Old House Journal – September 2019

• ONE OR ONE AND A HALF STOREYS
  Larger houses may have a
  bungalow-era look, but the
  defi nition of a bungalow is one
  storey, albeit often with a half-
  storey above.


• LOW, GROUND-HUGGING Most
  bungalows are low and
  spreading—with porches, sun

porches, pergolas, and patios

tying them to the outdoors.

• INDIGENOUS MATERIALS Find a
  regional use of such materials
  as river rock, clinker brick,
  quarried stone, and shingles.


• EMPHASIS ON STRUCTURE
  Look for artistic exaggera-
  tion in columns, posts, eaves

brackets, lintels, and rafters.

Inside, too, fi nd ceiling beams,

chunky window trim, and wide

paneled doors. Horizontal ele-

ments are stressed.

• ARTISTIC NATURALISM The
  Arts & Crafts Bungalow fol-
  lows an informal aesthetic; it
  is a type without strong allu-

sions to formal European or

classical precedents.

• EXOTIC INFLUENCES Appear-
  ing in builders’ houses and
  style books: stick ornament in
  the manner of Swiss Chalets;
  Spanish or Moorish arches
  and tilework; and orientalism,
  especially Japonesque. DO
  UG
  LA
  S^ K

EIS

TER

;^ RO

B^ G

RA

Y^ (C

TR

.^ RI

GH

T)

TOP CENTER The offset double-gable front

is one bungalow type. A short and stout

picket fence is perfectly complementary

to the house’s height and details.

BUNGALOW variants

Period bungalows can be quite

plain little houses. Some nod to

other styles including English

Tudor, Swiss Chalet, Japa-

nese—even, anachronistically,

Colonial Revival. • ENGLISH

Bungalow A steeper roof with

clipped gables and a parged

(stucco) exterior give this

house English pedigree.

• CHICAGO Bungalow A unique
  brick variant built by the thou-
  sands in post-fire Chicagoland.
  
  
  • PRAIRIE Bungalow This one
    has nearly flat roofs and
    Midwestern elements. •
    SPANISH MISSION Bungalow
    White stucco on lath, a red tile
    roof, and arcades distinguish
    this popular sub-type.
  
  
  
  

soon a well-defi ned new style. Gustav
Stickley sang their praises in his maga-
zine The Craftsman. Dozens of plan books
between 1909 and 1925 promoted “artistic
bungalows.”
At the same time, home ownership was
becoming a realizable American dream
for an exploding middle class. A need
existed for a small and simple house that
would look good even if plainly built and
furnished.
As early as 1908, the word with a fash-
ionable cachet was being used for many
small houses that had only the vaguest

bungalow allusions. Ironically, the 1920s

was the boom period for bungalow build-

ing, even as the decline of the style began.

Instead of “simple, rustic, natural, charm-

ing,” the bungalow glut was beginning

to change the connotation of the word to

“cheap, small, and vulgar.”

Since the 1980s, the American bunga-

low has come back stronger than ever as

part of the Arts & Crafts Revival. Thou-

sands of bungalows have been snatched

up to be interpreted in a manner often

beyond the tastes and budgets of the

original owners.

the HALLMARKS

ENGLISH BUNGALOW CHICAGO BUNGALOW

PRAIRIE BUNGALOW SPANISH MISSION BUNGALOW

Art, craft, and nature in an Arts

& Crafts bungalow.