Bungalow House: An American Classic
One of my favorite home exteriors is a bungalow house. The first home I ever purchased as an adult was a Sears kit catalog bungalow. The minute I stepped inside the doorway with the realtor I knew I needed to call it my own. One day I’ll go back and take a photo of it to share with you. But for now, I’m sharing a roundup of adorable bungalows that I found on Houzz. Tell me if you love these charmers as much as I do!
Photo by Cottage Company of Harbor Springs
A bungalow house typically has a low-slung roof with a wide front porch. You can see more of these beautiful craftsman-style homes at Home Patterns. You’ll find amazing exteriors, interiors, and house plans from which to choose!
The original word “bunga” comes from India and was a thatched-roof hut for wayfarers.
The bungalow often includes a porch or veranda that serves as an additional outdoor room.
A bungalow house is typically one-and-a-half stories and tends to be on the smaller size.
Photo by Cottage Company of Harbor Springs
Popular around the 1920s, the bungalow provided many Americans the opportunity to own their piece of the American dream.
You’ll typically see dormers on a bungalow house, but not always. The attention to detail on these homes helps to make them so appealing with their great curb appeal.
Whenever I see a cute bungalow house like this yellow one, I just have to smile.
Photo by Cottage Company of Harbor Springs
We have a lot of bungalows in our area and I need to take some photos of them.
They always remind of the type of house you’d see in a fairy tale.
Do you live in a bungalow house? If yes, what do you love about it – and is there anything you don’t like about it?
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I have a 1915 Airplane Bungalow. The Airplane Bungalow is characterized by a “pop up” second floor, usually of one or two rooms; resembling a cockpit of an airplane. It is 4 bedrooms, 1 & 1 1/4 bathes, as original as we could get it. 15 years of restoration, sweat equity and searches for vintage house parts. It took us 15 years to match what was left of the original kitchen counter. Thankfully, Caserstone came to the rescue and created a honed solid counter that matched almost exactly. The hunt is half of the adventure, and the value of our home has increased over 4 times the purchase price. Keeping a house original actually increases the value. Buyers love the historic neighborhoods. Think carefully before any trendy remodels are done on a historic home. Be careful of HGTV trends ( and I love my HGTV) No open concepts, no can lighting, no painting the original woodwork white, and please-no granite counters…just let the bungalow tell you what it should be-and it will if you be patient.
Loved this article! My sister lives in a Sears bungalow, too! She is near West High and AU in Aurora. It is a charming home and remains one of my favorite styles! Thank you for the inspiration!
I think I’ve mentioned before that I live in Oak Park, and the bungalows that I think of are different. They’re brick, and don’t have a big porch. They were often built for the returning soldiers after WW2, and there are whole areas of them in Elmwood Park, Berwyn, and surrounding towns. The ones in Oak Park tend to be a little fancier and a little larger, but similar. To me, a lot of the photos above look more like cottages or craftsman. I guess it depends where you are and what youre used to.
Those are wonderful examples. In my area, most bungalows are brick with enclosed front porches. My great grandparents had one that was stucco and had clay tiles for the roof with a side entry that was very Spanish in sryle.
I think we all love a bungalow for its coziness and all around cute-ness!. I’ve never lived in one, but would have loved to…I think I’m on my last house now, but who knows, maybe there will be another one yet, and a bungalow would be a perfect choice. My favorites out of these are the green and white one, and the yellow one toward the end of the list…both with those darling arched doors.
We have a lot of bungalows here in Ocala FL. In fact a young builder began using the front porch pillar style in his houses and that has become their trademark. My mom grew up in a bungalow in north Tampa FL and I have vague memories of PopPop’s house. Bungalows represent a precious time in our American story.
Have never lived in a bungalow, but love the style! Loved the yellow one you showed with the curved top door. I’m sure they are just as beautiful inside! Would love to see your first home!
our daughter was blessed with a two bedroom bungalow that has both a covered front and back porch. It is so wonderful for her, and for me to visit and help with projects. she has been blessed.
Our first two homes were Bungalows, Sears kits. Fond memories, will always be my fav style.
Oh yes 👍. Love the character of them.
Oh my bungalow! They are so charming. I want to walk in the door of each one and check out the coziness. I just love the arched doors too. I have always associated those with Tudor style, but love seeing them on a bungalow. Thanks for sharing!