Product Description

The books in this series are filled with design ideas and inspiration for remodeling, renovating, and building houses in classic American architectural styles. Readers will discover innovative strategies for living comfortably in traditional-styled homes.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42334 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-30
• Released on: 2002-10-30
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 208 pages

From Publishers Weekly
With this first in the series Updating Classic America, Taunton focuses on bungalow houses, which were built throughout Canada and the U.S. between 1900 and 1930. Authors Connolly and Wasserman (both architects and bungalow owners) offer suggestions on how to modify the cozy bungalow. With more than 200 photos, the authors illustrate how to add onto the house, open it up, raise the roof, and do more inside and out while keeping the integrity of the original design. Featuring more than 20 houses around the country, the book explains how the bungalow-now becoming popular after having been overlooked for decades-is a solid, practical investment for many buyers, especially first-timers, who enjoy historic neighborhoods and houses that included built-ins and period detail. Photos, drawings and floor plans all show the many ways homeowners can bring out the best in their houses. Future books in the series include Capes, Colonials, and Ranches.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal
The first volume in Taunton's new "Updating Classic America" series, this title provides a wealth of ideas for renovating, remodeling, or building bungalow-style homes. Architects Connolly and Wasserman, who live in a remodeled bungalow, describe this style of house in detail, including a number of frequently encountered design features or variations. They illustrate how to update this type of home so that it can successfully compete with the newest home designs, which frequently lack the character of an older home. Numerous floor plans and photos show the many possibilities available to homeowners, provided their pockets are deep enough. In addition, a section on new construction shows a modern take on this classic style. Other volumes in this series will feature capes, colonials, and ranches. Since most readers live in a home built in one of these styles, this series will be well used and should be purchased by most public libraries.
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
It isn't often that a humble dwelling takes center stage in a close-to-coffee-table-style book. On the other hand, when the publishers of Fine Homebuilding team with well-respected professionals to launch a new series of classic U.S. buildings, it's no surprise that the ubiquitous bungalow is first to be featured. Landscape architect Connolly and architect Wasserman waltz from Rhode Island to California, inspecting different styles and showcasing before and after floor plans and photographs of renovations and restorations. Because the original bungalow totaled a modest 900 or so square feet, much of the book is devoted to the varieties of expansion possibilities, such as "inside the envelope" (maximizing interior spaces like attics and basements) and exterior additions like dormers. What saves this from same-old narratives is the focus on personal homeowner stories and sidebars overflowing with information--vocabulary definitions, regional styles, and disability accommodations, among others. Barbara Jacobs
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Disappointing
I didn't find the book to be helpful or even enjoyable. Little to no information about transitioning an older Bungalow as I had understood the book would contain.

inspirational, if not particularly informative
This book is richly illustrated with plenty of photographs of updated bungalows from several styles ranging from the simple Midwestern houses made to be affordable in their day, to modern, contemporary West Coast bungalows.
Where I found the book somewhat lacking was in the area of detailing before and after transformations of existing bungalows. Given the title, I would've expected more information about specific remodeling and renovation projects, with plenty of photos detailing "before", "during" and "after" the remodeling phases. There's very, very little of that in this book. The majority of the photos and scant floorplans dwell primarily with the finished project, though there are a very few that indicate what the owner started with. If you're looking for project specific guidance for rennovating or building your bungalow, this may not be the best choice. Still, the finished photos and supplemental text are inspiring. I would recommend this book with caution, based on the idea that it should likely be only one of many books in a modest library on period architecture upfitting.

Call it four and a half stars
The authors of this book do a very good job of highlighting the bungalow's unique traits and then showing inspirational bungalow renovations. Early pages give the requisite definitions of what makes a bungalow, but I was most impressed by the middle three chapters: "Remodeling Inside the Walls"; "Beyond the Walls"; and "Brand New Bungalows". It is here that the authors challenge you to update your bungalow without losing any of the home's original character (or build anew with the same overall goal of classic home character).

As any bungalow fan knows, there are three definite "branches" to the bungalow tree: in the Eastern U.S. craftsman bungalows rule, in the Midwest you find prairie styles and simple Chicago bunghalows, and in the west you find mission styles and the Greene and Greene influenced California bungalows. Being from the Midwest, I found this book especially compelling because so many of the example houses illustrated in the book are from my part of the country. Thus if you are from the Midwest I recommend this book with 5 stars, otherwise I give it a 4.5.

Updating Classic American Bungalows is a must read for anyone who owns, lives in, or loves the bungalow style of architecture.

Highly recommended!