I DESECRATED OUR BUNGALOW!

[berwynson]

Sacrilege, you'll say, and hate me for it. The new wife wanted 3 things done in the house, after we bought it from my Folks. She was 18, I was 23, certain I had found heaven on earth, so I complied.

The pedestal sink in the bathroom went first, in favor of some kind of vanity. The arch between the living and dining rooms was next, it was big and rectangular to start with. Then the thing in the dining room my Mother had always called a "buffet" (now I guess you eat at one), was removed; the top with its mirror made a backdrop, upside down, hung on the store-room wall in the basement (the store-room was actually under the front porch), as a shelf for bottles of drink; I had built a bar in the basement. It concealed the opening left by one brick knocked out of the wall, that "window" having been used much earlier to allow the x-rays produced within the store-room to be emitted safely on the basement side of the wall......the canary and cat thereby viewed internally......

So, how many of you still have those white porcelain pedestal sinks in the bathroom? The trend today is to REMOVE vanities in favor of PEDESTALS! Do things ever change?

How about the buffets? I imagine virtually every bungalow had something like that. Still got 'em? Everything made of SOLID OAK, all woodwork, doors, etc. Between dining room & hall we had a "French" door. Above the kitchen/back porch door there was a "transom". Beautiful!  Still got these wonderful features I remember so vividly?   Berwynson

[Shelley]

I don't live in a bungalow, but when we moved in to our home, the upstairs 1930's bathroom had been "remodeled" with a cheap laminate vanity that surely took the place of a pedestal sink.  The original green and white floor and wall tile remain, though. 

In a funny twist of faith, I met Fejes who had moved into her house a bit before us.  She had gone to a garage sale at my house right before we bought it when the owner's were downsizing and bought a pedastal sink to put in her vintage bath that had also been "remodeled". 

So, Fejes has my sink. 

[berwynson]

Thank you for the info! Our sink was square, with rounded corners, pretty big, and the faucets were quite far apart, non-standard spacing, like today's, I believe.

The floor tile was white porcelain, in the form of little hexagons about the size of golf balls. The original wall covering in the bath was "oil cloth"; my Dad put in steel wall tile, then the rage, and they tended to rust after a relatively few years.

The razor strop, a leather belt thing, hung from a hook on the bathroom door. It was never used on me, but the threat was present; instead, my Mother used her wooden mixing spoon on my backside, when necessary.   Berwynson

[Bonster]

I met the guy who grew up in our house who said there was a pedestal sink in the bathroom (no outlets, and a ceiling light on a pull string!).  I recently replaced our cheap Home Depot vanity with a better quality Home Depot vanity (one with drawers ) and in doing so clearly noted the outline of the old pedestal sink.

[Bonster]

Above the kitchen/back porch door there was a "transom". Beautiful!  Still got these wonderful features I remember so vividly?   Berwynson

We've got one.  Rather plain, but it works smoothly still...

[Bonster]

and I'm sure most bungalows have/had one of these...

[delbowz]

Too funny.  My bathroom still has a pedastal sink - but what makes me laugh is the "archway" you referenced.  When I bought my bungalow it had been EXTREMELY remodeled by the owner (two owners before my purhase) - let me just say that the "archway" you reference is now in my son's CLOSET.

Denise

[Bonster]

I would likely have put a pedestal sink back in, but ours is a smaller frame bungalow, and storage space is invaluable. 

[Bonster]

Berwynson,

A couple of things on your house have not been desecrated, in particular, a couple of my bungalow related "pet peeves."

The cement anchors for the window boxes still have the slab for them!  I hate when I see those juttin' out with no slab, no planters.
And it appears the original windows are intact.  Kind of unique, too...not your usual 3 over 1.  6 panes on the top panel, with four different sizes. 

[Bonster]

...and might I add, yours has one of those gorgeous arched brick entrances I love so much.  I also dig the bungalows with the cement accents (painted white, here) throughout.  They just don't make 'em like that anymore...

[berwynson]

My Lord! Bonster, you DO love those bungalow features, don't you. Seeing that front view again brought a lump to my throat; how many hundreds, thousands of times I approached those steps upon returning from school at lunch time, or after school, as a child, then, later as an adult after my Folks had moved to Michigan.

The slab below the front windows you refer to, supported by the abutments set into the brick is made of limestone, as are the various other accoutrements which others have painted white. The pine tree my Mother planted to the right of the steps is gone; it was very large when I left, about 10 feet in diameter at the base. I see glass blocks, it looks like, have replaced the old wooden basement windows. On the two brick columns on either side of the steps there were concrete flower pots, one each side, very big and heavy. These were "standard" originals, some planted flowers in them, but gradually they began to decay and fall apart; by the early 70's, few were left in evidence.

The garage out back my Dad built after tearing down the old original, berfore I was born. The side drive provided more than the usual amount of backyard area. On our side of the street, only 3 homes, as I recall, had driveways.

Thank you so much for this wonderful look back into my dim old memory!  Berwynson

[Bonster]

My Lord! Bonster, you DO love those bungalow features, don't you.

Don't be fooled by my recent negativity.  I love this city for what it was, is, and could be.

These were "standard" originals, some planted flowers in them, but gradually they began to decay and fall apart; by the early 70's, few were left in evidence.

Usually the slabs decay, and the abutments (that's the word I was looking for!) are still there, awaiting new ones.  That drives me crazy.  My frame home doesn't have them, and that's the first thing I'm adding when I do the front this summer!!!

The garage out back my Dad built after tearing down the old original, berfore I was born. The side drive provided more than the usual amount of backyard area. On our side of the street, only 3 homes, as I recall, had driveways.

It looks like it's still your Dad's garage.  Check out the classic windows!