RALEIGH - STYLES OF HOMES
Raleigh, North Carolina. Bungalow style homes. Just Molly and me and baby makes three. We’re happy in my blue heaven. That’s from a song that goes back a lot of years and no it doesn’t refer specifically to UNC or Chapel Hill. The blue heaven of that day was very likely a bunglow in anywhere USA.
With the Parade of Homes coming up at the end of September there is a lot of talk about home styles. Point out a home anywhere, on any street and ask ten people at random what style it is. Most of the time all you will get is a wrong answer or no answer at all. Most homes being built in Raleigh, Wake County or most other areas of the U.S. today are not, strictly speaking, a specific style but rather a mixture of styles. Many “specific” styles are no longer being built. When they are built they are usually a highly modified version of the original. With this in mind I thought I would, during the next few days, describe a few of them.
I think a good place to start is with the bunglow mentioned above. Sears, Roebuck, through their mail order catalogs, sold an early version of pre-fab homes by offering a “bunglow by mail” if you will. It was a very complete package that included the materials, fixtures and building instructions. You could even select from several designs.
Bungalows spread throughout the nation in the 1920s, 30s and 40s. There was even a revival of sorts during the 1990s. In Raleigh there is a fairly large group of bungalows in the Five Points area that are constantly in high demand and command prices well above what homes of comparable square footage bring in other locations. Yes, they are “inside the beltline” which means they command higher prices anyway but the fact remains that they style that is liked and quite often specifically asked for.
Bungalows are basically one story. They have a front facing gable and a low pitched gable roof. The lower section of the roof covers a good sized front porch. Siding is often wood singles or stucco but can be darn near anything. They have wide overhanging eaves. They have a front stoop, quite often a fireplace and the front door almost always either opens directly into the living room or a small, office-style foyer. Interiors, especially in the 20s, 30s and 40s, featured natural wood finishes.
John Fish (919) 696-3474 Email: Marvmax@mindspring.com Website: www.JohnFish.com
