|
American Bungalow Magazine
A great magazine on the bungalow, its origins, its revival, and its future.
Our Review
When we're feeling down and wonder what we were thinking when we bought our old fixer-upper, we sit down on the couch with a copy of American Bungalow. By their own mantra, the magazine was founded "in the interest of preserving and restoring the modest American 20th century home, the Bungalow, and the rich lifestyle that it affords." For us, its simply hope that some day we'll have a place that's comfortable and the right fit for our lifestyle and appreciation for good design.
Published quarterly, AB prints great articles and pictoral reviews focusing on restoration projects, design genres, and bungalow communities of note. We find that the articles provide a fun background on the way that cultural trends, principles about the family, and a respect for craftsmanship all came together to create the bungalow culture.
And unlike our local bungalow association which only acknowledges bungalows of the Chicago variety, the AB embraces the true wide definition of bungalow style from the Queen Anne to Moderne. Their fantastic web page "What Style is My Bungalow?" walks efficiently through the bungalow's history and variations. We take guilty pleasure in the fact that our own bungalow's Craftsman Style pre-dates the Chicago Bungalow historically. (Take that CBI!)
Like another of our favorites--Fine Homebuilding--AB was also listed among the Chicago Tribune's 50 best magazines in June of 2003. Their praise:
If you've got a thing for the Arts and Crafts, Mission or Prairie styles, and the turn-of-the-last-century home style that shows them to best advantage, this magazine is pure pornography. Nothing stirs the blood like a prodigiously lined chunk of quartersawn oak and the advertisements telling you where you can get more of the same.
Finally, beyond the printed page American Bungalow has a beautiful website and a vibrant sense of community on their message boards. The folks there share lots of great ideas and experiences, and were particularly encouraging back when we first came across our own neglicted bungalow and weighed the prospect of diving in to the home restoration lifestyle.
Check it out!