Bungalows are a form of residential architecture that was widely popular across America and, to some extent, the world between 1890 and 1940. Bungalows became so popular that companies like Sears, Roebuck & Co. and Montgomery Ward offered mail-order houses that were pre-cut in factories then shipped out for fabrication on site by local carpenters. One could buy a mail-order bungalow for as little as $900.
The bungalow actually traces its origins to the Indian province of Bengal. The native thatched roof huts were adapted by the British, who built bungalows as houses for administrators and as summer retreats. Refined and popularized in California, the first California house dubbed a bungalow was designed by the San Francisco architect A. Page Brown in the early 1890s.
Characteristics of a Bungalow
Influenced by the Arts and Crafts movement, bungalow architecture emphasizes a horizontal link between the house and the land around it. The use of natural, local materials and colors also reinforce this home-earth relationship. California Bungalows are commonly seen with Craftsman lines or in a Spanish Colonial motif.
Bungalow features:
• Low, sloping roof either gabled (front or side) or hipped, often with wide overhangs
• Exposed roof structure (beams, rafters)
• Exterior proportions balanced rather than symmetrical in arrangement
• Modest front porch
• Front stoop
• Focus on a garden, even if small
• Open, informal floor plan
• Prominent hearth
• Interior wood details
Bungalow Styles
California bungalows are commonly seen with Craftsman lines or in a Spanish Colonial motif, but many surprising variations of bungalows exist, such as:
• California
• Craftsman
• Mission
• Tudor
• Prairie
• Foursquare
• Spanish Colonial
• Pueblo
• Log Cabin
• Colonial
• Chicago
• Cape Cod
• Swiss Chalet
• Modern
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Article by Jay F. Lux
New England Bungalows
