Welcome to The Craftsman Bungalow!

Architectural and design topics focusing on historic restoration and landmark homes of the early 20th century, from the perspective of an Arts & Crafts, Craftsman and Bungalow Home Enthusiast.
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A Hand-Hewn Log Cabin in the Foothills of Oregon's Mount Hood

A Hand-Hewn Log Cabin in the Foothills of Oregon’s Mount Hood

A couple of years ago, I heard about a home tour on the western slopes of Oregon’s Mount Hood that celebrated the work of a family of craftsmen who single-handedly built as many as 100 of the Pacific Northwest’s finest...
A Few Words About The Craftsman Bungalow

A Few Words About The Craftsman Bungalow

Welcome to The Craftsman Bungalow!  My goal for this site is for it to become a resource for people who love old homes – and more specifically – Arts & Crafts, Craftsman, and Bungalow home enthusiasts.  Hopefully along the way,...
The Ugly Hutch and The Beautiful Stairway That Hid Behind It:  Part II

The Ugly Hutch and The Beautiful Stairway That Hid Behind It: Part II

In my previous post, The Ugly Hutch and The Beautiful Stairway That Hid Behind It:  Part I, I told you how we removed the existing big ugly hutch and cut part of the wall to expose the staircase behind it....
The Craftsman Bungalow's Top Five Most Popular Articles From 2012

The Craftsman Bungalow’s Top Five Most Popular Articles From 2012

Looking back on the inaugural year of The Craftsman Bungalow, I thought it would be fun to countdown our Top 5 most popular articles from 2012.  This year I was able to travel quite a bit and visit architectural landmarks...
A Trip to Pasadena For Inspiration from the Masters: Greene & Greene

A Trip to Pasadena For Inspiration from the Masters: Greene & Greene

With all of the basic stuff done at our new house, the focus has shifted to the big stuff.  Our wishlist started with just remodeling the kitchen and bathrooms and building a new garage, but has quickly ballooned to include...
Photo Essay: Tropical Bungalows of the Aloha State

Photo Essay: Tropical Bungalows of the Aloha State

As you may recall, on a recent business trip to Hawaii I stayed at a lovely family-run bed & breakfast rather than one of the impersonal mega hotels in Waikiki.  While staying there, I got into a routine of taking...
Berkeley's Historic Claremont Hotel Will Soon Celebrate Its 100th Year

Berkeley’s Historic Claremont Hotel Will Soon Celebrate Its 100th Year

On a recent business trip to the San Francisco Bay Area, I opted to stay at a hotel that’s steeped in history and in a little less than two years will celebrate its 100th year in operation.  The Claremont Hotel,...
You Can Stay In The Guest House of This Greene & Greene Designed Home

You Can Stay In The Guest House of This Greene & Greene Designed Home

In the Spring 2017 Issue #94 of American Bungalow magazine, I contributed an article about a Greene & Greene home that was designed in 1906, but for reasons still not known today, was ultimately never built by the Greenes.  Almost...
Recent Articles From The Craftsman Bungalow
The Annual Grove Park Inn National Arts & Crafts Conference in Asheville, NC

The Annual Grove Park Inn National Arts & Crafts Conference in Asheville, NC

Each February, the eyes of the Arts & Crafts community are focused on Asheville, North Carolina, and the upcoming 2020 edition marks the 33rd year of the National Arts & Crafts Conference at the Grove Park Inn. “It’s been a perfect match,” explains founder and author Bruce Johnson, himself an Arts & Crafts collector and...
The Craftsman Spotlight: Phillip Myer of Ragsdale Home Furnishings

The Craftsman Spotlight: Phillip Myer of Ragsdale Home Furnishings

When Phillip Myer of Ragsdale Home Furnishings built his first table lamp way back in junior high school, he never imagined that one day, he’d be doing it for a living.  But in 1999, more than 25 years after building that first fateful lamp, Phil quit his job in the high-tech electronics industry and embarked...
Tor House: The Handcrafted Stone Cottage of Poet Robinson Jeffers

Tor House: The Handcrafted Stone Cottage of Poet Robinson Jeffers

Some time ago,  we took a trip down the California Coast during which we explored some of the countless arts & crafts cottages in and around the oceanside artist community of Carmel. The highlight of our time there was getting to take a tour of Tor House – the handcrafted stone cottage of poet Robinson...
A Virtual Visit To "The Shire" From J.R.R. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings Trilogy

A Virtual Visit To “The Shire” From J.R.R. Tolkein’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy

Those of you who are fans of J.R.R. Tolkein and his work may recognize some of the images below from the Lord of the Rings films and most recently, The Hobbit.  Tolkien grew up in rural Western England around the turn of the last century, and his writings were heavily influenced by the romantic prose...
The Definitive Bungalow Documentary, Bungalow Heaven: Preserving A Neighborhood

The Definitive Bungalow Documentary, Bungalow Heaven: Preserving A Neighborhood

Filmmaker Joaquin Montalvan always knew he wanted to live in a bungalow – even before he knew what a bungalow was.  Growing up, he had lived in a Spanish Mission style home with a welcoming front porch, hardwood floors and a fireplace that his family frequently used.  Those three features were ingrained in his mind...
American Bungalow's Seasonal Lithogrpah Art Prints for 2012

American Bungalow’s Seasonal Lithogrpah Art Prints for 2012

I just got the latest issue of American Bungalow this week. Each issue this year includes an 8×10 full-color lithograph art print of the four seasons called “The Wisdom of the Trees” by Yoshiko Yamamoto. In 2010, American Bungalow featured four beautiful prints by Roycroft Renaissance artisan, Laura Wilder. Here’s what I did with those...
A Hand-Hewn Log Cabin in the Foothills of Oregon's Mount Hood

A Hand-Hewn Log Cabin in the Foothills of Oregon’s Mount Hood

A couple of years ago, I heard about a home tour on the western slopes of Oregon’s Mount Hood that celebrated the work of a family of craftsmen who single-handedly built as many as 100 of the Pacific Northwest’s finest examples of authentic log cabins.  Naturally, my interest was piqued, and since the weekend of...
Where It All Began...

Where It All Began…

To understand what we were dealing with when we initially bought the house, let’s go back to late 2009… This is what the exterior looked like when we first moved in (we have since painted it).  I came to find out later that the house had been for sale earlier in 2009 through a realtor,...
The Architectural Heritage Center's 14th Annual Portland Kitchen Revival Tour

The Architectural Heritage Center’s 14th Annual Portland Kitchen Revival Tour

This past weekend was the Architectural Heritage Center’s Annual Kitchen Revival Tour.  Now in its 14th year, the tour showcases the efforts of Portland homeowners who have restored their home’s kitchens to its original glory.  Most of the homes featured were professional restored by local contractors who concentrate on period homes, however one home’s kitchen...
A Trip to Pasadena For Inspiration from the Masters: Greene & Greene

A Trip to Pasadena For Inspiration from the Masters: Greene & Greene

With all of the basic stuff done at our new house, the focus has shifted to the big stuff.  Our wishlist started with just remodeling the kitchen and bathrooms and building a new garage, but has quickly ballooned to include adding on a new master suite above the garage, as well as adding a second...
The Brick House Beautiful: A Unique and Timeless Portland Landmark

The Brick House Beautiful: A Unique and Timeless Portland Landmark

Brick.  It’s been around – in one form or another – since the dawn of human civilization, and the virtues of its appeal and versatility are still very much appreciated today.  It was no different in the early part of the 20th Century.  In cities across the country, brick had been widely used in the...

A Guide to Types of Historic Homes and Preserving Their Original Character

I was recently contacted by Allie Drinkward, a writer at Redfin.com, to provide a quote for an article she was writing for the Redfin website. You check it out below, or at the Redfin site here: A Guide to Types of Historic Homes and Preserving Their Original Character This article was written by Allie Drinkward,...
Greene & Greene's William T. Bolton House: A Journey of Restoration Through The Years

Greene & Greene’s William T. Bolton House: A Journey of Restoration Through The Years

The William T. Bolton House in Pasadena, California is a prime example of Charles and Henry Greene’s early emerging California Arts & Crafts aesthetic.  Taking its name from the prominent physician who commissioned it in 1906, the home predates Greene & Greene’s larger commissions – including the Gamble and Blacker houses – and introduces several more...
An Evolving Aesthetic: Frank Lloyd Wright's Home & Studio in Oak Park, Illinois

An Evolving Aesthetic: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Home & Studio in Oak Park, Illinois

The Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio in Oak Park, Ill., is a microcosm of the prolific designer’s ever-evolving architectural aesthetic.  It’s an expression of his early formative years, and through a series of additions, it embodies the changes that his philosophy and style underwent during the twenty year span (1889-1909) that he lived in...
Frank Lloyd Wright's Frederick C. Robie House: A Prairie Masterpiece

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Frederick C. Robie House: A Prairie Masterpiece

When Frederick Robie commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design a home for him and his growing family in 1908, neither man knew that the home’s iconic design would become the celebrated jewel that it is today.  Considered by many architectural scholars to be one of the most influential and important residential designs of the 20th...
Peek Inside: A Grand 1910 Bay Area Residence, Once Home to CA Supreme Court Justice

Peek Inside: A Grand 1910 Bay Area Residence, Once Home to CA Supreme Court Justice

This post is part of our “Peek Inside” series where we showcase Arts & Crafts homes from across the country that have been listed for sale, or were recently sold.  Some may be fixers that are just begging to be restored, others may be fully restored and move-in ready, and still others may be somewhere...
Peeling Back The Layers

Peeling Back The Layers

After we finally closed on the house, we were eager to get started tearing things up.  At the top of our list was to peel back the carpets and see what the floors underneath looked like… How it looked before we did anything… Carpets come up and wood paneling comes down… Once we got the...
Another Greene & Greene Masterwork - The Duncan-Irwin House, Part I: The Exterior

Another Greene & Greene Masterwork – The Duncan-Irwin House, Part I: The Exterior

Charles & Henry Greene were prolific architects who pioneered the Arts & Crafts Movement in California at the turn of the 20th century.  Not long ago, my wife and I traveled down to Los Angeles to take part in a rare tour of six privately-owned Greene & Greene homes in Pasadena’s Park Place neighborhood, just...
Timberline Lodge: The Quintessential American Alpine Lodge, Part Two

Timberline Lodge: The Quintessential American Alpine Lodge, Part Two

This article is the continuation of Timberline Lodge: The Quintessential American Alpine Lodge, Part One, in which I explored the lodge’s genesis and its historically fast construction which took place over the course of 15 months in 1936-37.  Now I’ll take you inside this storied lodge on a personal tour through its hallowed halls… As...
The Arts & Crafts Cottages of Carmel and the Monterey Peninsula

The Arts & Crafts Cottages of Carmel and the Monterey Peninsula

A couple weeks ago my wife and I traveled down to attend a friend’s wedding in Cayucos, California – a quaint little beach town about halfway between Los Angeles and San Francisco.  When we started looking at flights a few months back, we realized that in order to get to Cayucos from Portland, we’d have...
Memory Lane:  The Wilbur's House - The Heart of My Old Neighborhood

Memory Lane: The Wilbur’s House – The Heart of My Old Neighborhood

This past week we traveled cross-country to spend Thanksgiving with family, friends and neighbors in the rural New Jersey town I grew up in.  One of the many highlights of the week (in addition to celebrating my parents’ birthdays and their anniversary) was to spend some quality time with Carol Wilbur who lives in the...
Wharton Esherick: Integrating Life, Art & Craft: American Bungalow Cover Article

Wharton Esherick: Integrating Life, Art & Craft: American Bungalow Cover Article

The Spring 2014 issue of American Bungalow is out now, and I’m very excited that my article entitled, “Wharton Esherick: Integrating Life, Art and Craft” made the cover!  If you’re not a subscriber or haven’t received your copy yet, you can read the article here. Wharton Esherick (1887-1966) was a classically trained Impressionist painter in...
Serendipity In A University Town: American Bungalow Issue 96 Article

Serendipity In A University Town: American Bungalow Issue 96 Article

The Summer 2018 Issue #96 of American Bungalow magazine has just come out, and it includes an article that I wrote and photographed about a couple’s restoration of a historic bungalow in Eugene, Oregon.  The article, titled “Serendipity In A University Town,” (which can be found on Page 18 of the issue) tells the story of Sherrill and...
Reader Submission: Thoughtful Restoration Makes A Home "Smile" Again

Reader Submission: Thoughtful Restoration Makes A Home “Smile” Again

When Sandy Evans and her husband Richard Herbold purchased this handsome 1915 bungalow in Delmar, New York, it was about to turn 100 years old.  But on the inside, its previous owners had tried to re-imagine its interior as a contemporary, industrial space that more resembled a post-modern office building than a cozy, century-old residence. ...
The Craftsman Spotlight: Michael Stinnett And The Antique Piano Shop

The Craftsman Spotlight: Michael Stinnett And The Antique Piano Shop

Most people don’t typically associate pianos with the Arts & Crafts Movement, and for good reason.  Established piano makers of the late 1800s didn’t really see the Movement coming, and by the time they did, it wasn’t economical for them to go through the rigors and cost of designing and marketing this “new” style of...
Frank Lloyd Wright's Magnificent Darwin Martin House in Buffalo, NY

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Magnificent Darwin Martin House in Buffalo, NY

Frank Lloyd Wright grew up in the Upper Midwest and honed his skills as an apprentice with the prestigious Chicago architectural firm of Adler & Sullivan in the 1890’s, before branching out on his own.  At the turn of the 20th century, Wright had completed over 50 projects and began to develop his groundbreaking “Prairie...
You Can Stay In The Guest House of This Greene & Greene Designed Home

You Can Stay In The Guest House of This Greene & Greene Designed Home

In the Spring 2017 Issue #94 of American Bungalow magazine, I contributed an article about a Greene & Greene home that was designed in 1906, but for reasons still not known today, was ultimately never built by the Greenes.  Almost 100 years later, an ambitious builder, fueled by his love for authentic craftsman architecture, acquired...
The Architectural Heritage Center's 15th Annual Portland Kitchen Revival Tour

The Architectural Heritage Center’s 15th Annual Portland Kitchen Revival Tour

This April, the Architectural Heritage Center in Portland hosted its 15th Annual Kitchen Revival Tour.  Last year was the first time I attended the tour, and I was hooked after the very first home I visited.  This year’s tour was just as good and featured noteworthy kitchens of several early 1900’s bungalows.  All of the...
A Legacy of Craftsmanship: The South Falls Lodge at Silver Falls State Park

A Legacy of Craftsmanship: The South Falls Lodge at Silver Falls State Park

Last weekend my brother was in town visiting from the East Coast and we braved the rain and headed down to Silver Falls State Park located about an hour and a half south of Portland near the town of Sublimity, Oregon. Designated as a Recreational Demonstration Area by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935, the...
The Architectural Heritage Center’s 17th Annual Portland Old House Revival Tour

The Architectural Heritage Center’s 17th Annual Portland Old House Revival Tour

This year the Architectural Heritage Center expanded their Annual Kitchen Revival Tour beyond just kitchens to showcase entire homes, and re-named the tour the Portland Old House Revival Tour.  I’ve covered this tour for the past three years, and now in its 16th year overall, the tour never disappoints.  In case you missed it, here...