Recent Articles From The Craftsman Bungalow
I’m very excited that an article I wrote for American Bungalow magazine made the cover of the Winter 2013 Issue #80! The article is about an amazing home on the Oregon Coast that sits on a secluded cove with panoramic views of the Pacific Ocean, the rugged Oregon coastline and a 1920s-era bridge that was...
Perhaps it was serendipitous that a internationally recognized horticulturist would end up living in a home that once belonged to a descendant of John Olmsted, the prominent landscape architect who designed countless parks and public spaces across the country. But that’s exactly what happened. First moving to the property as a renter in 1995, Sean...
In my previous post, I gave you a tour of the exterior of the Greene & Greene’s Duncan-Irwin House in Pasadena. Now we go through the doors below for a personal tour of the amazing interior of this quintessential Greene & Greene home… From the inside (below), the wisteria vine motif shines through the door’s...
Recently I had the good fortune of traveling to Los Angeles for business, and while there I was able to fulfill a lifelong dream – making a pilgrimage to “The Ultimate Bungalow”: The Gamble House in Pasadena, California. Designed in 1908 by the architectural firm of brothers Charles and Henry Greene, The Gamble House embodies...
This past weekend was the Architectural Heritage Center’s Annual Kitchen Revival Tour. Now in its 14th year, the tour showcases the efforts of Portland homeowners who have restored their home’s kitchens to its original glory. Most of the homes featured were professional restored by local contractors who concentrate on period homes, however one home’s kitchen...
Frank Lloyd Wright grew up in the Upper Midwest and honed his skills as an apprentice with the prestigious Chicago architectural firm of Adler & Sullivan in the 1890’s, before branching out on his own. At the turn of the 20th century, Wright had completed over 50 projects and began to develop his groundbreaking “Prairie...
The Spring 2015 issue of American Bungalow magazine has just come out, and an article that I co-wrote made the cover! The article, written in conjunction with Southern California-based writer Laszlo Remenyi, is about a truly unique recording studio (below and at left) built by film composer, record producer, and self-proclaimed ‘reformed rock musician,’ Richard...
Diana Gillispie’s eye for design and acute attention to detail has made her a fixture in the Asheville, North Carolina art scene for more than three decades. Having first moved to the area in 1978, she became one of the pioneering artists of Asheville’s River District when she started a small pottery studio with a...
From the late 1800’s until the mid-1940’s, Pabst Brewery in Milwaukee, Wisconsin was the largest brewer in America, and at times, the world. Originally established in 1844 as the Best Brewery – named after its founder, Jacob Best – the name changed to Pabst in 1889 when Best’s son-in-law, Frederick Pabst, became majority stockholder in...
Charles & Henry Greene were prolific architects who pioneered the Arts & Crafts Movement in California at the turn of the 20th century. Not long ago, my wife and I traveled down to Los Angeles to take part in a rare tour of six privately-owned Greene & Greene homes in Pasadena’s Park Place neighborhood, just...
As far back as I can remember, my family has been vacationing on a beautifully quaint barrier island in New Jersey known as Long Beach Island, or simply LBI. After spending a week or two there just about every summer from birth through my early teens, some of my fondest childhood memories occurred on the...
This is a great article by Patricia Poore that defines the traditional hallmarks and characteristics of craftsman bungalow homes. It goes into specifics about interior and exterior design influences and the materials and construction details that distinguish the bungalow aesthetic from other architectural styles. I have re-posted the opening of the article – to read...
The Frank Lloyd Wright Home & Studio in Oak Park, Ill., is a microcosm of the prolific designer’s ever-evolving architectural aesthetic. It’s an expression of his early formative years, and through a series of additions, it embodies the changes that his philosophy and style underwent during the twenty year span (1889-1909) that he lived in...
I just got the latest issue of American Bungalow this week. Each issue this year includes an 8×10 full-color lithograph art print of the four seasons called “The Wisdom of the Trees” by Yoshiko Yamamoto. In 2010, American Bungalow featured four beautiful prints by Roycroft Renaissance artisan, Laura Wilder. Here’s what I did with those...
I’ve written about our previous home in Portland a few times – I bought it in 2004 and painstakingly restored it over the next 5 years that we lived there. In 2010, when we moved to our current home in Laurelhurst, we kept our previous home as a rental and were fortunate to find wonderful...
With all of the basic stuff done at our new house, the focus has shifted to the big stuff. Our wishlist started with just remodeling the kitchen and bathrooms and building a new garage, but has quickly ballooned to include adding on a new master suite above the garage, as well as adding a second...
One of the fathers of the Arts & Crafts Movement in America, Elbert Hubbard, was once quoted as saying, “when life gives you lemons, make lemonade.” For Jacquie Walton of JW Art Pottery in Portland, Oregon, her lemon was an untimely job layoff that provided an opportunity for her to make lemonade using a skill...
Boise, Idaho is tucked away in plain sight in America’s Inland Northwest, and although it’s often overlooked due to its relative isolation, Boise is a lovely town with a rich history of pioneers, agriculture, and of course, bungalows. Boise’s bungalows run the gamut of all shapes, sizes, colors and styles, and were built from the...
Filmmaker Joaquin Montalvan always knew he wanted to live in a bungalow – even before he knew what a bungalow was. Growing up, he had lived in a Spanish Mission style home with a welcoming front porch, hardwood floors and a fireplace that his family frequently used. Those three features were ingrained in his mind...
Those of you who are fans of J.R.R. Tolkein and his work may recognize some of the images below from the Lord of the Rings films and most recently, The Hobbit. Tolkien grew up in rural Western England around the turn of the last century, and his writings were heavily influenced by the romantic prose...
In light of the two recent great deals I’ve found on Craigslist (the oak desk and the Stickley nightstand), I thought I’d take the opportunity to show you some of the other Arts & Crafts items I’ve acquired through the site. It’s no secret that it can be very expensive to furnish your bungalow home...
The Summer 2018 Issue #96 of American Bungalow magazine has just come out, and it includes an article that I wrote and photographed about a couple’s restoration of a historic bungalow in Eugene, Oregon. The article, titled “Serendipity In A University Town,” (which can be found on Page 18 of the issue) tells the story of Sherrill and...
Somewhere near the intersection of rustic charm and stately elegance is a place where natural beauty and cooperative humanity walk hand-in-hand. Nestled a few thousand feet beneath the rugged 11,249 foot peak of Oregon’s Mount Hood, the iconic Timberline Lodge has been welcoming weary hikers, giddy newly-weds – and everything in between – for over...
When Frederick Robie commissioned Frank Lloyd Wright to design a home for him and his growing family in 1908, neither man knew that the home’s iconic design would become the celebrated jewel that it is today. Considered by many architectural scholars to be one of the most influential and important residential designs of the 20th...
This post is part of our “Peek Inside” series where we showcase Arts & Crafts homes from across the country that are currently for sale, or were recently sold. Some of them may be fixers that are just begging to be restored (like this one), others may be fully restored and move-in ready, and still...
This article is Part Two of a two part series highlighting the homes that Frank Lloyd Wright designed in Oak Park, Illinois during the years 1900 to 1913. Part One focused on his transition to the Prairie Style and the Oak Park homes he designed from 1889-1899. During the years of 1889 to 1899, Frank Lloyd...
Portland, Oregon is full of old homes of all shapes, sizes and styles, and the Eastside neighborhood of Laurelhurst has been considered a microcosm of such homes since its inception in the early 1900’s. One of the gems of the neighborhood – if not the entire city – is The H. Russell Albee House which...
To understand what we were dealing with when we initially bought the house, let’s go back to late 2009… This is what the exterior looked like when we first moved in (we have since painted it). I came to find out later that the house had been for sale earlier in 2009 through a realtor,...
Although neither craftsman nor bungalow, the story behind the beautiful and historic Ladd Carriage House is a compelling one that I wanted to share. Today, it may seem a bit out of place among the modern high-rise buildings that surround it on a busy corner in downtown Portland, Oregon, but when it was built, the...
After completing the restoration of our first home, we knew that at some point in the not-too-distant future, we would be starting a family. With that in mind, we quickly came to the realization that while our home had served us very well for the previous 5 years, a growing family would need more room...
From Our Bungalow To Yours: Wishing You Happy Holidays From The Craftsman Bungalow!
Dec 10, 2020
Peek Inside: A Grand 1910 Bay Area Residence, Once Home to CA Supreme Court Justice
Jul 27, 2020
Peek Inside: An Unbuilt 1906 Greene & Greene Designed Home Listed For Sale
Apr 30, 2020
The Craftsman Spotlight: Arts & Crafts Lighting And Furnishings By Brett Johnson From Craftsmen Studio
Oct 18, 2019
Serendipity In A University Town: American Bungalow Issue 96 Article
Jul 20, 2018