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One of the town’s most unassuming styles of residential architecture got a fist bump of sorts Wednesday when the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach’s Polly Earl Award honored a top-to-bottom renovation of a 1920 bungalow in Midtown.

Architect Thomas Kirchhoff of Kirchhoff & Associates in Jupiter accepted the award on behalf of Allan “Biff” and Susan Kauffman, who own the landmarked house at 159 Australian Ave.

»PHOTOS: 1920 bungalow in Palm Beach

The Kauffmans were unable to attend the ceremony, which took place after a meeting of the foundation’s board of trustees at the organization’s headquarters on Peruvian Avenue. At the meeting, four new trustees joined the foundation’s board — Gretchen and Howard Leach. and Mahvash and Manucher Azmudeh.

Named for the late Polly Earl, the foundation’s first executive director, the award recognizes excellence in renovation at smaller-scale properties with historic significance, said foundation President Alexander C. Ives. It complements the organization’s Robert I. Ballinger Award honoring renovations of large estates.

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With roots in Indianapolis, the Kauffmans bought the property in 2011 from the family of the late real estate broker and developer A. Parker Bryant and his late wife, Elizabeth. The house is just east of South County Road.

“We were attracted by the location and size of the property, and what I thought we could do with it to make the house really livable,” Biff Kauffman said in a phone interview. “We’re very honored that (the Preservation Foundation) would look at our property and think it was worthy of an award.”

Although its architect is unknown, the residence is a good example of bungalow architecture, which was popular in the United States between 1905 and 1930, according to the property’s landmarking report. The stucco-clad house features elements common to the style, including a low-pitched gabled roof with eave overhangs supported by exposed rafters or brackets. Other bungalow signatures include rectangular double-hung windows and a large front porch, which had been partially enclosed by the time the Kauffmans found the house.

The quarter-acre lot is narrow, with just 75 feet facing the street. The Kauffmans at first considered building a new house but discovered they would lose much of the back yard, thanks to town setback requirements.

With Kirchhoff’s guidance, they agreed that preserving, updating and enlarging the house would give them just the home they wanted — “cozy and comfortable,” in the architect’s words.

Kirchhoff guided the couple through the landmarking process, and the 2013 designation came with tax benefits. The town also granted variances needed for the renovation and agreed to let the Kauffmans replace their dilapidated garage building with two tiny bedrooms upstairs.

All the house’s facades viewable from the street were left intact, in accordance with landmarking rules. But the new garage building is taller and wider to accommodate a larger two-bedroom guest suite on the second level and a ground-floor loggia facing the back yard. The driveway’s new porte-cochere complements the bungalow architecture.

A new covered walkway connects the garage building to the main residence, which was in much better shape, Kirchhoff said. Even so, crews rebuilt walls, strengthened structural supports and added two steel beams to shore up the second floor, which was reconfigured with a guest bedroom, an office/bedroom, a large closet and a dressing area.

A particular challenge upstairs, Kirchhoff said, was fitting the new rooms around the existing windows, while reworking the pitch of the roof to help accommodate new air-conditioning ducts. Kirchhoff carved out storage areas from space under the eaves and around dormer windows.

The 16-month renovation also replaced a 1993 master-bedroom at the rear of house.

“We pulled the north side of the house back into the original footprint and instead pushed the master suite out to the east,” Kirchhoff explained.

Other projects included updating the original kitchen, reworking the layout of the dining room, designating part of the living room to act as a foyer, and installing new electrical wiring and plumbing. The original Dade County pine floors were restored, while the living room’s fireplace — for years hidden behind drywall — was returned to working order.

Don Grill of Heritage 76 Corp. in North Palm Beach was the contractor, Keith Williams of Palm Beach’s Nievera Williams Design handled the landscaping, and Julie O’Brien Design Group of Indianapolis and Chicago decorated the interiors.

Ives of the Preservation Foundation said the story behind the project is nearly as noteworthy as the house itself.

“Not only is this a great story in that the homeowners volunteered it for landmarking, it is a great story of renovation,” he said in an email. “They and their team respected the house’s relationship to the street and the bungalow style in their renovations and additions. It is an example of what can be done on our smaller home streets with historic properties.”

The Kauffmans, meanwhile, are thrilled with the results.

“It’s super. It looks just like it did in 1920. You just feel like you’re at home when you walk in the front door,” Biff Kauffman said. “We were going to use it as a vacation house. But we decided to live here full time.”