American Bungalow Style :: Education by Design Store

Editorial Review
America once had a love affair with bungalows -- and it's being rekindled coast to coast. This elegant book showcases exceptional examples and features a catalogue of period furnishings.

With a flaming fire in the cozy hearth, a comfortable Morris chair, and soft, natural colors everywhere, bungalows have long embodied the ideal of the American home. At the turn of the century they took the country by storm, providing well-designed and well-priced shelter nationwide. Bungalows revolutionized residential architecture in America and grew into a beloved symbol of domesticity by offering stylish yet affordable housing for the average person. Today whole neighborhoods of bungalows are being saved and restored by people who appreciate the simple and natural lifestyle made possible by these small houses.

Beautifully illustrated with more than three hundred color photographs, American Bungalow Style presents two dozen American houses that capture the bungalow spirit. Many are Arts and Crafts in style, others show a touch of Spain or colonial America, and all exemplify the charms that enticed thousands of bungalow buyers during the form's heyday from 1880 to 1930. Among the bungalows included are examples by famous architects from Frank Lloyd Wright to Bernard Maybeck, as well as Gustav Stickley's own log cabin retreat. Many are the work of anonymous but skilled builders, and some were ordered by mail.

Bungalows may differ widely in style and size, but they have in common a simplified plan that places most of the living spaces on one floor. They are typically one or one and a half stories high, low in profile, and fitted with lots of built-ins and all the conveniences of their time. On their own piece of land, with a garden in front or back and space to park a car, bungalows provided the privacy and independence that many Americans favor.

The idea that simplicity and artistry could harmonize in one affordable house spurred the bungalow's popularity -- a rare movement in which good architecture was found outside the world of the wealthy. Bungalows allowed people of modest means to achieve something they had long sought: respectability. With its special features the bungalow filled more than the need for shelter. It provided fulfillment of the American dream.

A fully illustrated appendix features more than one hundred furnishings suitable for bungalows and Arts and Crafts houses. This special catalogue section highlights modern reproductions of tables and chairs, lamps, textiles, wall coverings, tile, and hardware that look right at home in bungalows old and new, commodious and compact.

Cached date: AWS Called=true

Customer Reviews

Bunglopedia.

2004-04-06
If your curious like me to what exactly is a Bungalow, what their history is, and would like to see lots of full colour examples, then I think you will find this book quite satisfying. Being that there where so many Bungalows built over such a wide geographic area, I doubt if anyone has covered every example of them in one book. So you may end up wanting to buy a few other books (which there are lots of good ones) to satisfy your curiosity. Non the less, this book does give you a good example of American and some Canadian Bungalow history, also it explores each room of the Bungalow and the rooms furnishings, all with quite a few excellent photo's.

In keeping with the architecture...

2000-03-06
Wonderful photographs; light, informative reading. What's missing is a better representation of the different regional examples of the bungalow. And they're everywhere.

Residing in the Chicago area, for example, we have a tremendous variety and number of bungalows. Even in Atlanta, a region more famous for its colonial architecture, I noticed that the Virginia Highlands area also had some marvelous examples of the bungalow style.

A more appropriate title would be "The California Bungalow" given that nearly all of the examples are located there (and within that state, in Pasadena).

In other words, worth getting but not the definitive book.

Excellent photographs of Bungalow period interiors. 1999-09-03
This book defines the Bungalow style, explains how it started and flourished, and tells about the men who built and sold them. Then it takes you into still-existing Bungalows across the USA, where the current owners have preserved the period style. Hundreds of beautiful, full-color photographs showcase these homes and give the reader a good feel for the American Bungalow style. At the end of the book there is a list of suppliers, sources of information, and further reading that I found useful also.

Makes the reader want to go out and purchase a bungalow! 1999-07-20
This has to be one of the best books on art and architecture ever produced. Through hundreds of gorgeous photographs and detailed description, the history and development of the American Arts and Crafts movement comes alive. The author remains sensitive to the fact that most bungalow owners of the early 20th century were not following any set "style," but maintained and decorated their homes according to their personal tastes and means. The result is a presentation which would inspire any current bungalow owners to cherish and preserve their homes as they would works of fine art. In addition, this book contains a handy catalogue appendix listing businesses that deal in reproduction Craftsman style furniture, wallpaper, tiles, fixtures, etc.

Excellent resource book and coffee table book in one! 1997-06-12
This book provides preservationists and homeowners alike with valuable information on the architecture and associated style of bungalow homes from the turn of the century through WWII. This is not strictly a history text nor is it strictly a coffee table book. A reader can take pleasure simply from the sheer beauty of the photography -- yet each photograph illustrates important design elements that may be found in bungalow architecture, allowing for careful study. The text, concisely written, provides excellent information on bungalow architecture and furnishings, both from an artistic and social perspective. The book begins with a simple overview of bungalow architecture. It then features photography and detailed text on a number of outstanding bungalow homes in the United States, focusing primarily on those found in California, Chicago, and rarer cases the East Coast. It concludes with a very brief section on currently available Craftsman styled furnishings. As a reference book and style guide, this is an excellent resource that I highly recommended. If you are seeking detailed historic information on Gustave Stickley, the Arts and Crafts Movement, etc., the text is not exhaustive. It is very specific in its scope and presents its subjects quite well -- the American bungalow. If anything, this book is best used to inspire current bungalow owners of the possibilities contained in these remarkable homes