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Charmed by Chalmers
There is one mid-century modern builder in Ottawa that has always intrigued me, yet I do not know much about the company. The builder is Chalmers and they constructed a number of striking and unusual...
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Factory-built houses in Sheffield Glen and Queenswood Heights
At work, we just listed a condo for sale in the Sheffield Glen neighbourhood (304-2650 Southvale) - and driving through the area I realized that I have never done a post on the factory-built houses...
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The Manor Houses of Hunt Club Woods
A few years ago I shared one of these designs on a blog post of favourite plans in south Ottawa. At first blush the houses do not seem to fit in with the mid-century modern and 1970s aesthetic that...
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Campeau's Renaissance Series
During the 1970s Campeau released a series of houses called the "Renaissance Series" that are an affordable collection of detached houses. The designs are straightforward with rectangular footprints...
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Who is Costain?
Who is Costain?Almost 50 years ago Ottawans were asked the same question in a series of newspaper ads.Intrigued? Stay tuned to my blog for an upcoming post on a company that transformed the landscape...
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Costain in Ottawa - Part One: Blackburn Hamlet (Detached Homes)
Some of my long-time readers may remember that I did a series of posts on Costain a few years ago. For some reason, a few of my older posts have vanished from my blog - for reasons unknown to me. So, I...
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Idea File: California Dreaming in Ottawa
In addition to my collection of Ottawa and Toronto-area floor plans and housing ephemera, I also have boxes upon boxes of American plans and articles - with a particular interest in Californian...
View ArticleMid Century Summer Reading list 2016
Happy Summer!In an old post I compiled a list of mid-century-era books perfect for summer reading (Summer Reading), but this year I stumbled upon an article on Curbed.com with some other books of...
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Idea File - The Expandable Condo
In the interest of sharing unique design ideas I will veer outside of the mid-century modern and 1970s era and share some unique plans and ideas.Over the years that I have worked in the various facets...
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Country Place
A while ago a reader asked about a plan in the Country Place neighbourhood. I do not know too much about the neighbourhood, but I do have some collections of plans for houses built in the area by the...
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The great Costain/Coscan archive sharing project!
One of my readers pointed out that that I have not published Part 2 of my Costain in Blackburn Hamlet post. Looking through my Costain/Coscan plans to work on that post, IÂ decided to embark on an...
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Costain in Ottawa Part Two: Blackburn Hamlet (and Orleans) Carriage Homes and...
In Part One I shared Costain's detached plans in Blackburn Hamlet (some of which were also built in Orleans):Â Costain in Ottawa - Part One: Blackburn Hamlet (Detached Homes). This second installment in...
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The Mystery of the Lincoln Heights Moderns
Recently, a reader brought my attention to a handful of mid-century modern houses on the east end of Regina Street in Lincoln Heights that resemble the Eichler-built houses in California, particularly...
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Costain in Convent Glen (and Hazeldean Ridge)
Here is the first installment of the Costain/Coscan archive sharing project! Below are the plans and documents that I have for Costain houses built in Convent Glen (Orleans), some of which were also...
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The Cinderella Houses
The other day I noticed a house near my work that looked really familiar - and then I realized that I had seen the same house in a booklet that I somehow acquired as a part of my floor plan collection....
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The Costain/Coscan Forestwood Collection
Costain,later renamed Coscan, used the title "Forestwood Collection" (some times spelled as two words: Forest Wood) on many of their plans for decades. At first the plans had names of trees, but this...
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Century Manor
This post is a bit of a crossover with my other blog bramaleablog that is about the satellite city/new town of Bramalea, west of Toronto. The company that built the majority of Bramalea grew with time...
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The Dream That Was
Hello readers! In addition to posting on my two blogs, another creative outlet of mine is writing fictional stories. I will be posting one of my books chapter-by-chapter on Wattpad to share it with the...
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The Costain/Coscan Canadiana Series, Super Singles and Tempo Collection
Below are three series of Costain/Coscan plans from the 1980s-1990s. I know that I am venturing way outside of the mid-century modern period, but as promised, I am posting all of the Ottawa...
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Minto Semi-Detached Houses in the 1960s and the early 1970s
During the 1960s and early 1970s Minto built semi-detached houses in a few neighbouhoods inside the greenbelt, including Beacon Hill, Borden Farm, Briargreen, Parkwood Hills and Tanglewood.  Some were...
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