The New Bungalow Kitchen

by Peter Labau, Marco Prozzo (Photographs)

The American love affair with the Bungalow continues. And in this most adored housing style, it is the kitchen that homeowners must most often restore, renovate, or remodel. But no one wants an authentic Bungalow kitchen, which was a rustic space that usually featured just a stove, a hoosier, and a sink.
While there are books that describe the authentic Bungalow kitchen, there are few that show readers how to update a Bungalow to handle today's lifestyle needs and personal preferences. Happily, manufacturers today understand the demand, and there are many material and appliance options for homeowners--and the designers they hire--to bring contemporary convenience and beauty to an updated or new Bungalow kitchen. The New Bungalow Kitchen not only provides wonderful historical nuggets about Bungalow kitchens, it offers a plethora of ideas about how to create a tastefully restored or remodeled kitchen, or build new within the style.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference

224 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2007

Reviews

[Alger Smythe-Hopkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is starting to get a little dated now seven years on, but still attractive and contemporary in appearance. I picked this up as an inspiration book for our own disastrous kitchen and found that there are only a couple of showcase kitchens on display here, photographed from different angles to highlight different aspects (the linoleum, the micro-pantry, the plumbing, the refitted stove...). In that respect I would have preferred a book organized by remodel, to see how all these pieces chosen to fit together rather than discuss them as modular pieces that exemplify ideas that can be fitted into any of the other kitchens.

Also, for a book about the "bungalow" kitchen, the homes are nearly all of the Arts & Crafts bungalow style, which is just too bad for those of us with another style to work with. This means also that there is a dearth of late-bungalow style, meaning that houses and restorations of kitchens from post-1920 are not part of this volume. This would be when most bungalows were built. A better title might have been "The New Arts and Crafts Bungalow Kitchen".

Overall, I was happy to scan the pages and marvel at the sheer size of the working space and quaint period details that just do not exist, and could never exist, in my 1927 home. So more of a dream book than an inspiration for me.

[Katie Shields · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great reference for anyone moving into an old bungalow with great tips on period fixtures, cabinets, flooring and characteristics.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful photos of bungalow kitchens. Many ideas for updating, rearranging kitchens in older bungalow houses.

[Elijah]

I wish the book featured a greater number of kitchens, but the commentary is clear and insightful. Worth the read.

[Shelah · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're into retro kitchens with lots of farmhouse sinks, built-in-bookshelves, cabinets that look line fine pieces of furniture and built-in eating nooks, here's a great book to spark your imagination. Although many of the kitchens are in older bungalow-style houses (or new houses built to look like authentic bungalows) the principles in the book could easily be applied to other types of architecture. I grew up in a house with a built-in eating nook, and it's something I've had on the wish-list for my dream house, so I think that's how this book ended up in my reading pile.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually looked more at the pictures in this book than read the texts. But the kitchens were just so beautiful- I hope one day to live in a house such as those pictured in this book.

[Afton · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought some of these kitchens were beautiful, a lot of them weren't really my style, but still good concepts.

[Eric · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine book for people who have lots of money to spend on period authentic kitchen remodels.

For the rest of us, it makes us just a little jealous...

[jeffrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great pics & good ideas. Architects & suppliers listed.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fun book with great pictures. Perfect for thinking through what the kitchen in my 1920s house could look like.