Storybook Style: America's Whimsical Homes of the Twenties

FairyTale,Disneyesque,HanselandGretel--theseareallsynonymsforStorybookStyle,arambunctiousevocationofmedievalEurope,andsurelythemostdelightfulhomestyleofthetwentiethcentury.Itappearedintheearly1920s,andwasalmostforgottenbythelate1930s.StorybookStylehouseswerecreatedbyarchitectsandbuilderswithadistinctflairfortheater,aloveoffinecraftsmanship,andagoodsenseofhumor--attributesthatmakethesehomesendearingtothejadedmoderneye.ByinlargetheStorybookStylewasaHollywoodproduct,forthevastpublicthatthrongedtheatersfortheearlyHollywoodfilmswenttoexperiencetheexoticforeignlocalestheywereunlikelyevertoseeinperson.InthiswaytheyacquiredatasteforforeignvernaculararchitecturethankstothemoviesetsengenderedbyHollywood'sbestarchitecturaltalents.Inturn,builderswerequicktocapitalizeonthisfascinationandbuilthomesevocativelytitledPicardyVillageandNormandyTowersinCalifornia,andin1931Sears,RoebuckofferedamedievalizedEnglishcottageinitscatalog.HerethenisawealthofinformationonanarchitecturalsubjectthatisbothgreatfunandbeautifullyillustratedwithovertwohundredcolorphotographsbyDouglasKeisterandanexperttextbyArrolGellner.ArrolGellnerisapracticingarchitectandauthorofthenationallysyndicatednewspapercolumnArchitext,whichisbasedwiththeSanFranciscoChronicle.Fornearlyadecade,GellnerhasusedArchitexttotransportthediscussionofarchitecturefromitsfrequentlyhifalutin'planeintotherealmofeverydayexperience.Bothhiswritingandhisworkpositthebeliefthatthoughtfuldesigncandomuchtosustainthehumanspirit.GellnerisanHonorsgraduateoftheCollegeofEnvironmentalDesignattheUniversityofCalifornia,Berkeley.Inadditiontohisarchitecturalpractice,whichincludesresidential,commercial,andinstitutionalwork,heisafacultymemberofChabotandLasPositasColleges,andseminarleaderattheBuildingEducationCenterinBerkeley.Hespeaksfrequentlyonarchitecturalsubjects,andhasservedonpanelswithsomeofCalifornia'smostdistinguishedarchitects.GellnerlivesandworksinarenovatedfirehousefactorynearSanFrancisco,whichheshareswithhiswifeKathyAidongNianda1955Studebaker.HealsomaintainsanofficeoutsideShanghai,wherehespendshissummersindulginghispenchantforheatandhumidity.