Planning the Bungalow 
A FEW SUGGESTIONS REGARDING THE ESSENTIALS OF FLOOR PLAN FOR THE INFORMAL ONE=STORY 
HOME—THERE IS NO NECESSITY FOR SACRIFICING EITHER CONVENIENCE OR A CIVILIZED MODE OF LIFE 
I T would seem 
at first glance 
an easy matter to 
design a house of 
the bun g a 1 o w 
type, all upon one 
floor, wit hout 
having to bother 
about stairs and 
head-room and 
such difficulties, 
but it is in reality 
a problem calling 
for genuine skill 
on the part of the 
d e s i g ner. The 
main difficulty 
that the amateur 
will encounter in 
sketching out a 
tentative plan will 
be the separation 
of the sleeping 
quarters, the living quarters and the service 
portion of the house. Far too frequently by Henry 
we see a plan of a bungalow where the bed¬ 
rooms open directly from the living-room, with perhaps a bath¬ 
room across on the other side of the building, next to the kitchen, 
for the sake of a condensed plumbing system. If a bungalow is 
worth building at all it is worth spending some time upon in the 
planning, so that the life of the household, while not of the 
severely formal type that the city house shelters, will yet be at 
least comfortable, and not robbed of all conveniences and privacy. 
The enemies of the bungalow—though they are few — have a 
foundation for their dislike of the type in the fact that far too 
many bungalows are so carelessly planned that life in them tends 
backward towards the less civilized past; in attempting to pro¬ 
vide a field for a simpler form of life 
the unstudied and bungling plan fails to 
satisfy the fundamental needs of a self- 
respecting mode of living. We are far 
too ready to endure in a bungalow incon¬ 
veniences that would not be tolerated in 
any more stable type of home. And the 
strangest part of it all is that these in¬ 
conveniences are by no means necessary; 
the whole matter resolves itself into a 
need for more carefully studied plans. 
The plan by Mr. King is convincing 
proof that the living quarters, service de¬ 
partment and the bedrooms may be kept 
distinctly separate, without necessitating 
a rambling plan that is much more ex¬ 
pensive to build. It is a well known fact 
that the nearer a plan approaches the 
square the more economically it can be 
built. Wings, ells and many angles mean 
greatly increased expense. 
This particular plan may well serve as 
a type, permitting enlargement without 
destroying its essential fitness in the mat¬ 
ter of the inter¬ 
relation of rooms. 
For instance, ad¬ 
ditional bedrooms 
could easily be 
added in an ell at 
the back right- 
hand corner. 
Too frequently 
a perfectly good 
1 i v i n g-room is 
spoiled by being 
darkened by a 
porch roof shield¬ 
ing its windows. 
This has been 
very cleverly 
avoided by Mr. 
King in the plan 
shown, and he has 
provided a porch 
off the dining¬ 
room that would 
undoubtedly be used frequently in the serv- 
H . Saylor ing of meals. It may be objected that the 
other porch is too small, and it is undoubt¬ 
edly a fact that we should have too much porch space rather than 
too little in a home where the great majority of the daylight 
hours are spent outdoors. It will be readily seen, however, that 
the porch in the plan mentioned could be prolonged, either to the 
front or the side, without affecting the plan, and, in the hands of 
a skilled designer, without spoiling the appearance of the exterior. 
Another excellent type is the central living-room flanked by 
two wings, one containing the dining and service quarters and the 
other the bedrooms and baths, such as is shown in Mr. F. W. Wil¬ 
son's design for his own bungalow. Here, however, two doors 
open from the living-room, each into one of the main bedrooms, 
which have the bath between them; 
where possible, it is better to have a 
single opening between a hall leading to 
the sleeping quarters and the living-room. 
Mr. Wilson has added another feature to 
this plan in the patio, reached through 
the French window in the living-room 
and having but one additional exit—a 
gate in the five-foot brick wall across the 
back. 
Mrs. Girouard's bungalow shows an¬ 
other adaption of the center living-room 
scheme. Here, instead of allowing the 
side wings to project to the front or rear, 
they are carried straight out at the same 
depth. The result is an extremely long 
bungalow that is easily roofed and par¬ 
ticularly pleasing in its exterior. 
Another type of plan will be required 
if the bungalow is to be restricted in its 
site. A great many of the newer subur¬ 
ban communities are being built up with 
adaptations of the bungalow, usually 
with some second-story space, and too 
Here is an excellent plan for a comparatively 
narrow lot. Hollingsworth & Bragdon, 
architects 
( 336 ) 
