Small Home Gazette, Spring 2008

Home Improvement

Was your bungalow the victim of “improvements” by previous owners? If you can still recognize it as a bungalow, consider yourself lucky. The unfortunate chalet-style bungalow below was featured in a 1940s publication titled 455 Ideas for Remodeling. The same house, after remodeling, is pictured to the right. Its generous balconies were removed, its overhanging eaves sliced off, and all Arts & Crafts detail erased. Ouch!

Below, left and right, are a pair of photos from a 1950s magazine demonstrating another creative makeover. The original bungalow, left, had a brick porch and columns with stucco arches. In the mid-century, however, those features were considered “graceless” and “massive.” The house was updated with wrought iron “lacy whiteness frosting” and “delicate pink” paint on the walls. No doubt those features are still lookin’ stylish today.