A cottage, at 2,600 square feet?

RE “Going Coastal” [Jan. 19]: As a Manhattan Beach cottage owner and dweller, I really enjoyed the article. I must, however, take issue with the “last original beach cottage” in Manhattan Beach. It may be “one of” the last or the last one on their block, but though the count is low, there are still many original beach cottages in town.

Second, original? In the same paragraph, you mention that previous owners undertook two major renovations to add on 1 1/2 additional stories. The house is hardly original! Finally, cottage? Really. Cottage is defined as a “small frame one-family house” by the Merriam-Webster dictionary. Since when does 2,600 square feet count as small or a cottage? There’s no disputing that the McLoughlin home is gorgeous. I would love to live in a “cottage” like theirs.

MARTA ALLEN

Manhattan Beach

*

THESE cottages are, as you stated, full of ramshackle charm. I live in what I call the ultimate beach cottage: A 600-square-foot one-bedroom, built in 1922 by a plasterer who covered the entire outside with bits of seashells. What could be more appropriate? Here in Long Beach, it is known as “The Seashell House.”

JO WILLIAMS

Long Beach