I wrote this in January of 2008 and it came to mind yesterday when I was looking at a new listing  and I saw a picture of a beautiful Tudor style home and the agent listing it described it as a "classic colonial"  sometimes my peers make me cry.  

Tudor Style Home

This architectural style was popular in the 1920s and 1930s and can be found throughout the metro area. The defining characteristics are half-timbering on bay windows and upper floors, and facades that are dominated by one or more steeply pitched cross gables. Patterned brick or stone walls are common, as are rounded doorways, multi-paned casement windows, and large stone chimneys.

The name Tudor  imitates English architecture from the early 16th century, and a much earlier medieval architecture.

I have had buyers over the years specifically request this style of home. On the inside they often have cove ceilings, rounded doorways, exposed wood beams on the ceilings, built in book cases and plenty of woodwork. I have not seen one without a fireplace, a large dining room and bay windows in at least one room. The steep roofs make for some interesting attic rooms.

These homes are more plentiful in Highland Park, part of  West St. Paul and in Minneapolis. 

Mansard Roof

This style of roof isn't real common in the area.  They made a brief come back in the 1980's.  They are the most common in the oldest parts of town.  The advantage to this style is that there is more usable space on the top floor. 

Church of the Assumption on 7th Street St. Paul, MN

We are all waiting for the other shoe to drop in the form of cold and snow.  Each day that it doesn't snow is one more day without snow.  It is going to be cold later this week but back up to 40 by Sunday.  As I write this we are at a record breaking 52 degrees.  Not bad for the 10th of January in Minnesota.  

I think it would be fun to photograph all of the murals in St. Paul but that would take a lot of time because there are so many.  This one on the side of Java Train coffee shop on Pascal street in the Como Park neighborhood really caught my eye. 

Java Train

 Just some random photographs of dining rooms and they are not all in the same home.  Some buyers ask for homes with formal dining rooms and others don't care.  I wonder how many get used for dining?  Sunday dinner perhaps? 

Porches are a city thing.  I would call this wordless Wednesday but I have already written too many words.   In the burbs they have decks. In the city we have decks with roofs over them and we call them porches.  Decks are usually in back of the house and porches are often in the front but I live in a house with a front porch and a back porch but no deck.  I shouldn't have to explain all of this but I just did.  In the city we put the garage behind the house but in the burbs the garage goes in front.  Garages have nothing to do with porches and now I really ruined my attempt at a wordless Wednesday by using way too many words.  I will try again next week. 

porch wm

E. fourth street

E. fourth street in downtown St. Paul is right on the light rail line but the businesses are open.   Small businesses are so important to our local economy.  Don't let the construction stop you from shopping in St. Paul.  

Related Post E. 4th Street – Now And Then