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Share
the unique personality of your bungalow with our readers.
New jewel, old gem, simple cottage or refined estate --
we want them all! All we need from you is a clear photo
and a brief description of your home.
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San
Jose, Calif., Honor Spitz
An inveterate "fixer-upper," I was drawn to this 1923 Spanish-style
bungalow house for many reasons-I could afford it and many of
its features said "home" to me: Prairie-style windows, Craftsman
built-ins and old-California Spanish elements to remind me of
my growing years here. Mine was the "bad boy" on the block,
neglected outside, hideous remodeling inside. As a landscaper/gardener,
I first tackled the front yard. Other than the professional
exterior paint job and roof, I've been slowly restoring the
house myself. Remaining is the "modernized" (ouch!) 1970s kitchen.
Friends and strangers now stop to admire this little house that
almost fell victim to neglect.
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New
Rochelle, N.Y., Liz and Tom Dente
Our home was built in 1913 by Oscar Heyman, German immigrant
and owner of Consolidated Cork Company-they made cork bottle
cap liners. When we purchased the home in 2002, its original
Arts and Crafts interior was suffering from "Victorianization."
Removing the superfluous revealed the beauty of the home, including
tiger-stripe oak paneling, a Grueby tile fireplace surround
in the dining room and a Moravian Tileworks fireplace in the
living room. Other treasures passed down from owner to owner
include the original blueprints and American Impressionist William
de Leftwich Dodge's art painted on an overmantle in the study.
We look forward to discovering more about our home's fascinating
history and the families that lived here.
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Des
Moines, Iowa, Kent and Sondra Carlson
My wife wanted our home from the day she arrived in Des Moines.
When we noticed a "For Sale" sign, by 5 p.m. the house was ours.
We have the original velum drawings from Norman T. Vorse, the
talented local architect who constructed it in 1916. The house
was built to commercial standards with massive 15"-thick poured
concrete floors and exterior stucco walls. An innovative central
vacuum is still functioning, one of three known working systems-another
is in Henry Ford's Michigan home. Other features include oak
beams; leaded glass bookcases; pocket French doors; original
oak, marble and tile flooring; and Palladian windows. Six families
have owned the home since 1916 and all have meticulously maintained
it. |
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West
Jefferson, N.C., Bill and Ginny Tobiassen
The original frame structure of our stone bungalow was built
in 1911. Our home sits in downtown West Jefferson, a small mountain
town, once a railroad stop. The tracks ran hard by the house,
and stone carried by the train was used to cover the house in
1917. In our large, square dining and living rooms, light flows
through leaded glass transoms above huge windows. The small
library has its original oak pocket doors. Although time and
money have yet to allow us to do much renovation, we love the
house and look to the future-which we hope to spend bringing
back the past! |
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Wyoming,
Mich., Dan and Jennifer Smith
Our 1922 bungalow was previously a rental property and in need
of major repair. After buying it in 1996, we spent four years
constantly renovating-reroofing, removing paneling and lowered
ceilings, making casings, redoing plumbing and replastering.
While purists may not approve of some of our upgrades, our home
still has that cherished and warm bungalow charm. It also reflects
a simpler era when middle- class families could share in the
American Dream. Your grandpa and grandma, mom and dad probably
owned a bungalow. Bungalows just feel like home; ours certainly
does. |
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West
Orange, N.J., P.J., Tracy and Mojo (the dog) Maguire
We
did it; we finally own a bungalow! Ours was built circa 1928
and has four bedrooms and 11/2 baths. It has amazing ribbon-bordered
wood floors on the ground floor. We have started removing some
"remuddling" (think theater lighting in the bathroom) and are
looking forward to selecting coordinated paint colors. There
is a sleeping porch upstairs, entered through double French
doors, that clearly needs more historically accurate windows,
and we love our big front porch. We have enough projects to
keep us happily going for the next 30 years! |
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.Omaha,
Neb., Rob Parolek
For the past 15 years I have been slowly returning my home
from a three-unit apartment to a single-family residence.
The home, which was built in 1914 in an Omaha streetcar suburb,
was largely unaltered over the years-except for the '70s "harvest
gold" kitchen, soon to be replaced. It has wonderful built-ins,
a floor to ceiling unglazed-brick fireplace and crown moldings.
The original floors only needed carpets to be taken up and
buffed to a warm shine. The one feature I wish hadn't been
removed was the dining room plate rail. The ghosts of the
plate rail can be seen where it attached to the baseboard
and window moldings.
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Quitman,
Ga., Tim Reisenwitz
After moving to Georgia two years ago to teach at Valdosta State
University, I bought my home, built circa 1917. I hired "best
of the best" professionals to restore the kitchen, baths
and sunroom. When they quit after two days, I realized the job
was mine. Most challenging was stripping the woodwork as the
last layer of paint-buttermilk I'm told-soaked into the wood
and must be sanded out. With the major work nearly completed,
I'm hoping to have an open house later this year. Although my
antique collection is of antebellum American furnishings, they
seem to work well with the hardwood floors and 11-foot ceilings.
Thanks for your inspiration and resources!
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We're
running low on great homes to feature in upcoming issues,
but we know they're there. Send your photos and descriptions
to the address on our Contact Us page. Include your first
and last name on each photo submitted.
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