Customer Reviews

Bungalow Style: Creating Classic Interiors in Your Arts and Crafts Home

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a librarian and a lover of Arts & Crafts style, I recommend this book to all who desire a peek at some fantastic Bungalow interiors. The color photography is stunning and that material which is covered is covered well. Though the pictures will be enticing to anyone fond of this architecture, I consider the text to be aimed at newbies. Having said that, the chapter on "What Style is Your Home" describing basic architectural hallmarks of various Bungalows is especially well written, albeit very basic.

At merely 186 pages, there are five chapters that lighly cover everything from Bungalow architecture to woodwork and interior details. There are even chapters that deal with making a Bungalow livable in the modern world ("Finding and Creating Space" & "Today's Classic Interior")

Whether you are seeking a coffee table book of beautiful photographs or are just beginning to research this topic, I highly recommend this book.

There's a lot of good in this book, and it's given me a few ideas for my own arts-and-crafts vernacular house, but at the same time it's frustrating. Lots of the pictures feel (or explicitly state) that they're from houses much larger than the classic 900-2000 square foot bungalow.

Given that Taunton is also the publisher of The Not So Big House and a few books on cottages, it's a little strange to see bungalows recast so large, either built bigger or with additions tastefully tucked out of view from the street.

While I like most of the details they show, their approach (perhaps necessary to include the new bungalows being built today) means that a lot of the coziness small bungalows naturally offered is missing, replaced by modern open plans and a lot of period trim and woodwork that can't quite make up the difference.

Nearly every small town or big city has a district of bungalow style houses built around the time of the first world war. In recent years these houses, often in tree lined neighborhoods that are nearby downtime, convenient to schools, libraries, universities, shopping and medical care have begun to be restored to their original condition and have upgraded their surrounding areas to a more gentrified/desirable locale.

This book, primarily of beautiful interior photographs shows how these houses must have looked when they were built, and how they can be remodeled with a sense of style and still have the conveniences of a modern kitchen built in. The author is president of a Boston based interior design firm that specializes in historic restoration that is still appropriate for modern living.

The illustrations in this book cover a wide range of styles from all over the country. It is an invaluable reference to anyone considering the restoration of a bungalow style house.

So you've bought a bungalow--now, what do you do with it? Maybe it's a fixer-upper; maybe it's too small, or doesn't have enough storage space; maybe you're just not sure what kind of furniture to get. This book is a great start toward deciding where to go next. Illustrated with hundreds of full-color photographs, it shows not only many of the features by which you can tell an Arts & Crafts house when you see it (I was surprised to learn that the big old foursquares such as my grandparents lived in for 40 years are included in this classification), but gives actual ideas carried out by other homeowners, even unto before-and-after floor plans. The author's advice is thoughtful and well suited to the houses she writes about, too. And if you just like to look at pictures of vintage American homes, this would be a good volume to add to your collection.

If you are planning any kind work where you are going using allot of wood this is a great book, it is full of ideas. The photos have great detail. One of best books I have on Craftsman/Arts& Crafts interiors.

As a devotee of the Arts and Crafts movement, I found this book to be a great balance between restoration and renovation. Often a book focuses on unrealistic goals of a total period restoration or a lip service to the essential elements of a style renovation. This book helps you identify the crucial must have elements with creative ideas on how to update a home to better meet the needs of the modern family. Stunning photography combined with thoughtful commentary make this a must have reference book for anyone who owns or would like to own a bungalow.

This book is wonderfully Dangerous. Meaning: My wife and I just bought a new house (new to us, but built in 1920) and my local Home depot is going to be thrilled that I got this book, and want to thank the author. This book has given me enough ideas to almost single handedly keep the economy going. Oh, Curse you Good BooK!

My wife and I appreciated this detailed book and incorporated many ideas we found in our new (old) residence

My wife and I are building our dream house which has a strong arts and crafts/bungalow style to it. this book with its exceptional photography, has allowed us to share ideas with our contractors so that they could make our ideas a reality. this is a must have for your library and one we'll refer to again and again.

This is the best collection of interior design of Arts & Crafts homes that I have had the opportunity to read in a long time! The photographs are spectacular along with an indepth history of the this period of home style! We live in a Prairie School home built in 1912 and it helped us choose the correct paint colors for this period in history! It also gave us a deeper knowledge of the other architectural aspects of our home!