It's The Small Stuff

Our simple little bungalow

I've lived in our little Spanish revival bungalow for over 25 years. Larry bought the house about 30 years ago. It was built in 1926. Our house is 91 years old! It's held up fairly well. Of course, we've added on to the original bungalow. Our kitchen and the original bathroom are due for a major update soon.

The general characteristics of Spanish Revival homes from the 1920s and 1930s in Los Angeles usually included a low-pitched flat, gable or a hip roof, typically with no overhang; a tile roof, half-round arches, door and windows; stucco over adobe brick or adobe brick exterior walls, plaster interior walls, ornate tile, wrought iron and wood work. Our house has the roof, a few arches, but nothing else!

Larry bought the house from the children of the original owners. We were thinking that our Wilshire Vista Tract must have had certain choices for each homeowner to make before building the houses. Our house is the simplest home in the neighborhood. There are no fancy Spanish flourishes, only a few arches, no ornate woodwork or wrought iron and no cute little nooks or other extras found in houses of this era.

This is what our house SHOULD look like!

We didn't even have a wrought iron handrail leading up the few steps to our front door. This posed a problem when my Mother came to visit. One of us had to help her up the stairs. Now that we're getting older, we decided that a handrail would be a good idea. Larry rigged up a temporary rail a few years ago with some clamps and a closet rod. It was time to upgrade.

Our New Handrail

We found an iron worker across from one of our favorite Mexican restaurants, Taqueria Los Anaya on Adams Boulevard called Felipe's Iron Works. Larry called Felipe and he came over to give us an estimate. One week later, we had our handrail. I love it! 

The Handrail Fits Right In With the Style of our House

Now, it's time to paint this ol' lady and spiff up the landscaping!