1905-1930: Bungalow Styles

Photo © iStockPhoto.com/Diana Lundin

Bungalow houses come in many styles. The California Bungalow shown here has heavy square columns and a simple concrete foundation.

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A Bungalow is an early 20th century home with these features:

• One and a half stories
• Most of the living spaces on the ground floor
• Low-pitched roof and horizontal shape
• Living room at the center
• Connecting rooms without hallways
• Efficient floor plan
• Built-in cabinets, shelves, and seats

Bungalow houses may relect many different architectural styles. In their book American Bungalow Style, authors Robert Winter and Alexander Vertikoff identify dozens of variations on the Bungalow form:

• Craftsman Bungalow
• California Bungalow
• Spanish Colonial Bungalow
• Chicago Bungalow
• Queen Anne Bungalow
• Prairie Bungalow
• Mission Bungalow
• Foursquare Bungalow
• Pueblo Bungalow
• Colonial Bungalow
• Cape Cod Bungalow
• Tudor Bungalow
• Log Cabin Bungalow
• Art Moderne Bungalow

About Bungalow Houses

The Bungalow is an all American housing type, but it has its roots in India. In the province of Bengal, single-family homes were called bangla or bangala. British colonists adapted these one-story thatch-roofed huts to use as summer homes. The space-efficient floor plan of bungalow houses may have also been inspired by army tents and rural English cottages. The idea was to cluster the kitchen, dining area, bedrooms, and bathroom around a central living area.

The first American house to be called a bungalow was designed in 1879 by William Gibbons Preston. Built at Monument Beach on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, the two-story house had the informal air of resort architecture. However, this house was much larger and more elaborate than the homes we think of when we use the term Bungalow.

Two California architects, Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene, are often credited with inspiring America to build Bungalows. Their most famous project was the huge Craftsman style Gamble house (1909) in Pasadena, California. However, the Green brothers also published more modest Bungalow plans in many magazines and pattern books.

Learn more about Bungalows:

• American Bungalow Style, book by Robert Winter and Alexander Vertikoff (compare prices)
• Bungalow Colors, book by Robert Schweitzer (compare prices)
• American Bungalow Magazine
• The Chicago Bungalow

Find Bungalow Floor Plans

Sears & Aladdin Mail Order Floor Plans

Historic Bungalow Plans

One-Story House Plans

The Bungalow Company

Ashmore/Kessenich Design

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