“THE DOG’S BREATH”- A CARMEL COTTAGE

The first thing I notice as I walk by this cottage is the maturing cottage garden lush with roses, Agapanthus, sage, freesia, lavender , iris and lilies all neatly contained by clipped boxwood.  I walk up the path to peer over the gate

and get the giggles when I see the name.

The owners have made a play on Clint Eastwood’s restaurant “The Hogs Breath” and named their home “The Dog’s Breath”.

The cottage has a lot going on architecturally.

I find elements of Tudor and Dutch Colonial Revival styles whimsically combined. 

This trend toward period architecture gained momentum after the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair where historical interpretation of European styles was encouraged. 

Hugh Comstock’s first cottages were in the  Folk Tudor style.

The decorative half-timbering,

topped door set in arched doorway

and wonderful ironwork on the gate

give this a Tudor feeling.

I stand at the north gate to admire the lamps set on the fence columns

and the Juliet Balcony over the front door. It holds a bench and is accessed from an upstairs door off a bedroom.

Then I walk around to the front of the house. 

The slate roof

with its gambrel roof enchants me.

What a picturesque style. This Dutch gambrel is a two-sided roof with two slopes on each side. The upper slope is positioned at a shallow angle and the lower slope is steep.

I  like this narrow porch under the overhanging eves.

I point my camera over the gate to the east

and to the west.

I love the Carmel stone path that leads around the property and even forms the driveway and fencing. It is a unifying element much-needed.

The house rambles around the lot in three sections.

I am still clicking away with my camera as I start down the street again.

The “surprise” lillies are blooming

as are the iris.

This home is becoming even lovlier as its plantings anchor it to its site and soften its lines.