Despite what must have been traumatic for 18-year-old Gustav when his father deserted his family, it rescued him from the drudgery (his opinion) of helping his father in his masonry trade. His mother moved the family close to her brother in Pennsylvania for support and introduced Gustav to his chair manufacturing business in which Gustav […]
Gustav Stickley (who was Gustave until he dropped the “e” in 1903) was actually born Gustavus Stoeckel to Wisconsin German immigrant parents, the oldest boy of many children, in 1858. He worked alongside his father, a farmer and stone mason, quit school at 12 to help family finances, quickly learned he disliked his father’s heavy […]
Little bricks from Stacey’s Miniature Masonry come with all kinds of instructions, pattern suggestions and paper guides for spacing. They can also be full, dimensional bricks for stand-alone models like a fireplace or stand-alone wall, or what they call brickslips, thin slips of brick that give a real brick finish when glued in place on […]
As I’ve said, I fell in love with the façade of the No. 99 “city house”, its third floor dormer, second floor “sleeping porch” (balcony off the master bedroom to you and me) screened by flower boxes for “privacy from the city street below”, main floor leaded windows, hooded entry door, big front porch with […]
I’m not sure where I got the idea to use Baltic birch plywood for the basic structure of my house, but it is a remarkable product and great choice. It comes from a region of Europe around the Baltic Sea and is manufactured for European cabinet making. Many standard lumber yards carry it, or it […]
When my husband, Gary, and I came to Vashon Island in 1988, we were looking for an older house on some acreage. We had done a lot of looking in the greater Seattle area with no luck. What we found that day on Vashon was a remarkably preserved 1909 Craftsman on 14 acres which we knew we wanted just driving up the driveway for the first time. I had long loved the Art Nouveau and Art Deco periods but knew little about the Arts & Crafts era in between them at the beginning of the 20th century. Both of us were new to the Craftsman movement’s place in history, its architecture, furniture, design, and philosophies of its founders.
Welcome to my new blog. I’ll be writing about the progress I’m making on a Gustave Stickley house and its furnishings. I’m into this project more than 18 months now. I’ve had the intention of starting a website to journal my progress from the beginning, but I’m technologically challenged and can be an expert at procrastination when intimidated.