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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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Timberline Lodge: The Quintessential American Alpine Lodge, Part One

Timberline Lodge: The Quintessential American Alpine Lodge, Part One

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...
The Craftsman Spotlight: American Bungalow

The Craftsman Spotlight: American Bungalow

The Craftsman Spotlight is an ongoing series where artists, businesses, and craftspeople are featured.  We’re thrilled to spotlight American Bungalow, in this first installment of the series! If you’re reading this article right now – and are a fan of bungalows...
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...
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...
Peek Inside: A Grand 1910 Bay Area Residence, Once Home to CA Supreme Court Justice

Peek Inside: A Grand 1910 Bay Area Residence, Once Home to CA Supreme Court Justice

This post is part of our “Peek Inside” series where we showcase Arts & Crafts homes from across the country that have been listed for sale, or were recently sold.  Some may be fixers that are just begging to be...
The Craftsman Spotlight: JW Art Pottery, Handmade Pottery In The Arts & Crafts Style

The Craftsman Spotlight: JW Art Pottery, Handmade Pottery In The Arts & Crafts Style

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...
Peek Inside: An Unbuilt 1906 Greene & Greene Designed Home Listed For Sale

Peek Inside: An Unbuilt 1906 Greene & Greene Designed Home Listed For Sale

In July 1906, Charles and Henry Greene presented their original design to Frank W. Hawks for a home that he had commissioned the brothers to design for his property on Arroyo Terrace, a quiet and artistic enclave in Pasadena, California....
Peeling Back The Layers

Peeling Back The Layers

After we finally closed on the house, we were eager to get started tearing things up.  At the top of our list was to peel back the carpets and see what the floors underneath looked like… How it looked before...
Recent Articles From The Craftsman Bungalow
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 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...
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...
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...
Peek Inside: A Grand 1910 Swiss Chalet Craftsman Home Fully Restored

Peek Inside: A Grand 1910 Swiss Chalet Craftsman Home Fully Restored

Whenever I’m out-and-about and see a sign saying there’s an estate sale going on nearby, I almost always do a drive-by to check out the house and take a peek inside.  A few weeks ago, that same scenario played out, and when I pulled up to the house where the sale was (below), my jaw...
Another Greene & Greene Masterwork - The Duncan-Irwin House, Part I: The Exterior

Another Greene & Greene Masterwork – The Duncan-Irwin House, Part I: The Exterior

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...
Frank Lloyd Wright's Frederick C. Robie House: A Prairie Masterpiece

Frank Lloyd Wright’s Frederick C. Robie House: A Prairie Masterpiece

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...
Timberline Lodge: The Quintessential American Alpine Lodge, Part One

Timberline Lodge: The Quintessential American Alpine Lodge, Part One

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...
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 the home in his Usonian style in 1957 for the couple’s sprawling farmland acreage that...
Untold LA: A Project of Passion By Photographer & Producer Jett Loe

Untold LA: A Project of Passion By Photographer & Producer Jett Loe

Not long ago I got a message on the TCB Facebook page from accomplished photographer and producer Jett Loe about an interesting project that he was undertaking.  The project he described, called Untold LA, is a photo-documentary about the history-rich and once prominent Los Angeles neighborhood of West Adams and its collection of countless Craftsman,...
Photo Essay: San Diego's Historic Mission Hills

Photo Essay: San Diego’s Historic Mission Hills

The Mission Hills neighborhood of San Diego, California has long been a bastion of early 20th century homes, with nearly all of era’s requisite architectural styles well-represented.  From compact single-story bungalows to expansive Spanish haciendas – and everything in between – Mission Hills exhibits the same architectural prowess today as it did when it was...
A Portal to the Past on the Oregon Coast: American Bungalow Cover Article

A Portal to the Past on the Oregon Coast: American Bungalow Cover Article

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...
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...
Because She Loves The Things I Love

Because She Loves The Things I Love

A couple months ago, I traveled to Western New York and spent a couple nights at the beautiful Roycroft Inn in East Aurora, NY.  In the hotel lobby, they were selling chocolate bars made locally and packaged with labels that had a time-honored Elbert Hubbard quote on it.  Here’s a picture of the actual label:...
A Pilgrimage to The Gamble House: "The Ultimate Bungalow", Part II: The Interior

A Pilgrimage to The Gamble House: “The Ultimate Bungalow”, Part II: The Interior

In my previous post, A Pilgrimage to The Gamble House: Part I, I walked you through the many breathtaking vantage points that abound on the exterior of The Gamble House.  While the exterior of the house is spectacular – with its incongruity often highlighted and celebrated – it is gracefully contrasted by the interior’s rigorous...
Peeling Back The Layers

Peeling Back The Layers

After we finally closed on the house, we were eager to get started tearing things up.  At the top of our list was to peel back the carpets and see what the floors underneath looked like… How it looked before we did anything… Carpets come up and wood paneling comes down… Once we got the...
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: 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 Architectural Heritage Center’s 17th Annual Portland Old House Revival Tour

The Architectural Heritage Center’s 17th Annual Portland Old House Revival Tour

This year the Architectural Heritage Center expanded their Annual Kitchen Revival Tour beyond just kitchens to showcase entire homes, and re-named the tour the Portland Old House Revival Tour.  I’ve covered this tour for the past three years, and now in its 16th year overall, the tour never disappoints.  In case you missed it, here...
Another Greene & Greene Masterwork The Duncan-Irwin House, Part II: The Interior

Another Greene & Greene Masterwork The Duncan-Irwin House, Part II: The Interior

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...
Reader Submission: Thoughtful Restoration Makes A Home "Smile" Again

Reader Submission: Thoughtful Restoration Makes A Home “Smile” Again

When Sandy Evans and her husband Richard Herbold purchased this handsome 1915 bungalow in Delmar, New York, it was about to turn 100 years old.  But on the inside, its previous owners had tried to re-imagine its interior as a contemporary, industrial space that more resembled a post-modern office building than a cozy, century-old residence. ...
Bungalow Flashback: The Kitchen Restoration At Our Previous Bungalow

Bungalow Flashback: The Kitchen Restoration At Our Previous Bungalow

The bungalow that we’re currently restoring is actually the second bungalow restoration that we’ve undertaken.  Our first was a 1927 English Cottage style bungalow, also in Portland.  Below is a picture of the finished kitchen… The house was in overall good condition, and while the kitchen was functional, it was rather tired looking and in need...
Peek Inside: An Unbuilt 1906 Greene & Greene Designed Home Listed For Sale

Peek Inside: An Unbuilt 1906 Greene & Greene Designed Home Listed For Sale

In July 1906, Charles and Henry Greene presented their original design to Frank W. Hawks for a home that he had commissioned the brothers to design for his property on Arroyo Terrace, a quiet and artistic enclave in Pasadena, California. While visionary in its scope, and for reasons still not entirely known today, Hawks chose not...
Memory Lane:  The Wilbur's House - The Heart of My Old Neighborhood

Memory Lane: The Wilbur’s House – The Heart of My Old Neighborhood

This past week we traveled cross-country to spend Thanksgiving with family, friends and neighbors in the rural New Jersey town I grew up in.  One of the many highlights of the week (in addition to celebrating my parents’ birthdays and their anniversary) was to spend some quality time with Carol Wilbur who lives in the...
The Architectural Heritage Center's 14th Annual Portland Kitchen Revival Tour

The Architectural Heritage Center’s 14th Annual Portland Kitchen Revival Tour

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...
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...
A Trip to Pasadena For Inspiration from the Masters: Greene & Greene

A Trip to Pasadena For Inspiration from the Masters: Greene & Greene

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...
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...
Our Collection of Arts & Crafts Furnishings Found on Craigslist

Our Collection of Arts & Crafts Furnishings Found on Craigslist

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...
A Tale of Two Owners: American Bungalow Feature Article and Profile

A Tale of Two Owners: American Bungalow Feature Article and Profile

My latest two articles for American Bungalow magazine are in the current Summer 2014 issue!  The first article, entitled A Tale of Two Owners, chronicles the decade-long restoration by Steve and Deb Moskowitz of a grand 1909 craftsman home (below) in Portland’s historic Irvington neighborhood, and the subsequent passing of the torch to the home’s...