My family and I had a lovely time staying in this charming house over the Thanksgiving holidays. The architecture, door frames and other 20s era elements are unique and give off good vibes. The interior furnishings are warm and personable; it is clear they have been chosen with care, from the opposing couches and large family table to the comfy master bed. We're sorry it was too rainy and cold to enjoy the small outdoor space in the back. Great kitchen and large oven made cooking enjoyable. Wonderful book collection - some quite dated but that added to the charm. Great neighborhood and perfect perch from which to explore Oakland.
Only a few, minor criticisms (NONE of these were deal breakers in anyway - we had a lovely stay. I only point them out in hopes of being helpful):
1. Very dark inside, even during the day (with exception of bedrooms - see point 2): The interior lights are dim at best, which made us struggle with navigating the hodgepodge of small steps, random corners and blind spots quite a struggle, especially since one member of our party has limited vision.
2. Early sunshine wakeup: Main bedroom and second bedroom/office windows lack curtains, so the sun shines (way too) bright in the morning. An inexpensive and helpful touch would be to add curtains to the windows (instead of the white translucent cloth currently in place). We jury-rigged some dark sheets in the office using existing hooks and were able to get by.
3. Second/bedroom office is cluttered with papers and packages - this is only an asthetic criticism and not a big deal, but could be nice to tidy up and remove/hide some of the papers, manilla envelopes, etc.
4. Murphy bed offers passable comfort for two medium-to-small sized individuals, but would start to get uncomfortable for a longer stay.
5. Landscaping has seen better days - some plants are overgrown, especially in the backyard, and the driveway was swamped with leaves (we imagine this was probably due to wintertime and it did not affect us in the least since we didn't use those spaces).
6. A bit musty in certain parts of the home (i.e. office, kitchen near cellar door, etc) - but this is too be expected in an older home.
Overall we had a great time.. can't underestimate the charm of this place. Owner was extremely kind and flexible - she was very responsive, answered all our questions and made are check in and out extremely easy. Would highly recommend to friends. Would not recommend for the visually impaired.