i love bungalows

I have always had a deep affection for Arts and Crafts-style bungalows, although I didn't know what they were called or much about them until a few years ago. I spent my early childhood in a classic Craftsman bungalow near the beach in southern California and then after a brief layover in a Victorian foursquare in rural Washington State, my parents finally settled for the remainder of my growing up years in an old farmhouse bungalow, the kind of solid, unpretentious farmhouse you see all over Middle Tennessee.

It's no coincidence that both my siblings and I live in old houses. My sister lives in a 1930 (40s?) brick cottage; my brother lives in a big Victorian that used to be a B&B, and I live HERE. It's technically a 1908 Queen Anne Victorian, and from the front, it looks like a classic Victorian cottage, but it has a lot of Craftsman influence inside and in the way it is shaped overall.

As you can see from the photos (in that link I just posted) all of the woodwork inside has been painted white -- all of it. I never would have done this, but since it's aleady done, we're going to keep it that way. It makes the house - which is huge and has a very heavy, big scale inside -- look light and bright and airy instead of dark and WIlliam Morris-y like it probably did when the wood was still all natural.

Anyway, back to bungalows, I love reading the "Family Album" feature in American Bungalows magazine, and in this issue, there is a house from very near where I grew up FEATURED (it's the one from SHelbyville, TN).

The magazine also has a lot of vendors selling reproduction Craftsman materials. I want to find a nice,airy William Morris reproduction wallpaper for the top half of our dining room (Something LIKE THIS, but leav ethe trim white and paint the walls in the living room and dining room a pale, warm taupe color.