William Morris said it all: "Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful." This quote conveys the basic tenet of belief regarding the bungalow and the guiding principle for a simple and peaceful existence. Many designers of the Arts and Crafts movement believed in a balance and harmony between form and function. This often created an organic structure that, even years later, would continue to immediately welcome people under its roof. This simplicity is often in opposition to the desire to "Tuscanize", "Bordelloize", and "Modernize" to the extreme. Over the years bungalows and mission homes have been robbed of the features that made them unique: pillars were replaced by Spanish iron grilles, wide open porch rooms were turned into walled dens, and the exposed beams, fine woods, and lights yanked out. Hiding, and sometimes dying, beneath layers of popcorn ceiling treatments, cheap shag carpeting, and mock neo-victorian many a bungalow awaits being discovered by someone with a discerning eye. Somewhere one of these American beauties awaits rescue....will you be a hero?
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