Bungalows are often associated with old-fashioned décor, awkward layouts and a serious lack of style. But now, architects and home renovators alike are turning these single-storey dwellings into real estate gems. From a rustic farmhouse in Texas to an uninspiring Californian-style home in Melbourne, these once-basic bungalows have been transformed (almost) beyond recognition. Click or scroll to see how they each went from drab to fab... 

Located in a suburb of Melbourne, Australia – aptly named Sunshine – this Californian-style bungalow was once outdated and unloved. With its clapboard exterior and blue and white paintwork, the petite property was certainly in need of some attention. Luckily, local builder Matthew Carland saw its potential and bought the property in 2019 for AUD $790,000 which is around £415,000 ($532k).

With the keys in hand, Matthew undertook a 10-month renovation, transforming the home inside and out. He also upgraded the insulation and heating systems, installing a heat pump, which resulted in the home gaining a 7.5-star energy rating. The blue paintwork outside is gone and the façade now features a new, red front door and a pretty stained-glass panel that creates the perfect welcome.

Heading inside, the four-bedroom home is now incredibly contemporary, with new timber windows and a crisp monochrome colour palette that enhances every room. “We’ve retained all the original features externally but we’ve modernised everything inside,” Matthew told realestate.com.au. Some of these original details include the home's fireplaces, around which many of the rooms are now arranged. New elements include the home's terrazzo accents, European oak flooring, Fibonacci Pavlova stone surfaces, luxe light fittings and custom joinery. 

As for rooms, there's a light-filled entrance hall, an open-plan living area with dining zone and a stunning kitchen with a curving timber island. There's also a cosy lounge, two bathrooms, four gorgeous bedrooms, a walk-in closet and an alfresco outdoor entertaining space, connected to the main room thanks to frameless sliding doors. After renovating the property, Matthew sold it in May 2021 for AUD$1.4 million, which equates to around £707,400 ($916k).

Built in 1916, this house in the Cypress Park neighbourhood of Los Angeles is more than 100 years old and in mid-2022 it was certainly showing its age. From its lifeless exterior to an old-fashioned interior that featured a 90s kitchen, complete with tiled countertops and dark brown cabinets, the 1,136-square-foot home was in need of a makeover. The residence was listed for sale in May 2022 and was bought by Josh and Naomi Gibson of design firm, Gibson House, for £673,700 ($875k). 

An investment opportunity, the pair knew they had the skills to turn the home from drab to fab – and they weren't wrong! Instead of opting for an ultra-modern renovation, the Gibsons stayed true to the bungalow's heritage, focusing instead on enhancing its period features and rustic charm. For starters, they fixed up the façade with fresh render, painting the plaster a striking shade of black. They replaced the front door with a stylish hand-carved number and laid new tiles on the patio floor.

Inside, the duo retained the original floorplan, which features an open living room, dining zone, kitchen, three bedrooms and two bathrooms. In the lounge, Josh and Naomi restored the hardwood floors, covered the old brick fireplace and opened up the ugly built-in closets to create shelving. Naomi sourced many items from thrift stores, including the alabaster wall sconces that decorate the fireplace. Throughout, the walls were refinished with a lime wash in a soft sandy hue, to create a rustic, Mediterranean finish.

The retro kitchen has been transformed, too. Naomi bought a Hallman Italian range and topped it with a plaster hood, trimmed in 180-year-old barn wood, to mimic the wood-burning fires of old Tuscan kitchens. She also updated the cabinets and counters, sticking with neutral tones. As for the bathrooms, these are now beautifully contemporary, with dark flooring, open shelving, marble vanities and brass fixtures. The backyard was made over with a sitting area, dining space and outdoor fireplace. Josh and Naomi soon flipped the house, selling it in October 2022 for £977,740 ($1.3m).

Austin, Texas is home to its fair share of mid-century modern bungalows, which makes them attractively affordable if not outright desirable. This dreary pad dates to the 1950s and suffered from an unappealing exterior, dingy rooms and low ceilings that made the interior feel cramped and oppressive. Despite needing a lot of TLC, the building offered plenty of redesign potential...

Completed in 2015, the once unremarkable house is now anything but! Crafted by designers Murray Legge and Travis Avery, the local architectural character has been honoured while bringing the dated bungalow right into the 21st century. A simple vertical extension has transformed the front exterior and a new grey colour scheme means the abode now offers a lot more kerb appeal, but it's the interior that's had the biggest transformation...

Owned by an editor and her filmmaker husband, the cool and contemporary dwelling now blends the best of old and new. Murray Legge Architecture removed the small rooms that lay slapdash inside the home and raised the ceiling height, to create a single communal living zone with bags of character. 

Following the refurbishment, the home now offers 1,400 square feet of space, with custom celestial windows allowing light to fill every room. Bright and modern, the house also offers a cool retro quality, thanks to its mid-century furnishings. The designers also retained the home's traditional stick frame construction, accentuating the Douglas Fir timber beams in the main living space, to create a simple yet beautiful focal feature.

Over in Pittem, Belgium, this old-fashioned bungalow was once poorly insulated and extremely pokey, with a quarter of its 714-square-foot layout taken up by a redundant garage. The owners, a family in desperate need of more space and light, turned to Ghent-based studio WE-S Architecten to help them rescue their home. The results, we think you'll agree, are simply remarkable.

The once-simple bungalow has been completely transformed, with everything from the external brickwork to the building's energy performance being upgraded. Due to local building laws, WE-S Architecten were restricted in the amount they could increase the home by, so created a narrow 574-square-foot extension that cuts diagonally through the property. The whole thing was then wrapped in a new red-brick facade to blend it all seamlessly together.

Inside, the bungalow is bright and beautiful, with elegant vaulted ceilings, polished concrete floors and plenty of glazing. The new extension has allowed for additional bedrooms downstairs, while the older parts of the house have been opened up into free-flowing family rooms that serve multiple functions. The new raised roofline also allowed for two additional bedrooms to be located upstairs.

A spacious and functional family home, the 1,026-square-foot interior meets passive design principles for fantastic energy performance. As a nod to the home's former life as a garage, the designers also decided to turn this space into a covered terrace that is perfect for the summer months and also protects the home from the area's strong westerly winds.

This simple metal pole barn in the heart of Texas received rather a special makeover, thanks to the popular HGTV show Fixer Upper. Renovation specialists Chip and Joanna Gaines used their skills to help owners, TJ and Stephanie, transform the rundown rural retreat into their dream home. In fact, the story behind this outdated bungalow has now become one of the show's most popular stories – let's take a closer look!

TJ and Stephanie only had a budget of £34,800 ($45k) to buy and renovate a property, but amazingly Chip and Joanna managed to find this 980-square-foot pad within budget. Though it was poorly constructed, offered zero insulation and featured compact rooms separated by thin walls, the rustic dwelling offered bags of potential and was a blank canvas for an all-American makeover!

Since TJ lost his leg while posted in Afghanistan, Chip and Joanna’s goal was to make the home as spacious and practical as possible. To ensure the interior was cosy yet provided all the inside space the couple could need, they removed some of the walls to create a sleek, open floor plan with a better internal flow. Local tradesmen also contributed their time and building materials to help get the project in on budget.

In keeping with the traditional farmhouse style, Joanna selected a neutral palette that balanced classic design elements with modern industrial accents, such as black metal hardware and concrete countertops in the kitchen. Large windows in the bedroom allow for ample light to spill inside, while natural wooden tones make every space feel warm and inviting. The results of this transformation are incredible, and TJ and Stephanie even got engaged at the end of the show, ready for married life in their new home.

Dating back to 1947, this traditional Cape Cod-style dormer bungalow can be found in Fairfield, Connecticut, and was previously known as the worst house on the block! Owner Athena Bohm decided that it was time to turn the pad into something altogether more inviting, working with Blue Sky Designs for six months, to rescue and renew the residence.

Following the remodel, the historic home has been brought back to life and now shines thanks to its brand new roof, windows and cute shutters. Beautifully modern yet still in keeping with the charms of the 1940s, the front garden has also been carefully redesigned and is now extremely quaint with its framed pathway and pristine lawns. Everything is either new or completely updated, including the plumbing, flooring, insulation and electrics.

The bungalow's interior is now chic and stylish, offering a tranquil coastal vibe. Old and new blend together beautifully, while white-washed shiplap boards decorate the fireplace in the main living area – a nod to the home's former timber-clad exterior. Wood from the home's backyard was also repurposed and now sits above as an attractive floating mantel.

As a complete blank canvas, the Cape Cod property has been opened up to create a free-flowing open-plan interior. With 1,200 square feet of space, the home now boasts three spacious bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms, thanks to the half-storey of the dormer loft. Athena found some extremely affordable marble on Craigslist, which has been used to dramatic effect in the master bathroom. She also stained some pine to create shelves and built a bathroom vanity out of a side table.

This traditional English bungalow can be found nestled on a raised plot in the village of Linton, West Yorkshire. The original property wasn't making the most of the attractive countryside vistas afforded by its elevated position, so its owners turned to Transform Architects to help them change the house for the better...

From outdated and unimaginative to contemporary and bold, this basic bungalow has been given a facelift, both inside and out. A single-storey entrance extension was added to the front of the abode, while a modern flat roof dormer was added to the rear. Part of the original brickwork can still be seen and is beautifully complemented by timber cladding, a shiny new roof and slate accents.

The makeover allowed for a bright and beautiful broken-plan layout, where the kitchen, dining zone and lounge softly merge together. The dormer also meant that two new bedrooms could be allocated in the roof space, adding much more value to the family home. A clean and simple colour palette was used throughout, while repeat splashes of grey and blue help to tie each living space together. 

Throughout the home, new doors and windows were installed to create a seamless flow between inside and out, maximising the rural scenery views from every single room. The main living space boasts an ultra-stylish freestanding television wall, with a built-in double-sided fireplace for cosy nights in. Perfect.

This rustic weatherboard bungalow can be found in the Melbourne suburb of Williamstown, Australia. The homeowners had a desire to restore and preserve the historic building so turned to award-winning architectural studio, Michael Ong Design to breathe new life into it – and the results are simply stunning.

Futuristic, cool and entirely unique, this bungalow is almost too good to be true! From drab to fab, the Outside In House boasts the best of contemporary living and traditional charm. The architects added a sensitive yet stylish glazed extension to the rear of the house, enlarging the interior to 5,597 square feet. Standing almost separate from the older part of the building, the glass box connects to the back of the existing house.

The original exterior cladding can still be seen, preserved and protected inside the glass extension. Floor-to-ceiling sliding doors connect the interior with the garden and flood the home with natural light, while the new open-plan space is fresh and simple, thanks to minimalist decor and a clean colour palette.

In order to protect and perfect the older part of the bungalow, the architects left many of its beautiful original features intact. From its carefully maintained timber panelling to its attractive casement windows and hardwood floors, the former part of the property has been brought back to life.

The old listing photos of this ranch-style bungalow from the 1960s show it had plenty of potential. However, its flaking sage green façade, uninspiring backyard and 1,500-square-foot interior needed attention. But to be transformed into a sought-after family home, all it needed was someone with imagination and a little money to spend... 

The owners, who bought the Mount Washington home in 2016 for £715,900 ($930k), undertook an amazing remodel, not only completely reinventing the exterior with a coat of paint, but turning the previously unloved garden into a Californian oasis, with an outdoor deck, sitting areas and plenty of plants. They even converted the old garage into a multi-functional bonus room, complete with a vaulted beamed ceiling, designer lighting and custom French doors.

As for the interior, the rooms have been changed from simple and uninspiring to modern, bright and cool. Before, the property featured ugly single-glazed windows and plenty of original design elements, such as exposed rock fireplaces and oakwood floors. During the makeover, the windows were replaced with new, black framed models, the fireplaces given a lick of slick black paint and the old-fashioned furnishings replaced with modern pieces inspired by bygone eras.

Other changes include the basic open-concept kitchen, which was replaced with modern units and a quartz island. The two bathrooms have been completely reinvented, too. One features a soaking tub, a Carrara marble floor and Beverly Hills Hotel banana leaf wallpaper, while the second benefits from a dual rainforest shower decorated with pretty pink tiles, custom light fixtures and marble countertops. After completing the work, the owners listed the home in May 2022 for just shy of £1.2 million ($1.5m) and it sold one month later for £1.7 million ($2.2m). How's that for property appreciation?

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