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SEEKONK - Cozy, yet spacious - classic, yet modern.

Such contrasting features have made for very enjoyable living at 21 Coleman St., according to David Arden, who has almost completely renovated the bungalow style home he purchased there eight years ago.

But the enjoyment began long before the renovations for David, certified public accountant and corporate tax vice president at Bank of America in Providence, who says he purchased the home after looking at only one other.

"It's the first house that I've ever purchased, and, even in the condition that it was in - with an orange linoleum floor and wall-to-wall carpeting - I walked in the front door and I said, 'Oh, this is my house.' "

In fact, David says he made that decision even before going past the first room, and just hoped that the rest of the house would be as good because he had already decided to buy it. Among the features that first attracted David to the home were the front porch and the detailed interior woodwork - traditional features of the classic American bungalow.

The bungalow style home was introduced to America in the late 1800s based on the native one-story thatch-roofed huts of India, which were adapted by British Colonists for summer homes.

After coming to America, the bungalow was further adapted by designers in various parts of the country, following the architectural movements of the day, which included Queen Anne, Arts and Crafts, Tudor, Prairie, Pueblo, Spanish, English Colonial Revival and Moderne.

Whatever the individual style, the bungalow design, according to the article, "What style is my bungalow?" at www.ambungalow.com/AmBungalow/whatStyle.htm, shares "a conscious search for the supposed simplicity of preindustrial times.

"All were meant to counter the excess of the Victorian period by returning to the past when handicrafts displayed the laborer's personal involvement in the work. It is easy to see how the bungalow - whose existence was defined on the grounds of restoring family values - fits beautifully into the Arts and Crafts movement. It would bring style to all the people whatever their economic or social status."

These qualities have not been lost on David, who has both renovated his 1926 bungalow to suit his lifestyle and made good use of the family atmosphere to which the house lends itself.

In fact, David and his son have particularly enjoyed the front porch, which is one of the most recognizable features of what has come to be known as the classic bungalow, regardless of its location in the country.

"It's one of the focal points of the house," David says. "We go out there all the time in the summer. It was one of those things that just felt very welcoming when I looked at the house. And, when I have parties, if people aren't in the kitchen, they're out here."

The porch offers several white columns beneath a low-pitched roof, with a street-facing gabled dormer, all typical of the bungalow porch.

In keeping with the true features of the classic bungalow, the front door opens directly into the living room, where a wide opening is flanked by bookcases, which separates the living room from the dining room. Although David uses this entire area as a double living room, rather than the living room-dining room combination, it is the detailed woodwork between the two rooms that first captured his attention, showcasing as he says the quality and craftsmanship that went into the construction of the home when it was built 80 years ago.

Immediately after purchasing the home, David says he was also delighted to discover that there were hardwood floors beneath the carpeting as he suspected there would be.

Through the first phase of renovation that David did on the house, he had all of the woodwork in the double living room refinished, from the fir floors to the columned half walls, which feature glass-door bookcases on the sides that face the back living room. The refinished woodwork also included the window trim, with its crown molding tops and oversized sides, which David says give the appearance of mini columns.

As part of the home's soft, neutral color scheme, David removed the existing wallpaper in the double living room, which in total measures 26 by 10 feet, and very carefully painted the horsehair plastered walls a pale yellow.

A recessed panel door in the back living room, one of many such original doors of the home, leads to David's second renovation project - a completely transformed kitchen, which encompasses 390 square feet among a 20- by 11-foot area and a 17- by 10-foot area.

This now spacious and very modern kitchen, however, was made up on three separate areas - an eat-in kitchen area, a galley kitchen and a dining room - when David purchased the home.

Wanting a large space to entertain friends and family, David tore down the dividing walls, replaced the orange linoleum with beige ceramic tile and added birch cabinetry, topped with granite and equipped with stainless steel appliances.

With his family values firmly in place, although his friends thought it a bit strange, he designed his fully modern kitchen around a 1950s style stool, with its original red leather seat and back and pull-down steps. He could have had a few more cabinets, but there had to be a space for the stool.

"It was one of the few things I have from my grandmother," David said. "I remember sitting on here while she was cooking, and I wanted to have that for my son."

To make the kitchen even more accommodating for visitors, David also added French patio doors to the back yard, where he also built a brick patio at the foot of the steps.

The second floor also offers some of the cozy bungalow features, with the 11- by 19-foot master bedroom and a second bedroom, situated on one half of the house, beneath steep eaves, to which skylights were added by a previous owner.

The property is listed for $329,900 with Lisa Walker of Century 21, Ed Pariseau, Realtors, at 508-254-4418. The property can be viewed during an open house from 1:30-3:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 29.