The New Bungalow Kitchen [Hardcover]

Peter Labau (Author), Marco Prozzo (Photographer)

Book Description

Release date: March 27, 2007

The American love affair with the Bungalow continues. And in this most adored housing style, it is the kitchen that homeowners must most often restore, renovate, or remodel. But no one wants an authentic Bungalow kitchen, which was a rustic space that usually featured just a stove, a hoosier, and a sink.
While there are books that describe the authentic Bungalow kitchen, there are few that show readers how to update a Bungalow to handle today's lifestyle needs and personal preferences. Happily, manufacturers today understand the demand, and there are many material and appliance options for homeowners--and the designers they hire--to bring contemporary convenience and beauty to an updated or new Bungalow kitchen. The New Bungalow Kitchen not only provides wonderful historical nuggets about Bungalow kitchens, it offers a plethora of ideas about how to create a tastefully restored or remodeled kitchen, or build new within the style.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Homeowners contemplating renovation may find [author Peter LaBau] a savior, guiding them into the present while staying true to the past...." --"The Washington Post"
"Everyone loves bungalows, but not everyone loves bungalow kitchens -- they're usually cramped, small and relegated to the back of the house. "The New Bungalow Kitchen," by Peter LaBau explains how you can maintain the bungalow style while updating it for modern needs by knocking out walls, adding period light fixtures and rearranging cabinetry. Page after page of stunning kitchens (most bathed in lovely golden light) show how you can incorporate granite countertops, stainless steel appliances and wine closets into houses with casement windows, beadboard walls and lots of natural wood, and still make it all work. LaBau has suggestions for different degrees of renovation -- remodeling on an existing footprint, expanding into a porch area, or bumping out into a whole new addition. Through it all, he remains practical, explaining structure, plumbing and design. It's a gorgeous book. I want "all "these kitchens! It's only been a few years since I remodeled my own kitchen, but paging through 'The New Bungalow Kitchen' makes me want to grab a crowbar and start over."
--"The Minneapolis Star Tribune"
Peter LaBau's "The New Bungalow Kitchen" (Taunton Press, $30) is more eye candy for those who love kitchens (and lust after other people's) than it is a treatise about the architectural form. The kitchens in LaBau's book could fit into just about any house style today, from Queen Anne to McMansion. They are clean and elegant, antique and modern, and full of originals, reproductions, and cutting-edge materials andtechnology. Marco Prozzo's photography is gorgeous, and LaBau offers sound advice in every chapter. What you see in these pages is hardly out of reach. It's all out there. You just need to look. --"The Philadelphis Inquirer"

About the Author

Peter Labau is an architect and the founder of The Classic Group, a Lexington, Massachusetts-based firm that specializes in building and renovating traditional homes. Labau is also a photographer and an accomplished public speaker, and in his spare time he plays first banjo in The Flexible Flyers, a bluegrass band. He now lives in Lexington, Virginia.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 216 pages
• Publisher: Taunton Press (March 27, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561588628
• ISBN-13: 978-1561588626
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 10.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #74,073 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Kitchens for the rest of us August 19, 2008

By Deborah S. Hall VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

What a joy to pick up a book and see photos of lovely kitchens in my size -- meaning, not McMansion. I am so disheartened by all the kitchen porn featuring 48 inch ranges under huge hoods behind islands with seating for six! Though the book specifically references the bungalow style, the photos and narrative describe how the Colonials and Tudors evolved early in the century, and there is plenty of visual and descriptive information applicable to these styles too. I especially liked the emphasis on finding ways to use authentic materials and styling while incorporating modern appliances, from lighting to cooking and even surfaces. The earlier book, Bungalow Kitchens, took on a very proscriptive voice, for example, absolutely banning in-ceiling spot lights. New Bungalow Kitchens, by contrast, is much more ecumenical, recognizing it is no sin to want to acknowledge and utilize the best of the current offerings, and provides real guidance on how to accomplish this without blatantly violating the period aesthetic. There are lovely kitchens in both dark stained and light painted finishes. It seems the author has a few favorite kitchens that were pictured over and over throughout the book. But the ones he chose certainly bore up well in their close-ups. I got several ideas that I can actually use, in fact, probably more ideas than I can actually use.

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful book with the best, experienced advice to homeowners considering renovating their kitchens, no matter what style home July 4, 2007

By E. Sheeran

Format:Hardcover

I relied on this very well-written, beautifully photographed book while renovating my 1900 colonial revival house. Mr. Labau's eye, obviously honed by long experience, is pretty amazing when it comes to combining the class of the old with the functional needs of the new.
The best thing about this book is that you don't put it away on a shelf. It is an art book, too!
Ruby

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great bungalow kitchens May 14, 2007

By Bob Kressin

Format:Hardcover

I would consider this book to be one of the top five bungalow books to purchase! The pictures are exquiste and the narrative is done well. The book will give you several options: from traditional, small bungalow kitches to complete a major modern day bungalow kitchen. A must have in your bungalow book library.