My blog has gotten rather chunky so I have chosen 5 articles that I consider to be the most important bungalow basics for any conscientious steward. In these articles I have covered the information that it is vital for you to know in order to understand, preserve & maintain & enjoy your bungalow. The rest of my blog supports these.
When I purchased the Hare House, I had some of this knowledge having grown up in museums & museum houses. I gained more from reading books & magazines about the Arts & Crafts Movement & am still studying today.
The internet is a wonderful resource, the main caveat being that anyone can represent themselves as an authority & unfortunately, few truly are. The external links I provide in my articles & video posts take you to the people to whom you should be listening. These true experts adhere to & promote the use of the Secretary of the Interior’s Standards, which forms the bedrock of preservation. The internal links take you to my articles which embellish each topic. I urge you to follow the those links & continue reading.
So let’s take a look at the information you need to know to win the bungalow game.
The books of Jane Powell. I started this blog in Jane’s memory & to ensure that her knowledge would continue to spread. There is little information about bungalows that is not contained in those books, save that some of the resources may be out of date. I suggest that you start by just paging through, enjoying the lush photos & reading the captions. After you have had this visual orientation, start reading. The type is very small & the the data is very detailed, but Jane was a dedicated researcher & wanted us to know everything!
These books are now out of print but still available. They can be found in many libraries.
I always suggest starting with this one which Jane called The Big Book of Bungalows. It is a good introduction to the subject, covering the history & philosophy of the favorite American house, as well as providing many pictures of amazing houses throughout the United States. These homes are beautifully preserved & impeccably decorated which can guide you in making your choices. Links to all the books are included at the bottom of the page for each of them.
These beautiful videos will introduce you to the soul of your bungalow. When I hear people wondering about decor, lighting or remodeling, I send them here to learn about the origin of the bungalow & the cultural problems it was designed to solve.
When I purchased the Hare House, I did not have this rich, visual resource, created by many brilliant scholars. After getting a subscription to American Bungalow & locating many back issues which I scoured thoroughly, I purchased a book on William Morris which I read concurrent with Jane’s books & I was hooked on The Movement & its American expression, the bungalow.
These videos & their companions offer you a look at history, philosophy, historic preservation & life as it was lived during the early 1900’s as well as containing advice from some of the top preservationists in the field. I have searched the internet to present the most helpful, entertaining & often amusing information available in the format.
When I am chilling, I watch & rewatch these videos.
The word has evolved through the decades & is now used both as an architectural term & as a catch-all term.
This article is written by Jo-Anne Peck of Preservation Resource, Inc. & Historic Shed. Jo-Anne is a historic preservation professional with a degree in Building Science, a Master’s of Fine Arts in Historic Preservation & a licensed Florida Building Contractor with over 25 years experience in preservation. She is very active, leading community preservation efforts in the historic town in which she lives & her own house is meticulously restored.
Jo-Anne has extensive knowledge of all things bungalow as well as all other types of houses. I met her when I was producing preservation educational events & her presentations were some of the most informative, & popular. She is often called upon to side-check my work & I am grateful for her knowledge & her willingness to help.
Old house stewardship is not for everyone. The amount of planning, surprises, decisions, resilience (both physical & mental) & money required can be overwhelming in the extreme! Fortunately, there are concrete actions that you can take that will aid you in getting through any project.
This is an article I wrote after doing a restoration that almost crushed me. I was floundering & whining & finally decided that I needed to gather every life lesson that I ever learned about everything & apply it to the situation at hand.
Read the story of how I used all my knowledge & all my skills (& then rapidly developed some more!) to get a house done that I should never have touched in the first place.
I am in no way saying that doing these things made it easy! I’m just saying that taking these actions made it possible!
Even the most dedicated DIY’er will at some point need to hire a pro. Even if your only need is guidance, you want to be assured that the advice given is sound.
The majority of contractors know nothing about old house restoration. They know current codes & modern materials & methods. Or sadly, even less. The trick is incorporating these modern materials & methods into old construction while also have an understanding of when the old work ones actually better. Too often their suggestion is to lose the old & substitute the new.
You need to find contractors who respect old houses & have gotten educated on their proper treatment. If you mention the Secretary’s Standards to a contractor & he looks at you blankly, you need to pass or educate.
This article is designed to help you find the right guys.
The blog is now approaching 200 articles. I hope this gives you an idea of where to wade in. To get more of a feel for it, visit the SITEMAP, which serves as a table of contents, or use the Search feature.
I had to learn all of this piecemeal & want to make it easier for you to absorb, evaluate & align the tremendous amount of information that there is for you to know. Please let me know if there’s any way that my blog can serve you better.
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A $14 billion dollar a year industry, the history of Valentine’s Day is both sweet & rather scary. It has long been a wonderful holiday for me. I can remember the Valentines that we shared in grade school, the sweet, beaming 50’s children & the corny rhymes.
My mother & I collected historic Valentine’s Day cards from the late 1800’s through the early 1900’s. The box of them from when I cleared her apartment remains on the top shelf of my closet, unopened after 5 years.
But, I still love love & I still love Valentine’s Day, though its origins are a bit unsavory, so I thought I’d share some entertaining information, a fun love song from the 1920’s, a darling Victorian craft project & show you some cards that were so insulting that they were immediately destroyed!
LET’S ENJOY SOME HISTORIC VALENTINE’S DAY CARDS!
Someday You’ll Say ‘O.K!.-Arthur Fields Assassinators (3:47)
Bigband Lou
A charming 20’s song by a determined suitor.
History of the Holidays: History of Valentines Day (3:17)
History
Some interesting & slightly horrifying history!
DIY: Victorian Puzzle Purses (9:39)
Your Juliet
I had to include this delightful how-to for a person at any skill level. Victorian Puzzle Purses were designed to fascinate & engage with their intricate construction & hidden compartments. Unfortunately, you do not see a finished piece until you are well into the construction so you might want to slide ahead to see what
A brief history of (charming and mean) Valentine’s cards
Victoria & Albert Museum (16:08)
I love this museum & find everything that they produce to be illuminating & charming. Their sampling of historic Valentine’s Day cards is exception!
Sending Love: Valentine Greetings 1900-1910 (1:15:22)
Ridgewood Public Library
A more in-depth look at the holiday with some beautiful historic valentine’s day cards examples. The intro is way too long. I encourage you to scan to 3:30 to get started. The video ends with a sampling of “Vinegar Valentines,” very rare because the recipients usually destroyed them!
Still haven’t had enough love? Visit my Pinterest page to see more examples of historic Valentine’s Day cards.
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Arizona preservation advocacy groups are facing huge challenges as developers eye their historic neighborhoods. There is little protection from state or city statutes. They need your help. If you live in Arizona & curse the wrecking ball, as my old friend, Jane Powell said, “DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!”
Arizona Preservation Foundation
Arizona Preservation Foundation is a preservation advocacy group that works with local, state, & national partners to promote & protect Arizona’s historic resources. They have partnered with the State Historic Preservation Office to present the Governor’s Heritage Preservation Honor Awards & host the Arizona Historic Preservation Conference geared to professionals, in the fields of historic preservation, archaeology, cultural resources management, architecture, and planning. They offer speakers who will appear at your events or meetings. Their page is a terrific resource for preservation information.\n\n
MESA
Mesa Preservation Foundation
The Mesa Preservation Foundation works to protect the irreplaceable public, private & commercial historic buildings & neighborhoods in Mesa. Their website includes a beautiful list of reasons as to why preservation matters, as well as a link to the City’s list of historic buildings- standing, demolished or endangered. They have some wonderful educational programs that cover various areas of the state that you can access through their Facebook page.
TUCSON
Tucson Historic Preservation Foundation
“Saving Tucson’s Places”
The focus of this highly effective preservation advocacy group in Southern Arizona is on saving Tucson’s heritage & cultural resources, protecting the places that make Tucson unique, through lectures, tours & films.They depend on their membership to assist them with their various programs & activities.
VAIL
Vail Preservation Society
“Connecting community through local history.”
The Society works to preserve the heritage & historic resources the area, participating in the Arizona Main Street Program.
They are actively seeking people to assist them in their research, preservation & education efforts, gathering oral histories, saving historic structures & honoring the roots of the community. It sounds like a wonderful opportunity to meet great people & help your community.
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You have decided that you want to buy a historic bungalow. Not surprising! They are America’s favorite house & are highly suited for anyone who values comfort, history & fellowship.
Bungalow neighborhoods tend to be friendly & inclusive, attracting creatives, academics, singles & families of all shapes & sizes. This will benefit you in the buying process.
I am going to assume that you have already decided in which area of the U.S. you want to live. You are focusing on a specific, locale & need to choose a house, a neighborhood & perhaps a city.
Since this article is a how-to, I’m going to write it in sequential order. Just in my head it’s longer than I usually prefer, but buying a house is a huge investment financially & emotionally so I am reluctant to omit anything.
STEPS TO BUY A HISTORIC BUNGALOW
1. Save your pennies so you have a nice stash for a down payment, any needed repairs & a little left over to keep the stress at bay.
2. Clean up your credit. The higher your score is, the faster & easier it will be to obtain a mortgage loan. A high score can lower your interest rate. Loans are all about trust. The less risky you appear, the more they want to give you $$$. This is a good article by a credit reporting company that might help you.
It’s also a good idea to learn to live within your means & may just be the incentive you need to do something about raising your income &/or relying less on that credit card.
3. What is your budget? When you are buying an old house your budget may need to include restoration funds. You also must consider the cost of insurance, which can be more difficult & pricier to obtain on an old house & as with any house, taxes. Some states have tax breaks for certain historic properties so this is something that you will want to research.
Many old houses come with old trees which can be expensive to maintain or remove. You need to figure this expense into your planned budget & you should consider getting an evaluation from a certified arborist as part of your inspection contingency.
4. Get pre-approved by a lender. I’m going to let the experts tell you what you need to know. (I am neither recommending this company nor am I not recommending them. I just thought that what they have to say is informative.)
5. Are you wanting a turn-key property or do you envision yourself rescuing a house from the ravages of time?
Should your choice be turn-key you need to be aware that a clever flipper can make the worst house look all shiny & new. In many states, if someone has not resided in a house, they have no obligation to disclose any defects.
A warning- falling in love with a house can make you abandon all plans & good sense. There is nothing more likely to turn a mild-mannered homebuyer into a knight in shining armor more than walking into a distressed old house & deciding that it’s HOME. I think that this is a good time to suggest that you read my article which helps you sort out what type of house will actually make you the happiest before you go looking to buy a historic bungalow.
6. Find a qualified home inspector. Usually the home inspector is secured during the frantic time between getting a signed contract & closing. Please line up a home inspector who knows old houses before you need one.
Understand what the general inspection will & will not tell you. Read my article on home inspections here & watch my curated videos on inspections here. The videos walk you through several inspections so that you can understand what you can expect from a general inspection & how you can benefit the most from it.
How do you find a qualified, old house inspector?
7. You will probably narrow down a couple of neighborhoods that seem attractive to you. Most of these old neighborhoods have neighborhood associations (not homeowners’ associations. These are voluntary & focus on building strong communities.) Google the neighborhoods & look for upcoming association activities. You can attend these events & let people that you meet know that you are looking for a house in their neighborhood. They will welcome you warmly!
These get-togethers provide a good opportunity to inquire about local Realtors. You want to research any names that you get & also look for them in online listings in the neighborhood (including sold properties.) If they are trusted by the locals, they will usually have a nice inventory.
You can have meet’n’greets with these preferred Realtors by asking them to show you properties. From these encounters, you can see what kind of service they deliver & whether or not you mesh with them.
Check out their reviews online. Are the attributes that are mentioned important to you?
8. At the meetings you can also ask people for inspector recommendations. (Honest, these old house folks live to talk about their houses.) Check out the reviews of recommended inspectors & interview a couple of them. You want someone that you can trust for their competence, service & integrity. Yes, the Realtor who represents you will recommend inspectors too & you can just add them to the list. But ask before you are under contract.
9. Many cities have historic preservation advocacy groups. They can usually refer you to Realtors, home inspectors & tradespeople. My list is woefully incomplete but you can get an idea of what they do.
10. KNOW THIS! When you set out to buy a historic bungalow, there is no one house for you. You do not need to feel that you must have any one house or your life is ruined. Before I found the Hare House, I had my heart set on another wonderful bungalow that had a fraction of the character & many more issues. It was newly under contract & I was very, very, very hopeful that the deal would fall through. My Realtor pressed me to keep looking & I found my beautiful 1910 Craftsman & instantly forgot about the other one & wrote an offer on the hood of her car.
FINALLY!
I saved the best for last. Get yourself educated on old houses. Yes, I am biased, but I recommend that you read my blog from cover to cover, click all the external links (then come back!) watch all the videos that I have curated just for you, study my Pinterest page & read all the books I recommend.
And,
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The preservation advocacy groups of Northern California protect some of the most iconic structures in America & face many of the same challenges as other areas of the country.
We are fortunate that they have several strong groups working to educate & legislate for their built environment.
They need your participation which will increase your knowledge of your state & enrich your life.
San Francisco is rich in the culture of many groups, each of whom has many valuable representations of their built heritage.
San Francisco Heritage is one of the most effective preservation advocacy groups in Northern California, dedicated to preserving the built tale of these intermingled cultures that contributed to the city it is today.
They accomplish this through advocacy, education & the ongoing care of two landmarked historic properties. Help them preserve the history of this vibrant city!
San Jose, founded way back in 1777 was California’s first civilian settlement. Today, its historic buildings and neighborhoods are at risk from both neglect & demolition.
Preservation Action Council of San Jose is a preservation advocacy membership organization in Northern California, working to preserve the unique cultural heritage of San Jose through advocacy, education, and civic engagement. Give them a ring & find out how you can help.
STAY IN THE BUNGALOW KNOW!!!
Sign up for our newsletter & receive our FREE E-book, 7 VITAL Things to Do Before You Hire a Contractor.
My blog has gotten rather chunky so I have chosen 5 articles that I consider to be the most important bungalow basics for any conscientious steward. In these articles I have covered the information that it is vital for you to know in order to understand, preserve & maintain & enjoy your bungalow. The rest of my blog supports these.
1. BUNGALOW: THE ULTIMATE ARTS & CRAFTS HOME
2. 
3. WHAT THE HECK IS A BUNGALOW ANYWAY?
WHAT IS THE BIGGEST CHALLENGE OF RESTORING AN OLD HOUSE?
5. BEFORE YOU HIRE AN OLD HOUSE CONTRACTOR
A $14 billion dollar a year industry, the history of Valentine’s Day is both sweet & rather scary. It has long been a wonderful holiday for me. I can remember the Valentines that we shared in grade school, the sweet, beaming 50’s children & the corny rhymes.
Arizona preservation advocacy groups are facing huge challenges as developers eye their historic neighborhoods. There is little protection from state or city statutes. They need your help. If you live in Arizona & curse the wrecking ball, as my old friend, Jane Powell said, “DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!”
Vail Preservation Society
You have decided that you want to buy a historic bungalow. Not surprising! They are America’s favorite house & are highly suited for anyone who values comfort, history & fellowship.
5. Are you wanting a turn-key property or do you envision yourself rescuing a house from the ravages of time?
7. You will probably narrow down a couple of neighborhoods that seem attractive to you. Most of these old neighborhoods have neighborhood associations (not homeowners’ associations. These are voluntary & focus on building strong communities.) Google the neighborhoods & look for upcoming association activities. You can attend these events & let people that you meet know that you are looking for a house in their neighborhood. They will welcome you warmly!
The preservation advocacy groups of Northern California protect some of the most iconic structures in America & face many of the same challenges as other areas of the country.
San Francisco Heritage
SAN JOSE