Customer Reviews

The New Bungalow

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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This is a nice hardcover book w/ a lot of good photos. It is good for getting ideas, but the text is really not well researched and more of an advertisement for the books contributors. Still it is nice to get additonal glimpses into what is currently being done in the "bungalow" style today. Do not buy this book if you're looking for meaty text and good instruction. Do buy this book if you are interested in some nice photos to give you some detail ideas and insight into todays bungalow stylings. It makes a nice addition to your bungalow library.

If your interested in the history of the Bungalow style, and what makes a house a bungalow, or if your trying to figure out who designed your bungalow then this book will be worth while reading for you. Also if your interested in building your own bungalow or remodeling an existing one, this book should be quite helpful. The downside of this book is that it looks like it was published 50 years ago even though it was published in 2001! There are a few excellent photo's, some good ones, and a bunch of computer illustrations and other images that look like they are paintings or something that has been done with a cheap digital camera and a xerox machine! Not exactly a Coffee Table book. Also it does not go into great depth on any of the subjects, but then again I did not expect it to in the first place. If you want books that go into certain chapters/subjects in greater depth then buy ones that strictly talk about remodeling or ones that only talk about Greene and Greene or Arts & Crafts homes.

We are building a new bungalow and have gotten a lot of ideas here. Everything from window placement to hardware detail is in this book. This book is for anyone who wishes to build or remodel in the arts and crafts style or just add arts & craft details to their home.

The text that accompanies the pictures in this book isn't anything to crow about. That's okay, because the photos make up for it.

Most of the chapters in The New Bungalow assume that you have a bungalow to refurbish, or that you're building/buying a brand-new home and want to make it Bungalow-ish. I'm in a 1970s tract home that has no personality, and I want to add some. So the text, such as it is, isn't all that helpful.

But I don't mind, because the photos are so good. There's detailed and wide-shots of both exteriors and interiors, as well as every room in the house. I must have found a dozen, "ooh, isn't that pretty!" opportunities, and three or four "hey, we could do *that* over the entryway" inspirations. In addition to structural items (such as beautiful wood staircases and suggestions about how to incorporate modern lighting), the houses are decorated in a lovely fashion.

It's not the most valuable book I've found for growing my house into an Arts & Crafts inspired home. But if you're looking for inspiration, you'll find plenty here to like.

A deftly edited series of essays by architects, designers, renovators and builders Matthew Bialecki, Christian Gladu, Jill Kessenich, Jim McCord, and Sue Bacon, The New Bungalow is a truly impressive and superbly illustrated coffee table "art book quality" volume dedicated to the specific issues relating to the restoration and proper care of bungalow houses. Full-color photographs bring to life the charming and cozy interiors of a wide range of bungalow housing, and the essays offer exquisite description of these home's formation, expression, and character. A truly beautiful and elaborate guide to the style of housing especially identified by its simple economy of space, The New Bungalow is an enthusiastically recommended addition to personal and professional interior design and renovation studies reading lists and reference collections.

If you like bungalow look, this is a great book. We have used it for years for different ideas for our house and others. Timeless classic bungalow look.