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Architectural and design topics focusing on historic restoration and landmark homes of the early 20th century, from the perspective of an Arts & Crafts, Craftsman and Bungalow Home Enthusiast.
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A Hand-Hewn Log Cabin in the Foothills of Oregon's Mount Hood

A Hand-Hewn Log Cabin in the Foothills of Oregon’s Mount Hood

A couple of years ago, I heard about a home tour on the western slopes of Oregon’s Mount Hood that celebrated the work of a family of craftsmen who single-handedly built as many as 100 of the Pacific Northwest’s finest...
The Craftsman Bungalow's Top Five Most Popular Articles From 2012

The Craftsman Bungalow’s Top Five Most Popular Articles From 2012

Looking back on the inaugural year of The Craftsman Bungalow, I thought it would be fun to countdown our Top 5 most popular articles from 2012.  This year I was able to travel quite a bit and visit architectural landmarks...
The Portland Architectural Heritage Center’s 16th Annual Kitchen Revival Tour

The Portland Architectural Heritage Center’s 16th Annual Kitchen Revival Tour

The Architectural Heritage Center’s Portland Kitchen Revival Tour is one of my favorite days of the year, and 16th annual edition was again full of beautiful homes, whose kitchen – and in most cases much more – have been impeccably...
The Handcrafted "Blue Ribbon Hall" at Milwaukee's Historic Pabst Brewery

The Handcrafted “Blue Ribbon Hall” at Milwaukee’s Historic Pabst Brewery

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...
Defining The Craftsman Bungalow

Defining The Craftsman Bungalow

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...
Wharton Esherick: Integrating Life, Art & Craft: American Bungalow Cover Article

Wharton Esherick: Integrating Life, Art & Craft: American Bungalow Cover Article

The Spring 2014 issue of American Bungalow is out now, and I’m very excited that my article entitled, “Wharton Esherick: Integrating Life, Art and Craft” made the cover!  If you’re not a subscriber or haven’t received your copy yet, you...
Frank Lloyd Wright Designed One Home In Oregon: The Gordon House

Frank Lloyd Wright Designed One Home In Oregon: The Gordon House

Frank Lloyd Wright designed well over 1,000 homes and buildings throughout his illustrious career, but only one of those structures was built in the State of Oregon: The Gordon House.  Commissioned by Conrad and Evelyn Gordon, the 88-year-old Wright designed...
Peek Inside: A Classic 1909 Craftsman Fixer For Sale in Portland

Peek Inside: A Classic 1909 Craftsman Fixer For Sale in Portland

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...
Recent Articles From The Craftsman Bungalow
Photo Essay: Tropical Bungalows of the Aloha State

Photo Essay: Tropical Bungalows of the Aloha State

As you may recall, on a recent business trip to Hawaii I stayed at a lovely family-run bed & breakfast rather than one of the impersonal mega hotels in Waikiki.  While staying there, I got into a routine of taking a walk around the neighborhood every day and was blown away by the concentration of...
Photo Essay: Westwood Park, A Vast Bungalow Enclave in Victorian San Francisco

Photo Essay: Westwood Park, A Vast Bungalow Enclave in Victorian San Francisco

San Francisco is well known for its abundance of elegant Victorian architecture, but tucked away among the tens of thousands of Victorians, there exists a small enclave full of hundreds of charming bungalows.  Westwood Park, located just south of Mount Davidson, was originally a grove of tall eucalyptus trees – part of an old Mexican...
The Annual Grove Park Inn National Arts & Crafts Conference in Asheville, NC

The Annual Grove Park Inn National Arts & Crafts Conference in Asheville, NC

Each February, the eyes of the Arts & Crafts community are focused on Asheville, North Carolina, and the upcoming 2020 edition marks the 33rd year of the National Arts & Crafts Conference at the Grove Park Inn. “It’s been a perfect match,” explains founder and author Bruce Johnson, himself an Arts & Crafts collector and...
Frank Lloyd Wright's Magnificent Darwin Martin House in Buffalo, NY

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Magnificent Darwin Martin House in Buffalo, NY

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...
Frank Lloyd Wright's Oak Park, Illinois Designs: The First Decade 1889-1899

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Oak Park, Illinois Designs: The First Decade 1889-1899

This article is Part One of a two part series highlighting the homes that Frank Lloyd Wright designed in Oak Park, Illinois during the years 1889-1899.  Part Two focuses on his transition to the Prairie Style and the Oak Park homes he designed from 1900 to 1913. Frank Lloyd Wright lived and worked in Oak...
The Craftsman Spotlight: Michael Stinnett And The Antique Piano Shop

The Craftsman Spotlight: Michael Stinnett And The Antique Piano Shop

Most people don’t typically associate pianos with the Arts & Crafts Movement, and for good reason.  Established piano makers of the late 1800s didn’t really see the Movement coming, and by the time they did, it wasn’t economical for them to go through the rigors and cost of designing and marketing this “new” style of...
Photo Essay: The Eclectic Bungalows of Boise, Idaho

Photo Essay: The Eclectic Bungalows of Boise, Idaho

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...
Photo Essay: The Many Faces and Styles of Cleveland’s Grand Old Arts & Crafts Homes

Photo Essay: The Many Faces and Styles of Cleveland’s Grand Old Arts & Crafts Homes

On a recent business trip to Cleveland, I had some free time one afternoon to check out the city’s rich history of Arts & Crafts homes.  I recalled a great article in the Spring 2012 issue of American Bungalow that featured the Cleveland Heights neighborhood situated just a few miles east of downtown.  Armed with...
The Craftsman Bungalow Featured in Issue #75 of American Bungalow!

The Craftsman Bungalow Featured in Issue #75 of American Bungalow!

I couldn’t be happier to share the news that our home is featured in the Family Album section of the Fall 2012 issue of American Bungalow! Those of you who are familiar with the magazine will recognize the Family Album section, where readers submit pictures of their home with a short blurb about the story...
Peek Inside: A Classic 1909 Craftsman Fixer For Sale in Portland

Peek Inside: A Classic 1909 Craftsman Fixer For Sale in Portland

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...
Wharton Esherick: Integrating Life, Art & Craft: American Bungalow Cover Article

Wharton Esherick: Integrating Life, Art & Craft: American Bungalow Cover Article

The Spring 2014 issue of American Bungalow is out now, and I’m very excited that my article entitled, “Wharton Esherick: Integrating Life, Art and Craft” made the cover!  If you’re not a subscriber or haven’t received your copy yet, you can read the article here. Wharton Esherick (1887-1966) was a classically trained Impressionist painter in...
Berkeley's Historic Claremont Hotel Will Soon Celebrate Its 100th Year

Berkeley’s Historic Claremont Hotel Will Soon Celebrate Its 100th Year

On a recent business trip to the San Francisco Bay Area, I opted to stay at a hotel that’s steeped in history and in a little less than two years will celebrate its 100th year in operation.  The Claremont Hotel, located on the border of Berkeley and Oakland, is one of the most picturesque hotels...
The Craftsman Spotlight: Phillip Myer of Ragsdale Home Furnishings

The Craftsman Spotlight: Phillip Myer of Ragsdale Home Furnishings

When Phillip Myer of Ragsdale Home Furnishings built his first table lamp way back in junior high school, he never imagined that one day, he’d be doing it for a living.  But in 1999, more than 25 years after building that first fateful lamp, Phil quit his job in the high-tech electronics industry and embarked...
The Architectural Heritage Center's 15th Annual Portland Kitchen Revival Tour

The Architectural Heritage Center’s 15th Annual Portland Kitchen Revival Tour

This April, the Architectural Heritage Center in Portland hosted its 15th Annual Kitchen Revival Tour.  Last year was the first time I attended the tour, and I was hooked after the very first home I visited.  This year’s tour was just as good and featured noteworthy kitchens of several early 1900′s bungalows.  All of the...
The Ugly Hutch and The Beautiful Stairway That Hid Behind It:  Part II

The Ugly Hutch and The Beautiful Stairway That Hid Behind It: Part II

In my previous post, The Ugly Hutch and The Beautiful Stairway That Hid Behind It:  Part I, I told you how we removed the existing big ugly hutch and cut part of the wall to expose the staircase behind it. With the hutch and wall now gone, a new mystery emerged.  On the floor underneath...
A Legacy of Craftsmanship: The South Falls Lodge at Silver Falls State Park

A Legacy of Craftsmanship: The South Falls Lodge at Silver Falls State Park

Last weekend my brother was in town visiting from the East Coast and we braved the rain and headed down to Silver Falls State Park located about an hour and a half south of Portland near the town of Sublimity, Oregon. Designated as a Recreational Demonstration Area by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1935, the...
American Bungalow's Seasonal Lithogrpah Art Prints for 2012

American Bungalow’s Seasonal Lithogrpah Art Prints for 2012

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...
The Portland Architectural Heritage Center’s 16th Annual Kitchen Revival Tour

The Portland Architectural Heritage Center’s 16th Annual Kitchen Revival Tour

The Architectural Heritage Center’s Portland Kitchen Revival Tour is one of my favorite days of the year, and 16th annual edition was again full of beautiful homes, whose kitchen – and in most cases much more – have been impeccably restored to reflect the home’s original period design.  This is my third year covering the...
Portland's 1883 Ladd Carriage House Gets Resurrected as "Raven & Rose"

Portland’s 1883 Ladd Carriage House Gets Resurrected as “Raven & Rose”

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...
The Ugly Hutch and The Beautiful Stairway That Hid Behind It:  Part I

The Ugly Hutch and The Beautiful Stairway That Hid Behind It: Part I

With all of the traveling I’ve been doing for work recently, I haven’t had much time to write about some of the other things we’ve done to the house since we’ve moved in.  If you remember my earlier post entitled Peeling Back The Layers, you’ll recall that the whole first floor had wall-to-wall carpeting and...
A Few Words About The Craftsman Bungalow

A Few Words About The Craftsman Bungalow

Welcome to The Craftsman Bungalow!  My goal for this site is for it to become a resource for people who love old homes – and more specifically – Arts & Crafts, Craftsman, and Bungalow home enthusiasts.  Hopefully along the way, I’ll learn some things, you’ll learn some things, and knowledge, experience, and inspiration about living...
Photo Essay: Beach Bungalows (and Memories) on the Jersey Shore

Photo Essay: Beach Bungalows (and Memories) on the Jersey Shore

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...
The Brick House Beautiful: A Unique and Timeless Portland Landmark

The Brick House Beautiful: A Unique and Timeless Portland Landmark

Brick.  It’s been around – in one form or another – since the dawn of human civilization, and the virtues of its appeal and versatility are still very much appreciated today.  It was no different in the early part of the 20th Century.  In cities across the country, brick had been widely used in the...
Where It All Began...

Where It All Began…

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,...
The Craftsman Spotlight: Architectural Emporium

The Craftsman Spotlight: Architectural Emporium

If you’ve ever sought the perfect antique or architectural element for your home or business, then you probably know just how exhausting a search like that can be.  On a recent trip to Western Pennsylvania, I stumbled upon one such place where all those hard-to-find items can be found – neatly organized, and all under...
Frank Lloyd Wright's Ross House Brought Back to Life

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Ross House Brought Back to Life

For a time, the Ross House was known by everyone who lived near it as simply “The Purple House.”  It had lilac trim on the windows, and there was an odd purple-ish addition that had been added to the front. It was an authentic Frank Lloyd Wright house, built in 1916, but its current state...
Frank Lloyd Wright Designed Another House For Darwin Martin in Buffalo: The Lakefront Estate "Graycliff"

Frank Lloyd Wright Designed Another House For Darwin Martin in Buffalo: The Lakefront Estate “Graycliff”

Recently I wrote about Frank Lloyd Wright’s magnificent Darwin D. Martin House in Buffalo, NY.  Earlier this summer I was able to return to Buffalo and had an opportunity to tour the lakefront home that Darwin Martin had built for his wife, Isabelle.  In the twenty-some years that followed Wright’s design and construction of their...
The Craftsman Spotlight: CustomMade, Bringing Customer & Craftsperson Together

The Craftsman Spotlight: CustomMade, Bringing Customer & Craftsperson Together

Sometimes the hardest part about purchasing furniture, lighting, metalwork or other decor for your home isn’t figuring out what you want, but rather, how and where to get it.  Finding quality, handmade items has become more difficult with each passing year, as “big box” retail chains across the country continue to run smaller “Mom &...
Origins of the Arts & Crafts Movement in America: The Roycroft Campus

Origins of the Arts & Crafts Movement in America: The Roycroft Campus

This week I traveled to Western New York State for business and while there I was able to spend some time in the Arts & Crafts artisan community of “Roycroft” in East Aurora, just outside of Buffalo.  The Roycroft Campus was founded in the late-1890’s by Elbert Hubbard, who along with Gustav Stickley, is considered...
Hearst Castle: The Enchanted 1920's Spanish Revival Estate of Publishing Magnate William Randolph Hearst

Hearst Castle: The Enchanted 1920′s Spanish Revival Estate of Publishing Magnate William Randolph Hearst

William Randolph Hearst was a wealthy businessman who inherited a family fortune as a young man and expanded it into a vast newspaper and magazine publishing empire during his adult life.  In 1919, he inherited his family’s 250,000 acre retreat property in San Simeon on the Central California Coast and aspired to build a vast...