Bungalow-Style Decorating

Inside and Out

• The Craftsman style associated with bungalows accentuates the use of natural materials like stone, wood, brick and built-in components. You can decorate in the bungalow style by focusing on the architectural details or on the interior space. On the outside, bungalows often are a single story, with a gabled roof and extending rafters. Wide-front doors reinforce the primacy of the horizontal line. You may employ features such as front porch posts and beveled or colored-glass window panels. Inside, your dwelling may display exposed beams, fireplaces and plastered walls.

Colors

• When decorating in the bungalow style, reflecting the colors of nature is important. For your cottage or Craftsman home, use a color palette rich in earth and neutral tones, ranging from browns to greens to creams. Expand with brighter, but not jewel-toned, colors, such as muted purples and red. A Craftsman home works in harmony with the elements and does not compete with it. Soft muted tones of the landscape interplay dusky shades with those of the surrounding woodland, and pastels find their way into bungalow design schemes, with pinks, purples and yellows.

Furnishings and Decor

• Bungalow furniture stays clear of the frills of other styles by emphasizing hand-craftsmanship, clean lines and unadorned functionality. To underscore the rusticity of the materials, you can employ furnishings made of distressed and treated woods, thus giving oak and pine a rustic, weathered look. Incorporating simple homespun fabrics like cotton and linen in the upholstery is another way to evoke the style. Alternatively, combine chintzes with plaids and stripes and understated details like buttons and pleats.

Wall Treatments and Accessories

• An exemplar of Craftsman wallpaper decorating was William Morris, whose designs captured the spirit of the style with wallpaper depictions of natural scenes. When accessorizing a cottage or bungalow, liberally use elements of the outdoors and the country: baskets, antiques, graniteware and stoneware that are not perfectly formed are part of this tradition.