Edmonton, Alberta, Dave Locky and Sarah Wilkinson
Our 1,300-sq.-ft. 1924 bungalow is in Edmonton’s Highlands neighborhood, which, at 53º north latitude, probably has the northernmost sizeable concentration of bungalows in North America and is undergoing a renaissance of historical awareness. Built on speculation by a young school teacher, it was occupied by the same family for 50 years, then fell into disrepair. Thankfully, the original exterior shingles and siding, fir windows and interior features have remained unchanged. Since we bought it in 2005 it has been restored and renovated, with the attic now a large bedroom and library.
Ogdensburg, N.J., Jackie Dillon
We bought our roomy three-bedroom 1941 bungalow after we fell in love with the original chestnut woodwork, hardwood floors and leaded-glass doors. It has most of the original fixtures, hardware and steam radiators. The living room has a brick fireplace and built-in bookshelves. The deep porch and chimney are built from river stone that has a reddish-purple tone. The house has a full basement and large closets. After a new paint job and some landscaping, people tell us it is “the nicest house on the street.”
Eugene, Oregon, Paula Guthrie and Mary Scott
We designed and built our 2,700-sq.-ft. house in 2004.Thanks to ideas from American Bungalow, it has many Craftsman bungalow touches. We painted it in historic colors inside and out. The dining room has a coffered ceiling and stained-glass light fixtures. Most of the floors are oak, with some covered in old-fashioned linoleum. We’ve furnished the house with our many oak antiques.
Malibu, Calif., Tom and Coco Daniels
Although not an original from back in the day, the bungalow home we created from a dismantled old trailer at the “Point Dume Club” mobile home park is a comfortable, quaint home with wonderful details throughout. Coco put some of her own touches into the home, including a Batchelder influence for the fireplace.We look forward to doing it all over again—well, perhaps a restoration next time. It’s in the family DNA, and for that we have to thank Uncle Tony. [Ed. note: Tony Henrich is an old friend of American Bungalow who helped the magazine get off the ground.]
Altadena, Calif., Philip and Jennifer Zych
Our friends and family refer to our 888-sq.-ft. home as a “tree house” nestled in the foothills north of Pasadena. It was built in 1914, originally as a garage with caretaker’s quarters above, for the Beals Ranch, which grew many citrus trees and operated a small neighborhood dairy. When we bought the house in 2000 it still contained many of its unique original features. We’ve been restoring it to preserve its vintage Craftsman charm.
Arlington, Va., Joe and Sue King
We bought a 1955 ranch in 2002 with the dream of transforming it with Craftsman details. In 2007 it became a 1920s-era bungalow complete with front porch, period lighting and tile, salvaged doors and mantles and reclaimed wide-plank heart-pine floors. We couldn’t be happier with the result, and we thank American Bungalow and its advertisers for helping us gain the vision to make our dream come true.
Thornton, Pa., Andrea and Paul Brogan
We bought this 1924 Arts and Crafts–style bungalow in 2001. It’s pretty small, about 900 square feet (including the porch in summer). It has the original solid-pine tongue-and-groove floors, local-stone fireplace and heirloom rhododendrons and azaleas out front. It was originally built as part of The Brinton Lake Club, a vacation community for wealthy business people from Philadelphia and Chester. It is one of only a handful left. We’ve tried to renovate and update it in a historically faithful manner, doing most of the work ourselves. It is our first bungalow but certainly won’t be our last.
Fayetteville, Ark., Brant and Kristin Williams
My wife and I live four doors from this 1925 bungalow, and when we saw it go up for sale we had to take a look. After a brief tour, we decided to save it from being torn down and replaced by condos. While it may not be a prize-winning beauty yet, we are working on the renovation. As we progress, we are chronicling our renovation on our house blog at www.mybungalowblog.com (Link inactive as of 06/2013).
