Housing Styles - Bungalow Edition

There is a charming and diverse world of bungalow house styles- Bungalows, with their distinctive low-profile, cozy design, and efficient use of space, have been a beloved architectural choice for over a century. In the follow paragraphs, we will explore the origins and evolution of bungalow homes, from Queen Anne Bungalows in the 19th century to their flourishing popularity in the United States during the early 20th century. We will delve into the unique characteristics that define various bungalow styles, including the Arts and Crafts, California, and Prairie bungalows, among others. Whether you're a homeowner looking for inspiration, a history enthusiast, or simply curious about architectural design, we hope you'll find this exploration both informative and engaging. Let's begin our journey into the world of bungalows!

1885-1905 Queen Anne Bungalow

Queen-Anne style’s silhouette became asymmetrical, picturesque, and highly decorative. Features include: clad in clapboards or shingles, a medium-pitched roof (sometimes with one or two dormer windows), wrap around porches, balconies, sculptured brick chimneys, art-glass windows, typical Victorian rooms (living room/parlor merged), wallpapered walls with picture molding beneath ceiling, corner tower giving distinction to living room

1900 - 1930 Airplane Bungalow

Airplane Bungalows have low-pitched, gabled roofs with oversized eaves and exposed rafters that create a canopy effect, and bands of windows. They have a single room on the second floor, surrounded by windows, said to resemble the cockpit of an airplane, and designed as a sleeping room in summer weather with all-around access to breezes.

1900-1930 California Bungalow

California Style Home In its day, the term “California bungalow” evoked both a type-a one- or one-and-a-half-story dwelling-and an Arts and Crafts architectural style that merged elements from Japanese buildings and Swiss chalets.

1900-1930 Craftsman Bungalow

The name comes from designs presented in the artistic and popular Craftsman magazine, published by Gustav Stickley from 1901-1916. Features include: street-facing gables with composition or shingled roofs, painted or stained brown or dark green (to merge with nature), wide overhanging eaves, the sleeping porch, front door opens directly into the living room, dark wood paneling, plastered ceiling (sometimes crossed geometrically with wooden beams), always a fireplace, casement windows, arched opening flanked with bookcases separates living room/dining room, bedrooms with woodwork painted a light color, kitchen built-ins

1890-1915 Mission Style Bungalow

The Mission phenomenon of the Arts and Crafts movement was not limited to California, Florida and the Southwest, but it was used most often in states with a Spanish past. Features include: tile roofs, vaguely Moorish towers, round arches recalling a mission cloister, plain but functional interiors, fireplace, some art glass

1890-1930 Tudor Bungalow

Tudor Revival has several stylistic variants, including English, Elizabethan, Jacobean, Norman, Old Country Farm, Cottage-style, Manor House and related picturesque styles. Features include: steeply pitched roof, usually side-gabled (may be parapet or false thatched), wall cladding (stucco, brick, stone or wood) tall, narrow windows (commonly in groups with multipane glazing), large, elaborate chimneys (commonly crowned with decorative pots), decorative half-timbering, detailed doorways, recognizably French-featured interiors

1900 - 1930 Prarie Style Bungalow

Frank Lloyd Wright’s early work, inspired by the linearity of Japanese prints, is in this style and he is the acknowledged master of the Prairie house. Features include: low-pitched roofs, usually hipped or gabled, with widely overhanging eaves two stories, with one-story wings or porches, massive square or rectangular piers of masonry used to support porch roofs, rows of casement windows, window boxes or flattened pedestal urns for flowers, broad, flat chimneys, contrasting wall materials or trim,

1900-1930 Four Square Bungalow

The Foursquare (or Box House) is probably one of the most popular styles of houses in America. Its practicality cannot be overstated. Despite their basic, simple cube design, Foursquares were not bogged down in a sameness of exterior design or decor. They offer a large variety of appearances, and their form can be seen from coast to coast, from plain to fancy. Indeed, they are the quintessential home of the period. Features include: cubish shape, two full stories, hipped roof and front roof dormer, front porch (ranging from wraparounds to simple stoops), windows usually grouped in pairs, usually four bedrooms.

1915-1930 Spanish Colonial Revival Bungalow

Features include: red tile roof, canvas draperies pulled across large, round-arched windows, awnings supported by spears over doorways, light-bathed interiors (thanks to large windows and white or rosy pink walls), black iron balustrades and curtain rods with wooden rings, an abundance of tile on staircases and in bathrooms and kitchens, Spanish fireplace emphasizing second story, decorative friezes or door surrounds with floral ornamentation, Wright’s famous furnishings and flowing interiors

1915-1930 Dutch Colonial Bungalow

Characterized by the use of gambrel roofs having curved eaves along the length of the house, resembling a barn in construction. The primary entryway was moved from the end to the long side of the house. The Dutch Colonial style is part of the Colonial Revival. Features include: miniature temple fronts, windows in bands, perhaps French doors, white woodwork

1920-1930 Chicago Style Bungalow

Chicago’s own Prairie style-but much of its roots came from the workingman’s house of the 19th and early 20th century Features include: all brick (in an assortment of shades, three levels of living space, elbow to elbow with the neighboring house, 20 first-floor windows (leaded or stained glass), generous use of wood and ceramic tile, tile roofs artful, multipaned doors and doorways, expansive interior

1930-1940 Modern/Art Deco Bungalow

Art Deco may have been too high style to be used for the modest bungalow, but in the 1930s quite a few bungalows were designed in what is now called Streamline Moderne. Features include: curved corners (providing a sense of motion), occasionally portholes and bulkheads, concrete and stucco material (often painted in pastels), glass brick (especially around entrances), terra-cotta ornaments, light, airy interiors with simple modern touches

Build-a-bungalow slideshow… Initial foundation pouring, framing, sheathing, roofing, then stucco & brick addition to a finished Rountree bungalow in the 1920s!

Presentation provided by Richard Crabtree