Jan 23, 2009
Inside A New Fairmount Bungalow
By: Kevin Buchanan
Recently, I had the opportunity to finally take a thorough look inside one of the modern historic-style urban homes designed and built by builder Joe Frank in Fairmount, in the Near Southside. New homes in Fairmount must blend in with the historic structures around them, and Joe in particular has really gone to great lengths to make his homes feel like modern takes on the classic bungalow and foursquare designs of Fairmount’s past.
This particular home is at 1317 College Avenue (Map), just a few lots off the “Main Street” of the Near Southside, Magnolia Avenue. It’s less than a block down the street to Palermo’s and The Salon Upstairs, and a short walk down Magnolia to other places like Spiral Diner, Lili’s, Panther City Bicycles, Yucatan Taco Stand, The Fairmount, The Chat Room, Junsuree Thai, and others. Joe calls this design “The Whittington,” and it’s around 2,514 square feet when you include the space above the detached two-car garage. It’s American Foursquare in style and has three bedrooms and 3 1/2 bathrooms (counting the half-bath in the over-garage space).
Let’s start with a shot of the exterior:
Coming through the front door, you enter the living room, with a fireplace along the north wall, and a cased opening to the dining room beyond. The ground floor has a dark stained concrete floor with crosshatched scoring.
Looking through the cased opening to the dining room beyond. As in old bungalows and foursquares, built-in shelving abounds.
A closer look at the tiled fireplace and dark-stained concrete floor.
The dining area, as seen from the kitchen.
Part of the kitchen. I love the cabinetry, and that’s one heck of a sink.
The kitchen.
The kitchen closet under the stairwell.
More kitchen. The under-cabinet lighting is a nice touch.
Oven/stove and more cabinets.
Kitchen sink.
More cabinets.
Pantry.
Downstairs bathroom.
More downstairs bathroom.
Cabinets in downstairs hallway.
More downstairs hallway. I love the transom windows.
First floor office/study across from living room.
Office/study closet.
Now, let’s head upstairs to take a look at the bedrooms.
Door into the master bedroom. The second floor features hardwood floors, with hexagonal tile in the bathrooms.
Master bedroom.
Master bedroom, looking into the master bathroom, with master closet beyond.
Part of the master bathroom.
More master bathroom.
Shower in master bathroom.
Master closet. The window in the closet is a very vintage design touch – I’ve been in Fairmount bungalows with the same sort of detail.
More master closet.
More master closet. The other door leads into the utility room.
Utility room. This can be accessed from the master closet or the second floor hallway.
One last shot of the master bedroom.
Second floor hallway, with attic access.
Second bedroom.
Second bedroom closet.
Second upstairs bathroom.
Third bedroom. I love the exposed brick of the chimney here.
More third bedroom.
Third bedroom closet.
Back downstairs, looking into the kitchen from the dining room.
Looking into the dining room from the kitchen.
As we head up to the space over the two-car garage, here’s a shot of the rear of the house.
The space over the garage is configured as an entertainment room, with a built-in movie projection screen and pre-wiring for surround sound.
This space features a sink, small refrigerator, and cabinets along one wall.
Along the other wall is a half bath.
Shelving with A/V wiring.
An overall exterior shot of the detached two-car garage with second-floor entertainment space.
1317 College is currently available for $259,900. For more information, you can check out the JPF Homes Residential page, and get ahold of Joe at either joe@fortworthbungalow.com or 817-296-7600.
Wow! This house really captures the feel of a craftsman bungalow. I love all the moldings and trimwork.
According to Zillow, the previous house or plot of land is worth
$191,000.
http://www.zillow.com/homes/map/1317-College-Avenue,-ft.-worth,-tx-_rb/
D,
Not sure what you mean – that map shows 1316 College across the street. If that’s what you meant, then nevermind.
That stretch of College is becoming much nicer than it’s been in a long time. Joe’s built two houses on the east side of that block and rehabbed a third, and there is one other recent house, plus a few nicely rehabbed ones, across the street.
I loved all the woodwork and cabinets in this house. It definitely had a real craftsman/prairie school feel.
What an amazing home, It’s really exciting to see the revitalization happening in Fairmount.
Wow. What an incredible house. Great work Joe. I hope you keep building more.
The wood floors also had a really unique look to them. I wonder what kind of wood he used. I liked how different each plank of wood was from the next.
Wow – that is a beautiful home! He clearly paid a lot of attention to detail and style.
If I have my way, Joe will build my house some day.
I love it! It really is a great addition to the street (I live on the 1600 block of College) and am so happy to see all of the new changes! Hopefully we will get the Italian Brewpub that has started to renovate the old Gunn’s Cleaners building on the corner of Magnolia and College….has anyone heard details about that?
~Sara
This is such a gorgeous house at a good price. I live in Mistletoe Heights and we have two new houses being built at the end of my block that are supposed to be “bungalows,” but don’t really look anything like the surrounding houses. I really wish this builder was in on the new development in my neighborhood.
[...] Worthology mentioned a really cool company today, JPF Homes Inc. They highlighted JPF’s Fort Worth Bungalow site which displays some [...]
Nothing beats a TRUE old home. Why can’t builders construct new houses with the same handmade/craftsman feel of the older homes in Fairmount? Utilize the local artists and wood craftsmen to get back to the original feel of a true bungalow. Things should be handmade and one-of-a-kind. It’s got too many off-the-shelf cheap manufactured items for me and if you’re a cook confining your stove in an enclosure just isn’t functional. The outside of the home and the outside of the garage though is really nice. Inside it is just another cold feeling newly built home. Sorry, just my opinion.
Having been inside this house, I think saying that it is full of “cheap” items is very, very unfair. “Cheap” is not what I would use to describe this house’s interior. Joe *did* use local artists – the cabinets were built specifically for this house by a local craftsman, for example.
From my first-hand experience, it’s unfair to call this house “cheap.” I was quite impressed, as were the people I’ve shown it to in person.
I really do think a lot of this perception is because these houses look so shiny and new – and that’s because they *are*. There are people out there building junk, but Joe’s stuff is quality. Give it 80 years and I think it’ll have a similar feel as the 80 year old houses do now.
I live in a new foursquare infill home in the 1400 block of Lipscomb, and although Joe did not build my house, I’ve seen most of his work in Fairmount and he helped out with a few things on my project. I can vouch for his attention to detail and quality of work, and I also know that Joe uses local contractors and artisans for a lot of his items. My cabinets were made by the same craftsman that Joe used in this home,and his work has that handmade feel that we all appreciate in vintage craftsman homes. Anyone who has spent any time looking at the new infill in the neighborhood can see that Joe is one of only a handful of developers who are truly keeping with the architectural integrity of Fairmount. By the way, welcome to the neighborhood Kevin! Your website is my “go to” resource for keeping current with Near Southside development…
[...] takes us for a tour of a new-construction Bungalow style home in Fairmount. Proof that modern materials can make classic architecture better, not worse. As expensive as this [...]
It seems much bigger than 2500 square feet. I wonder if they will have any models much smaller. They look like they have some nice details for $100 square foot. The Bickley model looks as thought it would be smaller. Does anyone know how big it will be? I think this project calls for a field trip.
Very nice. I agree with Kevin that the newness is what seems to give it a bit of a cold model home feel but with time and a family it would be a warm awesome home. But I do have to agree about the tight cabnet configuration around the stove. That’s odd to me. I don’t think I would have done them all the way down to the counter on either side of the stove. I have limited counter on either side of my stove but it’s still more than that and I find it limiting.
I’m biased since I live in a new home in Fairmount (not built by Joe) but if done right these new homes can really blend in even on the inside.
There are empty lots in Fairmount so new construction is going to happen and I’m glad these builders are making their homes look like they belong both inside and outside. I’ve seen many Fairmount homes that have been modernized on the inside and look similar to Joe’s and they look great. I’m partial to the past but it’s all up to the individual and what they want. There’s nothing wrong blending the old and new as long as it’s done tastefully.
What I think is the biggest travesty is the people that come looking to flip old Fairmount homes and make a quick buck by installing cabinets, fixtures, flooring, and other items that were on closeout at Lowe’s or somewhere else to maximize their profit. They don’t even try to incorporate any old features of the home and just destroy the character. That’s the real shame.
Chewy,
You should have been with us when we went inside a house on Hawthorne that was for sale – poor house. It suffered the cheapest Home Depot renovation I’ve ever seen, and it was all crowned by a Technicolor rainbow of stains from its time as a bottom-of-the-barrel rental.
This house looks AWESOME!!! It does not surprise me!!! Joe, you do AMAZING work!!! I have seen most of the houses you do and this one is just as amazing as the others. I love the flooring, cabinets, paint, fixtures and the way you use the space. KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK!!!!!!!!!!
Glad to see this area turning around for the better. Joe has done a great job on the curb appeal of this home – but I would have to agree with some of the arguments regarding the feel of the home. As Brian mentioned, the architectural bones of the house are a perfect fit for the vintage craftsman style homes in the neighborhood; but some of the finish-out doesn’t seem to fit the period. Stained concrete floors are a popular choice today, but really wish this had the hardwoods throughout that give these older homes their warmth and character. The vanities/sinks also look to be straight from an contemporary restaurant, not from a 1920’s bungalow. Give credit where deserved, though. Looks like quality craftsmanship in everything he’s done here.
As for the floors… hard to tell from the pictures, but the color variations looks a little like hickory.
See, I don’t think that they have to be slavish replicas of old homes inside – the concrete floors give it a little contemporary kick, that I think works really well.
BTW, I’ve learned that the hardwood upstairs is oak.
I love this house! Been looking in the Fairmount area for sometime for an afordable “rehabbed” house but I would be most happy in a new one like this. The details are wonderful. Are there any in my price range? Say $150,000. I was born in Fort Worth and it is a great joy to see this historic area being renewed.
Looks good to me except the tile in the bathroom. Maybe it’s just the lighting but looks like the plastic fake tile that comes premade at Home Depot. Oh well, even so, still looks good. I only wished this was going on East of I35. Maybe it will in a year or so.
What is the name of the cabinet maker?