Bungalow Style

After the fussy, parsed spaces of the Victorian house, the bungalow was an architectural revolution. Dealers in bungalow kits like Sears made professionally-designed homes widely available. Sophisticated design, the integrity of natural materials, and an easygoing style were the driving forces behind the movement.

Decorative patterns were often created using the exterior shingles as an unique design element.

Like the Arts and Crafts and Mission schools that influenced it, Bungalow style emphasizes artisanship, local materials, and rustic detail. Everything feels intentionally made—built-ins that look as if they grew out of the house, honest joinery, and wood left warm and visible rather than hidden under glossy finishes. Asian influences are common, particularly in the California bungalows of Greene and Greene, where delicately proportioned beams, lattice-like screens, and quiet, horizontal lines echo Japanese and Chinese traditions without ever becoming fussy.

Informality and openness are key features of the interior space. Rooms flow into one another, linked by wide cased openings, low bookcases, and half walls that define space without closing it off. Many bungalows replace the formal dining room with a breakfast nook—tucked into a bay window or beside the kitchen—often with a built-in bench, a sturdy table, and art-glass windows that turn morning light into color. There is usually no front hall, and instead of a long corridor, you step directly into the life of the house. The rough stone or brick fireplace provides the focus for the living space, anchoring the room with a broad hearth, substantial wood trim, and the quiet sense that the best conversations happen right here.

Today’s bungalows continue a living, eclectic design tradition—one that evolves gently without losing sight of its origins. Wall sconces cast a warm, domestic glow, while art glass and carefully placed stenciled decoration draw attention to the craftsmanship already present in the architecture. These details do not compete with the structure; they reveal it, highlighting wainscoting worn smooth by time, box-beam ceilings that emphasize the home’s horizontal lines, and wide wood moldings that frame the fireplace like a piece of functional sculpture.

The palette remains restrained and grounded. Quiet greens, soft creams, and muted mustard tones create a calm backdrop that allows natural materials to speak for themselves. Wood, stone, terra cotta, and brick are not treated as accents but as essential elements of the design. Abundant natural light and the thoughtful treatment of the garden as an “exterior room” dissolve the boundary between inside and out, extending the living space onto porches, patios, and shaded corners of the yard. Craft is made visible everywhere—in mortise-and-tenon furniture, hand-hammered copper fixtures, and built-in benches and bookcases that feel permanent, useful, and quietly beautiful.

Rustic earth tones

Vibrant, colorful patterns underlie this design style.

Feature tutorial.

The Parchment colorwash. Creating the impression of aged walls, the Parchment finish evokes a feeling of history and old world charm. The color density varies over the finished surface and creates appearances of lightly mottled parchment. A soft and airy finish, the Parchment glaze is an ideal way to create mood and character in any room. I’ve found it to be an ideal solution for finishing irregular or textured wall surfaces.

Cabinets

built-in shelves or hutches; details like mullioned doors, beveled glass. (Bungalows in California tend to use redwood, while Midwestern and east coast Craftsman houses use more oak.)

Fireplaces

stone or brick with wide wood molding on the sides, a mantel above, a beveled glass mirror. Decorative tile around the edges. An over mantel rustic landscape or scenic tiles.

Furniture

built-in benches, breakfast nooks. Mahogany with mortise-and-tenon and peg construction, inlaid tiles, green marble.

Lighting

Craftsman lights on either side of mantel. Prairie style lamps with leaded glass panels, brass base. Simple hanging globe fixtures in inglenook. Hand-hammered copper candlesticks.

Windows

Lots of windows for natural light; many-paned windows, particularly large lower panes and small upper panes; stained glass with Arts and Crafts designs.

Floors

wood, tile or stone.

Ceilings

beams, log accents.

Walls

wainscoting, stenciling, muted cream, yellow, sage. Fieldstone, brick.