California Bungalow architectural style in Australia

Parts of Australia, particularly the east coast and some southern regions, share a similar climate to California. These environmental similarities, combined with the increasing influence of Hollywood and its promotion of American culture, shifted Australia’s architectural gaze from Britain to the US.

The decorative Arts and Crafts design movement of the same period also influenced the California Bungalow architecture, which favoured the use of natural materials and championed craftsmanship over industrialised techniques. Frank Lloyd Wright’s designs offer some excellent examples of Arts and Crafts American architecture.

California Bungalows follow a simpler floor plan than earlier architectural styles, centred around an entrance hallway and leaning towards open-plan living.

Characteristics

California Bungalows are generally built in brick, and to a lesser extent, with weatherboard or timber. Red or liver-coloured bricks are common, but exteriors can also feature rendered, roughcast and weatherboard finishes. Verandah balustrades are built in timber and brick (exposed and rendered). Gabled roofs (triangular shape) tend to feature shingled detail (overlapping layers of wood, slate or tiling).

Stained glass windows incorporating Arts and Crafts– and Art Nouveau–inspired designs are a popular design characteristic. Bay windows are common, with windows double-hung and grouped together. The interiors were designed in a less decorative manner than the Victorian and Edwardian styles, though ceilings at times featured panelling. Timber floors, window and door frames and picture rails were originally stained dark to contrast the lighter coloured plaster walls.

Market value

While Victorian  and Edwardian  homes tend to sit within 5–10 km of the major city CBDs, California Bungalows were generally built in the 10–20 km ring.

“As the bigger cities developed you saw different architectural periods reflected in that expansion,” says Malcolm Gunning, President of the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales. “California Bungalows are very popular and an enduring style. They’re beautiful properties – you tend to have nice big balconies, brick construction and they are generally on larger blocks of land. The one disappointing feature is that often the rooms are a bit smaller.”

Despite their popularity today, there was a period in the 70s and early 80s when many California Bungalows were bulldozed.

“This was because they had more development value than residential value,” says Gunning. “Now a lot of that has been halted and there are streets you can’t touch, which is fair enough. The council and local communities recognise that these sorts of examples need to be kept. It doesn’t necessarily mean they are worth any more or any less money– it really is very much in the eye of the beholder.”

Renovation tips

Gunning and Cameron Frazer, from Ask An Architect, the building advisory service of the Australian Institute of Architects, agree that California Bungalows lend themselves to an extension out the back rather than up.

“They must be one of the most renovated house styles around. They are often built on something approaching the traditional quarter acre, so you have a lot more room,” says Frazer. “They were more open plan, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t need some kind of work to bring them up to modern living standards. You tend to see both complete internal renovations – where you do everything from the bathroom and kitchen, rip up carpet and polish floorboards – to a modern extension out the back.”

Renovating upwards really started with the double and triple fronted brick veneers , which have limited aesthetic value, so people don’t worry about changing the entire look of the house with a modern second-storey addition.

“Though not as decorative in style as Victorian or Edwardian homes, California Bungalows still have a reasonably strong aesthetic, which doesn’t lend itself to building upwards, and these features are often why people buy,” says Frazer.