The Storybook Cottages of Carmel by the Sea

Hugh Comstock's Enchanting Fairy Tale Architecture

Oct 1, 2009 Kara Smith

If the old witch, Hansel, Gretel, and the Old Woman in the Shoe, all moved to California, they would definitely choose the fanciful Comstock storybook cottages of Carmel.

In 1924, Hugh Comstock, a rather unknown builder and his wife, Mayotta, a doll maker, decided to build a storybook cottage as her doll making business was expanding and suddenly required more space. Hugh Comstock named the cottage 'Hansel'. It was designed and built to show one of her dolls called 'Otsy Totsy' which had also inspired his design of the house. It cost Comstock $100 to build 'Hansel', the first storybook cottage in Carmel by the sea. He plastered the inside walls by hand mixing pine needles in with the plaster.

Comstock's Fairytale Style Caught On Quickly

By 1928, twenty-seven storybook cottages emerged, built not only by Comstock but by other residents who joined in to redesign storefronts and their own cottages in the similar enchanting spirit of the fairy tale architecture of Comstock's storybook homes. Curved roof lines, hand-cut shingles, alcoves, turrets, hand-laid stone chimneys not plummed in straight lines, and small gardens bursting with color are part of the cottages' charm.

Eventually, Comstock built an Inn, matching his cottages' fairy tale style, which is now open to the public and named Pine Inn. It is situated near an avenue of storybook style shops, the Pacific ocean, golf courses, and over seventy art galleries, which made the Carmel community famous, all within fifteen minutes of the Inn.

After Comstock completed the building of 'Hansel', he built, of course, 'Gretel', also to show and house his wife's doll making craft. Once done, he set about building a cottage for him and Mayotta to live in, called 'Obers'. The roof alone is a marvel. Windows peek out from under curved, eyelid roofed alcoves and a river rock chimney reaches high over top with edges so rugged a child might think about climbing it. It is truly a marvelous delight and a favorite for tourists to photograph.

Carmel by the Sea - The Idyllic Home for the Comstock Cottages

It's not only the whimsical design and architecture of the cottages, tea houses, and shops that enchant the viewer into almost believing he or she has stepped into a make-believe realm, but the trees out front in the yards and courtyards plus the white, sandy beaches, which, when all combined are just dreamy - absolutely endearing. The trees that grow in the fairy tale cottage front yards have twisted and curly clay-colored limbs. Honestly, a set designer couldn't have chosen better props. To this day, the houses don't have numbers on them, but names. Residents, of there are some, go to the post-office to pick up their mail, and for the sake of directions the house name like "Hansel' or 'Casanova' is given.

The copyright of the article The Storybook Cottages of Carmel by the Sea in Historical Biographies is owned by Kara Smith. Permission to republish The Storybook Cottages of Carmel by the Sea in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.