House-bungalow – features of construction and arrangement

Recommendation points

• A bit of history
• Bungalow types
• Features of the bungalow
• Bungalow interior

The name “bungalow” is associated with something exotic, with a house on the beach, under a reed roof, overlooking the ocean. Meanwhile, a bungalow is a cozy modern house, this type of construction is widespread in various countries. Let’s deal with the features of a bungalow.

A bit of history

Initially, the term “bungalow” appeared in India, in that part of the country that was called Bengal, and now it is mostly Bangladesh. Small dwellings in this area were called Bengali. The British brought projects of such houses to Europe in the early 1700s. English workers who worked for the “East India” company liked the bungalow, and then became popular in the United Kingdom.

More than 100 years later, bungalows began to appear actively in the United States, and at the beginning of the 20th century, such buildings became widespread in Australia..

We briefly touched on the bungalow when we wrote about the choice of the optimal project for a country house. Indeed, as a summer residence, a typical bungalow is ideal, as it fits perfectly into the natural landscape, while allowing you to enjoy the comfort.

Initially, a bungalow was understood as a one-story house designed for one family, with a simple pitched roof and the obligatory presence of a spacious open veranda. However, over time, two-story, more elite bungalows began to appear, experts began to identify several types of such houses.

Bungalow types

Today, the following types of bungalow houses are distinguished:

• California bungalow. Considered a classic of this type of private home construction, there are entire settlements in California built up with typical bungalows. Its main difference is one floor, maybe an attic, which is considered an additional living space; columns supporting the sloping roof, front wide veranda, some sprinkles of the Spanish style of the interior. In the California bungalows, the style of the craftman is clearly traced, the “home of the artisan”, this is one of the most popular areas of interior design in the United States.
• Chicago bungalows. They are usually built of bricks and look more urban. A full-fledged, often residential basement, a narrow facade is required, the roof is erected in the form of a tent, a pointed ledge with a window is arranged in the attic. The porch can be deepened into the building.
• Dutch bungalows. Distributed in the eastern part of the United States, there are inclusions of Dutch colonial architecture. There are also columns, they are installed on the frontal veranda, in the attic there are embedded side windows. The facade can be brick or sheathed with siding, the roof is broken.
• Spanish bungalows. They are also called Mexican. The roof is traditionally red, flat or sloping, the facade is plastered, decorative tiles are used, there is a terrace surrounded by a wall. Doors are usually carved, windows are arched, railings and bars on the windows are forged. Distributed in the southwestern United States.

Features of the bungalow

One of the features of real bungalows is the horizontal orientation of the whole house. Usually all the main rooms are located on the same floor, most often the house has two bedrooms, a bathroom, a guest bathroom, a living-dining room and a kitchen. The attic, if any, is used as needed. This layout is great for families with small children and the elderly, as it assumes that you don’t have to use the stairs. In addition, due to the horizontal orientation of the house, it is easier to equip all the necessary communications.

Bungalow interior

When decorating their bungalow house, the owners never forget about an open spacious terrace or veranda. Even if it does not go out onto the pond, there is still a cozy garden furniture here so that you can sit in the fresh air. The veranda is often decorated with flowerpots with flowers, flower beds are broken in front of the house. And in the backyard, if space permits, a small pool and barbecue area is built.

As for the interior of the bungalow itself, the following points can be highlighted:

• Usually the living room becomes the center of the house, the largest room that unites the rest. It is quite formal, but functional, performing several tasks..
• The color scheme is mostly natural, muted, a lot of wooden elements.
• The furniture is laconic, wooden, colonial or tropical, possibly wicker, for example in the dining area.
• The attic is usually low, but it often turns out to equip a small bedroom, most often with beams on the ceiling. If there is no attic in the bungalow, then the ceiling beams can be on the first, only floor.
• Shelves and cabinets are usually built-in, as hidden as possible. This feature is due to the fact that in a bungalow the rooms, in addition to the living room, are traditionally small, so storage places should not clutter up the space..

Bungalows are still very popular in the United States, although in the UK this direction of building country houses has gradually lost its relevance. According to polls, almost one in two Americans dreams of a beachfront bungalow for their weekend getaway. However, such a house may well become a permanent home, comfortable and convenient..