I stumbled across the Journal of San Diego History website. It is full of pictures of interiors and exteriors of all types of homes at the turn of the century. It has some great comments on what was used in the rooms.

Like this one:


An interior of a Bungalow. Shows that some homes in the early 1900's did have white trim. Even small homes had baby grand pianos! There is stenciling near the ceiling. The half walls separated spaces. Trimwork that went around the room at the top of the door (picture rail). Pictures were hung from wires from that picture rail.

Or this picture:


With the redwood wainscoting, the sawed wood scrollwork used in the pass throughs (rotozip saw would make these simple to do today), the built-ins with lights above, the use of folding screens to separate spaces and the stencil work is actually burned into the wood. In other pictures you see how prevalent curtains are used in the large pass throughs between rooms. Studying the pictures you can see the style of lights, drapes, funiture rugs, etc.

A link to the site is below.

I have been slow to update articles and use either my own pictures or get permission for the use of other pictures. The copyrights are starting to expire on a lot of old pictures, but I have to be careful because I don't want to violate anybody's copyright.

I can always be contacted through my website for any decorating/design questions. I have been doing my business for almost 15 years and have been in original Wright and other Prairie architect homes and Craftsman bungalows. I have helped many customers who wanted advice on classic Bungalow looks or many others who just wanted to decorate a room in a typical new house in Prairie/Craftsman style.

Do you have any more?

First photo above looks to me like a classic Bungalow that's been "updated" in a Colonial Revival style, which did indeed involve lavish applications of white paint to everything that didn't bite back. ;-) The author says that this photograph is from the late 1920s; by the mid-1920s, in your standard, ordinary, middle-class household Colonial Revival was pretty firmly established in place of Arts & Crafts, which was seen as dull and depressing. (White-painted woodwork was indeed used intentionally in many "real" Arts & Crafts-style homes, just as it was in Queen Annes and suchlike, most often in utility spaces, kitchens and baths, and sleeping rooms because paint-grade trim - which is still often better quality than today's stain-grade trim, isn't that depressing? - was cheaper. Using the expensive stuff in the public rooms and the cheaper in the private areas has a long and distinguished history!) White paint was also common in Edwardian-style decor, which was a "lightened-up" version of Victoriana characterized by lighter colors, white trim, lighter-weight fabrics, and less clutter but still plenty by our modern standards! Like the Arts & Crafts movement it was also a revolt against the heaviness and excess of late Victorian-era decorating, just a less radical departure, and more palatable to the owners of Queen Annes, Italianates, etc. who didn't want to move or do major alterations to their houses. Just slap some white paint on that dark trim, replace the multilayered velvet window treatments with light chintz or dainty lace to let the light in, put up some pale-colored floral wallpaper and pull up the busy carpeting - tah-daaaah!

DH will be fascinated to see the burnt-on decorating on the trim in #2, since he is a rather passionate pyrographer (although it would take years for him to do any sizable amount of trim, since his preferred tools are a magnifying lens and the sun!). The fancy fretwork and clutter-laden decor ;-) aren't surprising for a house built in 1890, although I'm rather confused by the author's assertion that this is somehow "Craftsman" style just because there's some high, flat paneling? (I do like how they cheaped out on the exteriors and went a little crazy inside. *chuckle*)