building plans



In all truthfulness, the “bungalow style” is not really a style at all. Instead, it is a form or type of a house. That said, there are just a couple of critical characteristics that will define a house as being a bungalow. These characteristics include things like:


  1. Open floor plans
  2. Horizontal orientation
  3. Large front porch


When a house does not have these features, it is quite difficult to classify it as a bungalow.

The Porch of a Bungalow


Even bungalows that are extremely modest have a front porch that is covered and is big enough to accommodate a small table and a chair. There are quite a few reasons for this being a design element that is included in the cool house plans for bungalows. The last 25 years of the 19th century was a time when it was important to create both strong families and strong communities. This was an era that was rife with political upheaval, economic upheaval and even social upheaval. One way to combat these things was to make stability where ever you could. Having this type of porch facilitated a form of interaction between your neighbors and even with passersby. In many respects, it served as a type of public living room. Remember, this was a time when if you wanted to travel somewhere, you did it by foot, wagon or bicycle. For most people, that meant staying home.


Many people served and even ate their meals on the porch. Many of these types of houses, the dining room or living room had an easy connection to the porch. In fact, in the more modern house plans for that time period, it was not uncommon to see the porch wrap around to connect these rooms. It was so common to be seen on the porch that women even started calling their casual type “at home” clothes “porch dresses”. As far as California goes, the porch was an element that was critical for bungalows due to its climate being mild and this had an influence on the residential architecture of America that was profound.


This type of housing in the 19th century was viewed as both a solution to the many problems of society as well as a source of it. This was a period in which science was identifying both bacteria and viruses as being the origins of diseases. Cleanliness was immediately a social fetish. The fresh air that was given by this type of front porch was seen as being the key to remaining healthy. Tenement housing that was found in the cities had bad ventilation and as such, showed how the air quality of these tightly packed spaces promoted disease. In particular, tuberculosis was a fear due to its claiming thousands of lives yearly.


The porch of a bungalow was symbolic of health and it was very practical. It gave you more of an awareness of nature as well as the benefits if having a lifestyle that was simplified.

Horizontal Lines


Nearly everything regarding a bungalow is centered on horizontal lines that are strong. Rectangles and these horizontal lines define the form of a bungalow. The roof of a bungalow tends to have a low pitch and frequently have hips as opposed to gables. The eaves are typically wide and create an appearance of the house almost hugging the ground. They have been specifically designed to be able to take advantage of the energy from the sun in the winter while allowing for the interior to remain cool in the summer. Windows in a bungalow are often placed in ribbons in order to create yet another horizontal line.

The Open Floor Plan


In order to create this type of home that promoted health, the bungalow threw the windows open and knocked down the walls in order to facilitate better light and ventilation as well as interior spaces that were more flexible. In this type of home.The sight line was more than 30 feet in many cases. The entryway frequently was open right to the living room and many times the interior walls had been replaced by things like low bookcases or colonnades. Furniture was replaced with built in storage. For example free standing case pieces were replaced with organizational cabinetry, sideboards and buffets began appearing in dining rooms and inglenooks and bookcases flanked fireplaces. All of this when viewed as a whole combined to organize and simplify the interior of the bungalow.    

Another feature of a bungalow that has been well-designed is the cross ventilation. Many times, these houses were designed to allow for the maximization of air flow which made even the hottest months of the summer more comfortable. Today, you can find this particular feature all over the place and even in some of the Southern Living house plans.


With this type of house, less truly became more and as such, the bungalow can be said to have been a “green” type of house even more than a century ago.



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