Now this is really living! A split-level house, with plenty of livable space, is offered in this plan. The exterior may be finished with a combination of stone and shingles, and shuttered windows add an extra touch of charm. The living room is graced by a curving bow window; the dining ell has a large picture window which will make a lovely outside view seem part of the room itself. A room divider may be used to separate the dining ell from the living room, or you may use the two rooms as a complete unit. The kitchen has a place for everything including a separate range and oven unit and a corner dinette. A few steps up from the living room is the sleeping area, which contains three good sized bedrooms, ample closet space, and a full bath. 

The master bedroom has the benefit of two exposures, and two closets; bedrooms 2 and 3 have nice large windows overlooking the front of the house. The bath may be reached from the master bedroom or main hall, and contains a built-in sink with vanity table for the modern touch with storage convenience. The lower part of this split-level can serve many purposes — the den has a ground level window which affords plenty of light and air and makes it a good place to entertain or to pursue hobbies. The laundry room has been designed for efficiency of operation, there is ample space for all appliances and the outside door is ideal for carrying laundry to the drying yard. 

The garage has work and storage space in the rear and is doubly useful since it may be reached from either the inside or outside of the house. Wouldn't you like to live in a house as nice as this one?

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source: Best Homes, issue 47, 1968

Gemini AI Rendering

The lines of this smart, and particularly comfortable A-frame house are readily adaptable to your family’s vacation needs at the seaside, mountain lake or country suburb. The wrap-around wooden deck offers the most wonderful outdoor living area for good weather in any location and indoor living is equally smart and spacious. The main level includes a big living room with a cozy fireplace, a dining area and a compact kitchen that takes care of handling a family or a great big holiday party with equal ease. The bathroom is back-to-back with the kitchen, both practical and economical, and the two bedrooms are at the rear of the house. Four closets in one room and two others in the second make for better-than-average storage. The stairway arrangement is terrific. Stairway up to the balcony that overlooks the living room is at the right of the fireplace. 

This reaches the big balcony bedroom where three large closets and a second bathroom make the area a fine master bedroom suite. A folding screen can be used to shut off the room from the living quarters below, but left open, this bedroom can enjoy the window vistas at the front of the house across the upper part of the living room. Big windows also look out to the back. The stairway at the left of the fireplace takes you down to the garage (or boat storage) area as well as to the recreation room and rear storage space. A fireplace in the recreation room is equally cheery and sliding glass doors that look out to the lake or mountains enhance this room. There's a heater alcove next to the fireplace here and that means that you can turn the house into a year-round resort for weekends or build it as a ski-lodge or other winter home. It's a wonderful "second" house for city dwellers or a cozy, efficient year 'round home for a fun-loving family.

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source: Best Homes, issue 47, 1968

Gemini AI Rendering

PLANT FRAMES, SUN ROOM, private garden with pool, garden tool storage — it adds up to Paradise for the outdoor devotee. A graceful, bowed bay makes the rich beauty of the garden one with the living room. Door in rear leads to covered sun room that is accessible to kitchen. Dinette in windowed corner of ample kitchen. Separate dining room with long windows. Two bedrooms, bath and second bath-powder room off hall.

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source: 53 house plans for 1953 by Rudolph A. Matern

Gemini AI Rendering

COMFORTABLE, SOLID, practical cottage-type house. Compactly planned. Economical to build, heat and maintain. Brick or masonry front. Shingle or clapboard sides and rear. Distinctive corner windows enhanced by large window boxes. Hospitable entrance foyer with closet. Oversized living room with massive fireplace and unbroken sweep into dining area. Beautiful kitchen with breakfast nook, corner windows to capture sunshine. Child’s study room adjacent to rear vestibule. Double lavatory in bath. 14 closets!

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source: 53 house plans for 1953 by Rudolph A. Matern

Gemini AI Rendering

There’s something special about adding a postcard to a collection. It’s a small object, but it carries a place, a moment, and often a little piece of visual history. Recently, I added a new card to my collection: a sunset view of the San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge, credited on the back as “Color by Russ Halford.”

At first glance, the postcard immediately stands out because of its warm colors. The bridge stretches across the bay in a deep orange sunset, with the sky fading from gold to soft gray. The water below reflects the light, creating that classic California evening atmosphere that so many photographers tried to capture in the mid-to-late twentieth century. It’s the kind of image that was designed to make someone far away imagine the feeling of standing on the shore of San Francisco Bay.

The composition is classic postcard photography. The bridge dominates the scene, cutting diagonally across the frame, while the city skyline sits quietly in the distance. The lighting suggests late afternoon or early evening, the moment when the sun is just low enough to turn steel structures into silhouettes. It’s dramatic without being overly stylized, which is part of what gives the card its charm.

On the back, the description simply reads: “San Francisco–Oakland Bay Bridge. Color by Russ Halford.” Postcards from this period often credited the color photographer or the studio responsible for producing the image. That small line tells us the photo wasn’t just a snapshot—it was part of a professional process. Color postcard photography required careful exposure and printing to produce those vivid sunset tones that travelers loved sending home.

For collectors, postcards like this represent more than scenery. They capture how a place wanted to present itself to the world. The Bay Bridge has always symbolized movement, connection, and the energy of the San Francisco Bay Area. Seeing it framed in a glowing sunset turns it into something almost cinematic.

Another detail I enjoy about this card is the perspective. Many postcards of the bridge show it from a straightforward angle, emphasizing its length. This one instead places the viewer slightly off to the side, with the shoreline visible in the foreground. It makes the bridge feel even larger, almost like it’s stretching endlessly across the water.

The condition of the card also adds to its appeal. The colors remain strong, and the glossy surface still reflects light in that distinctive vintage postcard way. Even the small signs of age—slight wear along the edges—add authenticity. These are the marks of a card that may have traveled or sat in someone’s drawer for years before becoming part of a collection.

For me, collecting postcards is about preserving these small windows into the past. Each one reflects a time when travel memories were shared through the mail instead of social media. Someone might have picked up this very card in a San Francisco souvenir shop, imagined a friend or family member back home, and decided it perfectly captured the beauty of the bay.

Now it sits in my collection, another reminder of how a simple piece of printed cardstock can carry a whole landscape with it.

And honestly, that’s the magic of postcards: they’re tiny, but they hold entire places inside them.