California Bungalow

The term “California Bungalow” was developed to describe a version Craftsman Style architecture that emerged in Northern California from 1890 to 1920.

They were charmingly simple homes, with open floor plans, full basements, large front porches and overhanging roofs supported by thick square columns. Most had built-in cabinetry and shelves.

Early designs focused on harmony with nature and quality craftsmanship, and are often seen as a backlash against industrialization. Ironically, by 1908 companies like Sears were offering the plans and materials to build California Bungalows in mail order kits, industrializing their construction and making them more accessible to the working class population of Northern California.

Generally falling between 800 and 1200 square feet, they are considered small by modern standards, but at the time they were symbols of prosperity and the rapidly growing suburbs of Berkeley and Oakland filled with bungalows during the first few decades of the 20^th century.

Though the style was originally defined by single story construction, a two-story variation evolved in San Francisco, mostly in the city’s Inner Sunset district, to take advantage of the longer, narrower lot sizes.