Craftsman style bungalows usually have these features:
- Low-pitched roof
- Wide eaves with exposed roof rafters
- Decorative braces
- Porch with square columns
- One or one and a half stories
- Built-in cabinets, shelves, and seating
Many Craftsman bungalows also have:
- Stone chimneys
- Gabled dormers
- Sloping foundation
The Craftsman Bungalow is an all American housing style, but it has its spiritual roots in India. Native houses in the province of Bengal were called bangla or bangala. British colonists adapted these one-story thatch-roofed huts to use as summer homes. For their comfortable bangla, the British arranged dining rooms, bedrooms, kitchens, and bathrooms around central living rooms. This efficient floor plan became the prototype for America's Craftsman Bungalows.
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, it did not express the true Bungaloid style.
Two California architects, Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene, are often credited with inspiring America to build simple one-and-a-half story bungalows. Homes designed by the Greenes were publicized in magazines, and a flood of pattern books followed.
The Greene brothers also built a few elaborate, landmark "bungalows." The Gamble house (1909) in Pasadena, California is a vast two-story home with a third floor pool room. Purists argue, however, that homes like this are contrary to the spirit of the Bungalow. True Bugalows (say the purists) represent structural simplicity, efficient use of space, and understated style. Most of the living area is placed on the ground floor.
Seventy-five years after Bungalows took America by storm, the style remains a popular favorite. These comfortable and elegant little houses were top picks in our Dream House survey.
Learn More:
Bungalow Floor Plans
Hundreds of illustrations and building plans for historic mail order bungalow homes, reproduced from the pages of Sears, Aladdin and other mail order catalogs.
Mail Order Houses
Catalog house plans by Sears, Montgomery Wards, Aladdin, and other companies were widely distributed in the United States and Canada. Where are those plans now? To find the original plans and to learn other important information about your mail order house, follow these steps.
Bungalow Floor Plan
The original floor plan for a brick bungalow, available online for viewing and printing.
Plans for One-Story Homes
The one-story home allows for vaulted ceilings, dramatic window shapes, and generous use of skylights -- amenities that a multi-level home can't provide. A one-story home can be built to accomodate any need and taste, and is available in just about any style. The collections below will help you find the single-level home of your dreams.
American Bungalow Magazine
The Web site for American Bungalow Magazine is packed with articles and resources to help you preserve and restore craftsman style architecture.
Bungalow Colors
If you're wondering what color to paint your Craftsman Bungalow house, this book by paint color consultant Robert Schweitzer is a must-have guide.
Ashmore/Kessenich Design
This architecture firm specializes in design work that is reminiscent of early 20th-century Arts & Crafts architecture, including restoration of original structures and a catalog of stock house plans based on the craftsman bungalow style.
The Bungalow Company
Building plans for new homes inspired by four classic Craftsman Bungalow designs. Web site also has articles and resources for Craftsman architecture.
Bungalow Style: Vermont
From the Vermont Heritage Network, photo and description of Bungalow architecture.
California Bungalow
These practical houses were a bit plainer than Craftsman Bungalows, yet they incorporated ideas from serveral styles, including Prairie. Here's more info.
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