Bungalow Basics: Living Rooms

Rating:
Summary: Handy intro for renovators or fans
Review: Popular and abundant a century ago, the bungalow is today enjoying a renaissance as people discover the craftsmanship, utility, and charm of these little gems. Whether you're living in a masterfully maintained bungalow, are interested in restoring a bungalow to its former glory, or just a fan of good architectural or furniture design, Paul Duchscherer and Douglas Keister's "Bungalow Basics" series has a lot to offer.

This volume focuses on the living room, in many ways the defining and unifying element of bungalow design. A nine-page introduction discusses common design themes of bungalow living rooms, from central construction elements like placement of walls, doors, and fireplaces, to furnishing and decoration. Then follows about 50 colorful photos and illustrations, demonstrating these principles and approaches in action.

As you would imagine in a book this small, there's not a lot of depth to the discussion. Nor does any individual example receive more than one or two photos. And finally, there's no list of sources where an interested reader could find any of the items or materials pictured herself. So this is not, by any stretch, a do-it-yourself handbook. As the series name suggests, however, this is a focus on the basics. And someone who reads this will have a better idea of the theory of bungalow design, and more than a few great examples of the theory in practice. For the handy little resource this is intended to be, this title carries out its mission quite well.