The Craftsman Bungalow
The aesthetic principles of the Arts & Crafts Movement had a big influence on the birth of the
so-called "Craftsman Style Bungalow". After the Arts & Crafts Movement crossed the
Atlantic from England to America, its principles (such as the idea of keeping materials simple and unadorned)
were spread across the nation by Gustav Stickley in his magazine "The Craftsman".
Greene & Greene
The widely published work of Greene and Greene Architects in California helped to define key elements
of the bungalow style, although their homes were far too expensive for the common man. Planbooks began to
feature stripped-down versions of the bungalow "look", and as that look became popular with middle-class
homebuyers, builders filled the new suburbs with row upon row of Craftsman style homes.
Affordable New Housing For A New Century
The Craftsman Bungalow was the first type of American housing to evolve after the advent
of the automobile, the widespread use of electricity in private homes, and the popularization
of the telephone. It was the first "American" house style of the twentieth century.
Around 1900, there was a great deal of concern in America for extending home ownership to the
average American. This was seen as a worthy goal of the "modern era". The "bungalow"
type of construction was the ideal, affordable building style to meet the perceived needs of the era.
Gables And Brackets
The typical Craftsman bungalow in the M-Street area is a one story home with a gabled roof. The roof
has a wide overhang, extending past the wall of the house by one or two feet. Most houses from this period
have multiple gables, often as many as five gables on a single home.
Exposed Rafter Tails
Heavy projecting wood brackets are located along the gables to support the extended roof overhangs, and
the eaves are supported by exposed rafter tails. The ends of the rafter tails often have a "fancy cut" end.
Big Front Porch
A wide front porch is present on almost all Craftsman bungalows. The porch roof is supported by massive
columns which begin at the ground instead of resting on top of the porch floor. This helps to create the
desired impression that the house is firmly anchored to its site. The bottom half of the most common type
of porch column is often made of brick, and the upper half usually consists of a four-sided wood box column
with a pronounced taper. (The wood box column was assembled from standard mill trim that could be assembled
by a carpenter on the job site.) Porch openings on the best bungalows feature long, unsupported spans between the porch columns. This helps to emphasize
the horizontal line, in contrast to the "old-fashioned" Victorian emphasis on verticals.
 Real Living Space
The front porch was meant to be a real living space, not just a decorative element. In the days before
air conditioning, especially during hot Dallas summers, a great deal of entertaining and family life took
place on the front porch.
Exterior Materials
Wood siding was used on craftsman bungalows built before 1920. The most common type of wood siding found
in the M-Street area is a three inch drop-siding pattern. Brick veneer emerged as the dominant exterior material in Dallas after about 1920. A few
of the last Craftsman Bungalows were constructed with brick veneer exteriors.
Ganged Windows
These three windows are ganged. Most bungalows built in the M-Street area have windows "clumped
together" this way. As with most bungalows, the upper sash has multiple window panes divided by mullions,
but the bottom sash has a single large pane of glass.
Recognizing The Craftsman Bungalow
Look for the following elements of the style:
1) A relatively low-pitched roof
2) Wide overhanging eaves with exposed rafter tails
3) Triangular brackets projecting from the gables (suggesting that you are seeing the actual structure of the house)
4) An enormous front porch
5) Massive porch columns that tie the house visually to the ground
6) A long horizontal span between porch columns (in order to accent the horizontal line)
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