Product Description

Taunton's new series, Updating Classic America, provides a unique combination of design inspiration and proven ideas for renovating, remodeling and building classic American homes. The first book in the series, Bungalows, provides a history and overview, along with proven, tasteful design solutions for a variety of bungalow-style remodels, additions, renovations, and new construction. Respected architects and bungalow owners Louis Wasserman and Caren Connolly inspire bungalow enthusiasts and homeowners to "put down the coffee table books," and "get to work on their own houses." Bungalows contains a wealth of successful design ideas for updating vintage homes and creating well crafted contemporary bungalows. More than 20 bungalows from around the country are highlighted with before-and-after floor plans, as well as options for a wide variety of budgets, styles and sizes of homes. 211 color photos and 56 drawings are included.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #56157 in Books
• Published on: 2002-10-30
• Released on: 2002-10-30
• 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

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!

Good book for those building new
I am building a new house and I'm looking at many books on Bungalows, Mission Style, and Arts and Crafts. This was one of my favorites because it related more to new construction. It has many pictures and lots of ideas. I'd love to have an old bungalow with all the beautiful woodwork, but I can't. This gave my ideas on how to incorporate the bungalow look into a new home.

New ideas in modern bungalow design...
This book focuses largely on the updating of bungalows through renovation (and even new construction), rather than restoration. While it's not as true to the period as books like Bungalow Bathrooms or Bungalow Kitchens, it is a useful reference to readers like us who are looking to balance a respect for vintage architecture with modern conveniences.

The most interesting things we found in this book were definitions of the different kinds of bungalows. While the Chicago-Style Bungalow Initiative restricts their bungalow program to a fairly specific architectural style (the "Chicago-style"), this book points out the definition of a bungalow and reviews the different variations of bungalows that exist in many places.