The term "Arts and crafts" refers to the late 19th-century British and American motility to revive handicrafts. The move was as well the inspiration backside the Craftsman and bungalow styles.

English reformer William Morris was one of the founders of the Arts and crafts Motility in the late 1880s. Tired of excessive Victorian compages and the machine-driven Industrial Age, Morris and his followers wanted to return to a pre-industrial, handmade society. Morris as well wanted to make custom furnishings available to the "common human."

When the movement made its way to the Us at the turn of the 20th century, Gustav Stickley, founder and editor of The Craftsman magazine and a well-known furniture maker, became the American leader. Originally, the term "Craftsman" meant a home built from a programme in Stickley'southward magazine, but it has come up to hateful homes built in the Arts and crafts way.

The bungalow was closely associated with the Arts and Crafts Movement. Stickley preached that bungalows would give working-class families the chance to feel "serious architecture." Bungalows melded unproblematic pattern with handcrafted artistry -- all for about $900 dollars. The mode was also easy to build and maintain, and it became the well-nigh common type of Craftsman dwelling, cropping up from California to the Chicago suburbs.

Bungalows and Craftsman homes remained popular until they fell out of favor when the casual ranch style emerged after World State of war Ii. However, the sleek, timeless style is regaining popularity today.

Primal Elements

  • Built of natural materials. Craftsman homes are typically built of real woods, stone and brick.
  • Built-in piece of furniture and light fixtures. Congenital-ins were the hallmark characteristic of the Arts and Crafts era. Built-in cabinets allowed the furnishings to be function of the architecture, ensuring design unity and economic apply of infinite. Even the lite fixtures are often function of the design.
  • Fireplace. A fireplace was the symbol of family unit in the Arts and Crafts movement, and then virtually homes feature a dominant fireplace in the living room and a large exterior chimney.
  • Porches. Most homes in the Craftsman style accept porches with thick square or circular columns and stone porch supports.
  • Low-pitched roofs. The homes typically take a low roof with wide eaves and triangular brackets.
  • Exposed beams. The beams on the porch and within the house are often exposed.
  • Open floor programme. The Craft Motility rejected the small, boxy rooms like those in Victorian houses.

Famous Examples

  • St. Francis Court. In 1909, Sylvanus Marston, an builder who studied at Cornell, assembled bungalows in Pasadena, Calif., around a small "courtyard" to solve the density trouble and create the illusion of space.
  • Craftsman Farms. Gustav Stickley's retreat in Morris Plains, Due north.J., is a perfect example of the Arts and Crafts style. The entire domicile is furnished with article of furniture from Stickley United Crafts.
  • The Gamble House. This 8,200-square-human foot Craft icon is in Pasadena, Calif. Information technology was built in 1908 past Charles and Henry Greene, who obsessively crafted every item of the effects and art.

Practically Speaking: Hassles and Headaches

By definition, a Craftsman home is carefully constructed, open up and uses space economically. That means the manner is probable to demand few repairs if information technology has been well maintained.

"Craftsman homes have a high quality of design and craftsmanship, so they hold their value," explains David Jensen, an builder from Long Embankment, Wash. "They are like the Rolls Royce, or the Robert Redford, of the architecture world."

A Craftsman home'due south elementary, elegant pattern means it's less probable to wait dated. That said, homeowners today typically want a more open floor plan than older Craftsman homes provide. Often the kitchen needs to exist updated to add more counter space and room for larger appliances, says Jensen. Too, homes today typically have more lighting and windows.

House Hunting

Fix to bunk upwardly in a bungalow or Craftsman habitation? The styles are well-nigh prevalent in California.

"The West Coast is a hot spot considering a lot of the development in the West was happening at the height of the manner's popularity," explains Jensen.

California's climate is perfect for the bungalow and Craftsman style, especially the large deck. Pasadena, Calif., has an area known as "Bungalow Heaven," where there are hundreds of historic bungalows.

In Chicago, there's the "Bungalow Belt." Because of the chilly winters, the Chicago bungalows have a sunroom rather than an open porch. Also, take a look at neighborhoods in almost whatever city that were established between 1900 and 1930, and you're sure to find some retro Craftsman digs.