architecture :: the storybook cottages of Carmel

Some of my favorite houses are these utterly charming little enchanted cottages nestled in a little seaside town in California called Carmel-by-the-Sea.

photos by Linda Yvonne

In 1924 Hugh Comstock, neither an architect nor a builder, set to build the first storybook cottage in Carmel California, a land at the edge of the world, where tall pine trees sway and white sandy beaches meet the big blue sea. Comstock constructed the Hansel House to house his wife, Mayotta Brown's doll collection.The teeny-tiny cottage had a sloping roof of hand-cut shingles and a stone chimney that wasn't quite straight. It's walls were covered with plaster mixed with pine needles and it cost him only $100 to build. He named the house "Hansel" and soon the town  caught up in the magic and charm of this little gem, followed suit, reconstructing their old facades and storefronts into enchanted fairytale architecture that celebrates the whimsy and fantasy that is Carmel-by-the-Sea today. I want one of these little doll houses, don't you?? They're JUST COOL!

via Cottage Living