Still More Stucco

Despite our best efforts, property owners continue to smother wood sided bungalows with stucco in an illfated attempt to modernize. This bungalow court (top photo) on Echo Park Ave. At Scott Ave. is being covered up this week. Only two blocks away a similar property of tiny wood-sized bungalows was restored and painted without all the trouble and expense of a stucco jacket. Meanwhile, nearby on Fairbanks Place, a home (bottom photo) that has been under renovation for years is getting a new skin of wood siding. Go figure. A future owner of the Echo Park bungalows might want to consider removing the stucco (watch the video) to regain some of the character and lost value.

Is Brown the New Green?

Sage green or olive green once seemed to be the color of choice when it came to renovated homes. Now, shades of chocolate are popping up across the neighborhood, including this apartment and storefront at Sunset and Laveta.