Literal WC

We're probably out of our minds, but we think we might be able to afford buying property here in the city. The market, unfortunately, is still a seller's delight with contractors rapidly buying up fixers, making all manner of upgrades, then smacking a hefty price tag on the end result. And guess what? These babies sell right quick.

The more livable square footage, the higher the price. This mind-set seems to be leading some to make rather strange 'upgrades' to property before it going to market. 

The above pic shows some of the nuttiness we saw today. This house, a perfectly reasonable purpose built 2 bedroom/1 bath, was converted recently (the paint was still drying when we viewed) into a 3/2. If you look closely, you'll see that the bedroom closet was converted into a stall shower and toilet room. Mind you, the closets in homes from the 1920s until the late 1940s were all walk-in and fairly spacious. But just because there's room for a bathroom doesn't make putting in a bathroom a grand idea. Your bedroom now has no closet and you're sleeping next to a toilet. -hope the ceiling fan works well. 

One feature of SF architecture of the 1920-1930s that I really enjoy is the tile work. Inspired by Spanish-Moorish design, California architects sought to recreate a bit of the Old World here. Ceramic tiles adorning these homes were fashioned in Southern California. Two of the heavy hitters in California tile production were Catalina Tile Co. & Taylor Tilery.  One house we viewed today boasted a tiled external staircase. Below is one of the tiles. 

Part of a tiled stairway.

The color scheme of orange-green-black-yellow is a hallmark of Taylor Tilery. Catalina, by contrast, seems to have offered a broader range of color combos, many of which are a bit finer and somewhat muted. 

Here's a sort of blurry shot of the stairs--

The home was lovely as well. It did, however, have an illegal in-law unit on the ground level. I figure the current owners were probably making duckets as AirBnB hosts. We were cautioned that before inspections were to be made, potential buyers would have to make the in-law unit's kitchen look less like a kitchen. *sad trombone*