Hi there,
Last summer, I bought a house built in 1930 (photo attached) and am curious to learn more about its design. I've been looking online but no luck so far. It has 2 bedrooms, living room, dining room, kitchen and a breakfast nook. The dormer you see in the photo is really just for looks. Also the porch was closed in at some point, half of it was closed off to make a walk-in closet for the master BR. The house is really cute inside with some nice built-ins, arched doorways, textured plaster walls, and crown moulding. I'd love to know if anyone knows anything more or has seen similar homes.

Thanks!

Well it's hard to say.I am at work, unfortunately, so I don't have access to my Montgomery Wards or Gordon VanTine catalogs I bought from Dover Publications.

In both books they have bungalows just like yours, only the dormers seem to have glass windows instead, and of course the porch extends all across the front of the house.

You may check the basement or attic to see if
there are any numbers and say a name stamped on the rafters or joists,which might give you a clue to who manufactured the house.

It's a nice little place, though i would add under the pillars where the closet is, a band of wood like you see on the side of the open porch, so it doesn't look like the closet pillars are just hanging in midair.
It looks like a large walk in closet. If it was my house, I might add a window, not large to the closet in the front. This would let light into the closet plus would break up the large blank space of wall.The window would have to match the livingroom ones you see on the porch side.
It also looks like it's missing a porch stairs
bannister or rail, just have one on one side it seems.
It looks like your front yard is real small.
If I had the money I would change that from grass to some sort of perennial plants and ground cover so one could have some color, and not have to mow the front lawn. it's strange the way the house sidewalk ends. I wonder why they did that. Are your neighbors homes also like that?

The porch seems dark to me,but maybe I'm wrong.
I think I might paint the house a soft cream or yellow with ivory or white trim, or some other light color,or if I kept the same house colors,I would change the house numbers.

I would paint a wooden plaque a light color and attach the current house numbers to it, so they stand out and you can see them better. They seem to blend in with the house color.

I think it's neat how you have your own bungalow. Sounds like it has a lot of great features to it.You have a real little gem there.

Thanks. The basement is finished so there aren't any exposed beams down there but I will check the attic one of these days. I talked to my next door neighbors whose house was built in 1925 and they didn't know if theirs was a kit house either.

You have some good ideas though since I'll only be in Lansing for a few years (grad student) I'm trying to limit how much I invest in this place. I agree with the house numbers -- replacing those and the light is on my list of things to do. The sidewalk actually doesn't end, it just looks that way from the photo. I recently painted the wood retaining wall a cream color and that added some color but it still needs more landscaping. The front yard is small but the house is actually on a double lot, you just can't see it. It's a great place...I'm quite happy with it.

Welcome.
Congrats on the new house.

Here is a color idea that I found on a house very similar to yours. The house does kind of present a blank "face" to the street that some landscaping could help with. The window that was in the dormer did have a purpose, which was to admit light to the attic so you could see if you were up there without electricity and to let in air in the summer months to cool the house.

If the house and the neighborhood justify it, you might have someone come in and take a look at that front bedroom to see if it would be practical to reconfigure and move the closet so you can put a window in front. I'm pretty sure you'd get the money back when you sell (especially in a couple years when the real estate market doesn't suck quite so much). It would add a huge amount of curb appeal.

Bungalows are all about the light and ventilation. I'm envisioning a band of three double-hung wood windows across the front.

I'm glad you like some of my ideas Spartan Girl.

I'll look through my copy of a Montgomery Wards Homes catalog and a Gordon Van Tine one to find your house.
Lots of people have kit houses and don't even know it. I have seen a few around here.
Out between Cibolo and Schertz, there are some bungalows like in a cluster with some trailers.
Have no idea on the history of this little area, may have to check with City Hall. One of the bungalows looks like it might be an Aladdin Home from around 1912-1914, but I'll have to look at the online Aladdin catalogs at Clarke Historical Library under i think resources to see if it is.

Yeah, the best thing is to start out small, and then slowly do big projects,especially with everyone having to tighten their belts, and this morning they said on the Today Show that gas prices are going up.

Would love to put new flooring and cabinets in my kitchen, but it will have to wait abit.

I guess it's true that "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." Now that you all point out some things I can see them but to me it's a great little bungalow that doesn't need much work at all. Throw it into a trendy old house neighborhood in Portland, OR or Arlington, VA (I've lived in both areas) and, yes, I'd probably feel compelled to spiff it up a bit. In my working class neighborhood in mid-Michigan, however, it's a gem! I'm actually more interested in finding out whether it's a kit home than in home improvement ideas.

Hi there! I also live in Lansing and I own a home that is described as a Cottage Tudor. I still need to do a lot more research on my home. I found a couple of books and websites useful. If you think that this house maybe a kit than a good place to look is The Sears Archives. The books by Rosemary Thorton are useful and are available through the Capital Area District Library using their MelCat service. (They are neat to look at but I feel if you don't have a Sears home they aren't as useful). Some websites that I have found useful are Antique Home Style and the State of Michigan Archives. Here are the websites.

This is a nice pamphlet from the Archives with good links

Genalogy of a House


Another website is the Antique Home Style

Antique Home Style

Well good luck I hope that helps!