When my man saw this house he was just as astounded as I was. In particular, because it was simliar to the style of my parents' home. A modest home, which is also funny because if you're gonna go to the trouble of importing things to make an American style home in Germany, wouldn't you be loaded? Wouldn't you build a fancy home?
An older couple and their dog stopped when we rolled down a window, we just had to tell them why we were stopped in the street, laughing and gaping and pointing. This worked in our favor because if anyone inside the home was watching (a little girl at the window was, look for her), they would think we were just stopped to talk to neighbors. Or..maybe not. Maybe they get this all the time. What they deserve. People stopping and pointing at all the details that make a home American.
But the couple told us who owns that home - the owner of Tonnes, the building supply company in our city. I said, "Oh, we bought garbage from them!!!" and my man swiftly corrected my German, "Gravel. We bought gravel from Tonnes." Sure enough, on the mailbox, it said "Tonnes."
My man told them that I'm American, and that I'm surprised to find an American home here. He said, "So what is the interior like? (Do they have closets, I want to know!!?) Do they have 120volt outlets or 220?" We all laughed together.
If you've been reading my blog a long time, you'll note more differences, because I've mentioned them. If not, you will still notice them, because I'll include some nice German homes first, as guides.
Typical German homes, then, this comical American one.
Can you tell me how many details you can find that differentiate the styles?
The winner gets a German home-cooked meal on his/her next visit to our farm.
I am just dying to meet these people. The only thing missing was an American flag.
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21 comments:
That is certainly highly American, I laughed out loud when I saw it. There was one of those in Madrid and I would take a special detour every now and then on my way to the stable just to look at it and laugh to myself... although I always wonder just what are these people thinking?!?
OMG! California Ranch! Single story; enclosed eaves, wide front door with side-lites; garage with multi-panel door;3/12 roof pitch; porch...Sure there's much more that I'm missing.
Being a lumber/hardware guy, he probably got some plans from one of his suppliers, and wanted something "utterly unique" (as long as he's there in Germany...).
Yep, that is most definately not german...lol...It has a porch! and a swing to,,,big concrete driveway and walk way. The mail box stands out as well... Its not single story, it is bank built, so split leveled inside I am guessing.... The siding sets it apart as well.
How really odd... this is the type of housing we lived in while there...http://travel.webshots.com/photo/1148125355052151197GAZMoR?vhost=travel
Lots of fun living in "stairwell" housing, :P
Tara
Vinyl siding and shingles for the roofing too. Oh, and a porch swing! Love it, mmmmm my hubs may have had something to do with the siding!
That's a ranch style house...completely and udderly NOT German because it's one of the only examples of housing the diffused west to east (that is, it originated in California and spread from the western US to the Eastern, instead of from the usual east to west). I don't live in Germany, but even I know that it doesn't belong! They are single stories, less compact (the idea was that since there was supposedly so much more room out west, why build up when you can build in an elongated fashion), and they have big porches. Are built-in garages common in Germany...it doesn't appear so from your pictures, so that would be another difference...Every interesting...
Composition asphalt shingles, curtains, porch swing, flag holder on the post. Lawn?
It looks like my neighbor's house.
Looks like it could be Anywhere, USA! That's great!
That is so funny. When i lived in Denmark I had a similar experience. :)
lol! lol! Split-level ranch house with a mini-front porch, vinyl siding (and fake stone siding), attached garage(with basketball backboard attached, too!), asphalt shingle roof, concrete driveway(!).
I grew up in a house very similar when we lived in Maryland....does not fit in in Germany at all. Belongs in a tract house neighborhood. lol!
~Lisa
~Lisa
I think having a garage at all makes it American style doesn't it? And that its proudly positioned right up front certainly looks like a middle class American home. Oh, and do they traditionally have porch swings over there?
Forgot to mention the small lights on the side of the garage and the basketball hoop- definately looks American to me.
you guys are great.
you got most of them but there are two big ones that i'm hoping someone will notice. and there may be more that i haven't noticed yet.
they're big ones because 1.) i've talked about this a few times and it's one of the first things to love about german homes AND has even been imported and used in the States and 2.) these do not exist in germany at all.
the other one i was astounded about is a detail but you can see it in the photos, and compare with the german homes.
so let's see:
1. roof material
2. siding (it looks wooden to me)
3. automatic, multipanel, double garage door
4. garage at all
5. porch
6. swing
7. concrete driveway (they are almost always brick here, even at grocery stores, why??)
8. mailbox
9. flag holder (good eye!)
10. curtains (blinds?)
11. lawn (lawns are almost never in front of a house here - they're in back. this house is even comically pushed way back from the road for this lawn, while all its neighbors are right up there on the street)
12. fake stone
13. basketball hoop (really? do they play?)
14. lights on garage look imported as well
evensong, what are enclosed eaves?
evensong, i'm not sure about the big front door - i've seen some windows alongside doors on new homes here. definitely not common. if i could just see the door knob.....
Oh, I meant to mention the basketball hoop and the flag holder, too! Didn't know if the roofing or siding were totally unique. You don't have porch swings? How sad. :-(
Enclosed eaves are at the outside edges of the roof: Instead of seeing the ends of the roof rafters (quaint touch that I happen to like, especially on an Arts & Crafts style home) there is a closed-in, horizontal "return" to the house wall.
Hmmm....let's see, I'm guessing the tile roofs, which are very popular here in the southwest....2 of my neighbors have them actually. But they are made of terra cotta.
And the other one may be the windows. They seem to open outwards instead of the typical double hung slider windows that are so common here in the states.
Am I close?
~Lisa
lisa, you got it with the windows - i've blogged about the german swinging windows (on hinges) and this house definitely has sliding windows like back home! german windows are pretty cool, even being imported and used in new condos in downtown seattle. one thing you cannot do with a german window, though, is open it just a crack, or control *exactly* how open it is.
evensong, ok you found one i didn't even know about. enclosed eaves! you're right, my house does not have that - you can see the roof rafters from the outside of the house. wow!
ok one last difference remains that i was shocked about.....i hope someone gets it!
Okay, I was going to say gutters and downspouts, but some of the German houses have them. Then it was maybe the storm/screen door, but I don't find that all too shocking. Then I noticed in the last phot, a satellite dish. Is that unheard of in Germany??
You can see the ends of the roof joust on the German homes, the Ranch house is all enclosed and finished up under the eaves.
My first thought was the garage. LOL
Hmmm I am going to guess the screen door?? LOL thats all I could see!
OK found another one! LOLLOL
The mailbox!!! out at the street and not on the house!
evensong, you got it: gutters, the downspouts on this house are the typical square american style. in germany all downspouts are round. (you can kind of see this in the photos.) i was so shocked when i noticed this detail. they imported rain downspouts!
reddunappy - the SCREEN DOOR! woo! that was the big one i was hoping someone would notice - they do not exist here. in fact window screens are not typical. but the mailbox, hey, you're right - usually they're on the house itself here, because mailmen do not drive up and deliver mail from the right side of their car like in some places back home, they have to get out of their cars.
i think that's it but i could be wrong!
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