The bungalow house we live in was made in 1911. Yup, that's alot of history for one house to come thru- both World Wars, Korea, Vietnam, all the cultural changes of the 60s-70s, to the modern day era. When you think about all that, it's amazing that the house is still upright in some regards!
Did you know that more of these bungalow homes were made between 1909 and 1913 than any other type of surburban dwelling? It was originally designed as a vacation home, but quickly became the foundation for family homes across the country, due to the flexibility of the design! It is surprising to realize that most of these homes were built for between $1,800 and $4,800 ! Yes I put the commas right- UNDER $5,000! AND most of them were made by craftsman whose carpentry skills were beyond masterful, thus why so many still stand today. They also knew how to make each house unique in it's own right, with their skills. When the Sears catalog started carrying the design plans and 'kits', bungalows became common nationwide, coast to coast, and I'm sure you can probably think of at least 4-5 in your own town!
This book is actually a reprint of info from 2 books published by William Comstock in 1908 and Clarence Schermerhorn in 1915. It also has a wonderful forward by Tony Wrenn, AIA Archivist, that gives you an excellent history of Bungalow design!
There were many things in the chapter of Planning a Bungalow that I thought were sound advice for planning ANY home, or remodel of a home, even today! Here are some of them:
- choose your site carefully- consider the view, shade, drainage, water supply. Principal rooms should face the sunshine and/or desirable views.
- the house plan should take into account personal habits and needs, and should make the house convenient for EVERY day use.You should be able to get from room to room with ease and not too many steps. There should be free lines of travel to each room. The plan should outlive fashion and fads.
- Bungalow designs should fit into their site and surroundings. Well proportioned details and inexpensive features will frequently make the bungalow more pleasing to passerbys.
- Outside porches should be generous to allow for furniture, swings and chairs. Fresh air is beneficial to all and should be enjoyed as much as possible in a comfortable environment.
- Simplicity in interior trim and effects can be more pleasing to the eye and come across as more graceful.
- The kitchen is well used and should be thoughtfully planned to allow for plenty of light and easy access to the work triangle for the cook.
- The absorption of artificial light by ones selection of wall coverings should be considered. Dark colors on walls can absorb 50-85% (!!!) of the light in a room! Dark reds and browns will force you to have to have more light in a room (and more energy costs!). A room that has a bright sunny exposure needs different colors than one that get only the north light or early morning light.North rooms should have warm rich tones, south rooms with cool and flatter colors.
- By keeping furnishings more simple and classic, you will feel less need to redecorate often, thus saving you a great deal of money.
Basics are basics as you just read, and this book does a great job of showing why Bungalows have remained so popular and are so easily adapted for our modern lifestyles. If you are looking at planning a house, you might want to check out this book. The plans presented show many variations of the same concepts, including flowing layouts. There is even one page with 22 variations of the same bungalow floor plan! I guarantee you can find a plan you like or can work with in this book!
About the Authors:
William Phillips Comstock was the editor of Architecture and Building, a leading architecture publication at the turn of the twentieth century.
Clarence Eaton Schermerhorn specialized in domestic architecture in Philadelphia.
Disclosure
/ Disclaimer: I received this book, free of charge,from Skyhorse Publishing, for review purposes. No
other compensation,
monetary or in kind, has been received or implied for
this post. Nor was I told how to review it.