Location, Location, Location...

Mar 3, 2012

Location, Location, Location...

(The 'Airplane Bungalow' above is bigger than the usual bungalow of the 30s & 40s.)

It's been said when deciding on a home to buy that the most important thing is location. I understand this to be true, especially if you've got children and need the resources of the community to help raise children. And also to provide for their safety. I thought that today I would share another part of choosing a house to call 'home' and that is style. Since I'm in my mid-fifties, it's too late for us to purchase a home of our own... but I can dream :) So, today I thought I'd share one of my favorite architectural designs of the early 1900 - mid century, all of which were popular during the '40s & '50s.

 (This 'bungalow' is an example of a Chalet Bungalow.)

The word bungalow is often used for any small 20th century home that uses space efficiently. However there are particular features we associate with bungalow architecture in the USA. 
American Bungalow Features:

• One and a half stories
• Most of the living spaces on the ground floor
• Low-pitched roof and horizontal shape
• Living room at the center
• Connecting rooms without hallways
• Efficient floor plan
• Built-in cabinets, shelves, and seats 

 (This beautiful 'bungalow' is known as a Colonial Revival Bungalow.)

The space-efficient floor plan of bungalow houses may have also been inspired by army tents and rural English cottages. The idea was to cluster the kitchen, dining area, bedrooms, and bathroom around a central living area.

(This bungalow is an example of one that 'stuco' was used as an exterior medium.) 

The first American house to be called a bungalow was designed in 1879 by William Gibbons Preston. Built at Monument Beach on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, the two-story house had the informal air of resort architecture. However, this house was much larger and more elaborate than the homes we think of when we use the term Bungalow. Two California architects, Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene, are often credited with inspiring America to build Bungalows.

Follow these links for floor plans:

• Sears & Aladdin Mail Order Floor Plans
• Historic Bungalow Plans
• One-Story House Plans
• The Bungalow Company
• Ashmore/Kessenich Design