all things Carmel! She is also an expert at preparing delicious well balanced breakfasts and makes a fabulous cup of strong coffee. The Inn is a small distance to downtown, but definately not a small distance to the beach. A proximity which instills that slower less crowded more thoughtful pace.”
Almost all the other reviews are similar. This may be just what you are looking for when you come to Carmel.
Edgemere Cottages in Carmel-by-the-Sea California
I walk by this cottage every trip we make to Carmel.
I am so taken by the picket fence, roses and arbor. I photograph it often and post the photos on flickr ( a photo sharing site).
Many people are quite taken with it including author Debbie Macomber. She loves it so much , she has one of her artists contact me about using the image for one of her book covers. Of course, I am thrilled and contact the owner who gives her permission. In the end , Mrs Macomber uses this image for the cover
- but I think I see that the cottage was the inspiration.
This trip when I walk by, the No Parking sign is gone. I walk down the path past the kissing rabbits
The inquisitive turtle
And the resident “guard” bird
The white bench by the door informs me that this is Daisy’s Place
I tack a note on the door for the owner
And make my way around the yard
Within a few days, I find that the house is for sale. I also find out that it is on Carmel’s Historic Register of Homes and was the first home of Daisy Bostick.
Daisy was a San Jose high school teacher who first came to Carmel in 1910, living for a time with the Perry Newberry family. She was an early manager of the Pine Inn, one of the dance directors of the forest Theater and sold the first advertising for the Pine Cone newspaper in 1915.
After a trip to Europe, she returned to Carmel in 1918 and sold real estate while working as a writer. She purchased the garage that occupied this site and converted it into her first Carmel home in 1920-21. Bostick continued to purchase real estate and design or remodel residential housing units.
She is best remembered for her writing and publication of “ Carmel at Work and Play”, w/ Dorthea Castelhun in 1925. Carmelites owe her mch, for she was either at the scene of or a part of much of what was going on, and took the time to make notes about it all.
Bostick’s characterization of Carmel residential housing in 1925 could be a description of her Lincoln St. Home. “…most of the houses look as if they had grown as naturally as the pines. Little low redwood cottages snuggle in among the silver trunks of oaks, they hide back of masses of wild lilac or peep out over the tops of quaint, moss flecked wooden palings.”
The second owner added the east wing in 1925 and yet another owner added the south wing in 1931, all in keeping with the original cottage character of the building.
Carmel builders, Don McBride and Frank Bruno remodel and restore the the historic house that sits on two lots.. The restoration inclueds high ceilings, a great room, two stone fireplaces, library, three bedrooms and 2.5 baths.
When I learn the house is being held open, of course I make time to visit.
I love the simple, cushioned bench in the entry.
From there it is one step up to the great room
with its vaulted ceiling
and window seat
As I turn toward the library
A pillow announces “one can never have too many DOGS”.
I love the cozy feeling in this
Book lined room.
A bowl of shells is on the table.
Back out to the dining part of the Great Room
Open to the kitchen with its smashing turquoise blue cabinets
From here one has a lovely view of this entire space.
A hallway passes by one side of the kitchen
And another hallway leads
to the Master bedroom
The french door lead to the front patio I like so much
Blueware perches on a ledge over the window.
The master bath is quite elegant
Love the sink and faucets.
Back out down the hall
Past display shelves in the hall
And more shells
Now down a short flight of stairs to two small guest rooms
One of which opens to the side yard.
They share a bath
I love the way the owner has repeated her seashells around the house.
