Hello everyone!
I am first time home buyer in Des Moines, IA and I am considering buying an arts and crafts style home. I would like to know more about the exact style of the home and everyones thoughts about potential remodels and restorations. My first ideas are to take out the green carpet and refinish the floors. I would also like to remove all the white paint from the woodwork (built in cabinetry, door and window trim, doors, etc..)
The kitchen and bath have been remodeled which is nice, but I'm not sure if it is all kept in "style"

Sweet house with lots of nice interior detail. It was built at the tail end of the Craftsman/bungalow period and has characteristics of the Craftsman (specifically the colonade pillars and bookcase that separate the living and dining rooms for example) and the modern transitional bungalow.

By all means get rid of the carpet and refinish the floors. As for stripping the woodwork, do so if it pleases you. It won't hurt the house. The chances are good though that the woodwork was originally painted white, so leaving it ... especially if it is the original finish ... will save you a lot of time and money. It's historically correct as it is.

If it is the original paint, it is most likely lead-based, which poses a host of issues you'll need to contend with starting with testing. If it turns out to be lead-based, then it's often more practical to leave it alone unless you have kids who are inclined to chew on the woodwork.

The kitchen looks functional, but it's nothing special. Same with the bathrooms. It looks perfectly livable as it is. Often, it's a good idea to live in a house for a year or two and listen to what it tells you it needs. So often, people buy and make their renovations so it's done and then realize they shouldn't ought to have done "that".

Thank you so much for the comments. It was built in 1922 according to the seller.

It was running through my mind last night that the woodwork may have been painted originally, but I didn't think anyone actually did that back then. I'll make sure that is the case before I strip it all off!

Also, the house has what I believe is cement asbestos siding. Is that original or installed later? I think I should be concerned if this needs to be replaced, right? It has some cracks and broken tiles here and there.

There are a lot of great houses in Des Moines! Here is a link to the Drake Neighborhood Association: Drake Neighborhood Association

They have a lot of historic information about their neighborhood and good links, etc.

I think the siding was likely installed later.

-Mike

If you have asbestos siding, it could be original. Asbestos cement siding has been around for a while. It's more likely that it's newer ... maybe from the 1940-50s. Asbestos siding became popular from the late 1920s on because it was fireproof and low maintenance. My next door neighbor has asbestos siding on her pre-WWII house and it's fine.

As long as asbestos is not disturbed it poses no hazard. It's when the fibers are stirred up and become airborne that you begin seeing potential problems. If you have asbestos and decide to have it removed, you will need to check with your local building authority for permits and probably hire a specially licensed contractor to remove it.

I'd find out if it is asbestos before I sign on the dotted line. If it needs to be abated there is significant cost involved and you need to know that now.

Often people installed new siding over the original siding, so you might want to find out if lapped siding is underneath the top layer. It's a cool bonus to find the original siding in decent condition, but you definitely need to know how much asbestos abatement is going to cost you if you decide you want to do that.

Foxcroft, thanks for the link - there is much useful information there!

I am very excited to dig into this house a little more to find out about its history. It would be wonderful to find original siding in good condition under that asbestos siding. I am thinking it could be in good condition since the house was built it 1922 and then likely covered up in the 50's when an addition was built.

What are others thoughts about the interior woodwork? Do you think it was originally painted or stained? Maybe the living room and dinning room had stain and the rest of the home paint? What is an easy way to determine this?

Also, what was the typical roof material of homes built in this period?

Also, what are the thoughts about the porch? It doesn't really fit the craftsman/bungalow style. Do you think it was originally open? The windows in the porch are very old and leaded. Would there be columns behind that siding?

Good Morning Mr. Helgymatt,
First of all I would welcome you to these forums where you will find many interesting things pertaining to the A&C Movement and one we need to keep alive and informing folks how things should be done to keep them moving.

I like the old school desk chair you dispalyed in two of your 13 pictures it brought back some good memories.

Respectfully,

Ralph Jones

The porch could be original. (If it wasn't, it was probably done early and in keeping with the style of the house.) You may find clues under the siding as to how and when it was modified. Personally, I think it's attractive, consonant with its period, and practical.

Your house is not really Craftsman-style, particularly on the outside. It's a transitional "modern" style bungalow that became popular during the 1920s.

There was a recession just after WWI that slowed things down for a couple years, but by 1922 the economy came roaring back. The pre-WWI bungalow was old-fashioned; your bungalow was what people wanted. Many of the earlier details like ornate knee brackets, wider eaves, and exposed rafters were streamlined in keeping with that modern architectural trend.

Other social/cultural changes made a difference too. From the 1900 to 1920, more emphasis was placed on cleanliness and health. Hard painted finishes were preferred over varnished wood finishes because they were considered "sanitary" ... hence, the white and ivory paint seen everywhere. (You also see an upsurge in the use of porcelain, tile, and glass surfacing materials because they were easier to keep clean.) By the end of the 20s, color was everywhere but not so much in the first half of the decade.

Stylistically, things changed from the fumed woods of the A&C period to the white-painted Colonial style, which was THE in thing in the 20s. Magazines ran articles on how to convert your old mission dresser to a more modern style ... usually by cutting it up but also by painting or adding fabric.

R.

Hi Rikki,
You have brought up something that I have stated may times and that is that people were getting tired of the old comfortable look of seeing the wood grain and the methods it took to assemble these fine pieces and one of the first things they did was to paint them.

At least they had sense enough to at least keep them to be handed down and later in life many pieces were restored back to their original condition. I know this to be trus as I have restored many a fine piece of furniture to it's old grandure.

Ralph

Thank you for all the comments everyone! I believe the porch is original because the foundation is in sync with the rest of the home. There are no clues that the porch was ever open and I have a feeling it was glassed in originally. I also agree that the exterior of the home has little "craftsman" style. It does have the open roof rafters representative of craftsman homes. When I went in the home originally, I saw the living room/dinning room dividor and the built in cabinets and it screamed bungalow/craftsman at me so it does still have some of those features. What I am trying to determine is if the woodwork in the home was originally stained or painted. The only thing in the home that is stained right now is the fireplace mantle. Does this provide any clues? If the mantle was stained, would the rest of the woodwork in the living and dining be stained originally also? Maybe all of the woodwork was stained at one time.

I have been looking at many many books over the last few weeks about bungalows and arts and crafts homes and every single home in those books features mission furniture...mostly Stickly. I believe this home is still a "bungalow" style...if its not correct me... So if "mission" furniture went out of style in the late 19'teens then what style was "in" in the early 20's? Would mission style furniture still fit this period home? Especially if the woodwork is all painted white? Maybe I am trying too hard to make this home fit my ideals...I love mission furniture!

Your house is a bungalow style and inside it is very Craftsman-style. If you want to decorate using Mission style furniture, do it because it pleases you. It's your house and you get to decide whatever you want to do. If you make a mistake (and you will) it's time and money lost but it's usually not a fatal mistake.

If you want to strip the woodwork, do it. It's certainly possible that the woodwork was stained and varnished originally. In my universe, I see no point in excess work ... wood is nice, paint works too. It's a LOT of WORK to strip woodwork and do it well. There are a lot of chemicals and dirty, grunt labor. From the standpoint of sustainability and "green" living, less is more when materials and finishes have lots of life left in them.

People in the 1920s mixed furniture styles just like people do now. In 1922, you could find old mission pieces side by side with wicker (very popular in sun rooms as well as through the house), painted furniture (often with pretty floral motifs in bedrooms), and Colonial American antiques which were highly sought after. The Colonial styles were so popular that reproductions abounded. There was a lot of variety, so you can really do what ever you like ... including color choices.

While some colors predominated during the 1920s (lots of pastels in the early 20s), I've seen examples of ever imaginable hue.

I wouldn't worry too much about sticking to close to the "bungalow style". That's just a marketing thing ... making a real home ... that's the heart of the A&C movement.

Rikki,
Thanks for puting it all in perspective!