1905-1930: Bungalow Styles

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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, and the word Bungalow is often used for any small 20th century home that uses space efficiently. 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 Revival Bungalow
• Dutch Colonial Revival Bungalow
• Chicago 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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