The distinctive architectural elements of your house: 2 stories with attic, side gabled main roof, triple projected cross gables, formal classical cornice returns, a wrap-around porch with narrow straight posts, and a formal Palladian center window, are not characteristic of the American Craftsman Style. To make this house more Craftsman-like would involve a major redesign including different detailing and different materials.

If you add some gingerbread trim it could be a Victorian.

If it had a steeper roof pitch and the right trim it could be a Gothic Revival.

Without the cross gables it would be reminiscent of the I-Houses of the Tidewater South.

With the cross gables it might be considered 20th century Neoeclectic, perhaps Neo-Victorian or Neo-Colonial Revival.

I would recommend not trying to bring this house into conformance with a particular historic house style. I would concentrate on improving the balance and proportion of the eclectic elements so they appear to belong together.

I don't understand how the gables can project yet not return to the main house before the ends of the front facade walls. Is the drawing correct?

The second story windows are much too close to the porch roof both visually and in terms of good waterproofing. The central Palladian window should be either featured more strongly or made the same as the other windows. (If you care anything at all about architecture you would not want to build a cheezy knock-off of the world's greatest architect's signature design element.) The arched top window should be raised a bit and the shared jambs should be thicker, similar to Andrea's elegant columns).

I would omit the rectangular attic vents in the front gables and use roof ridge and eave vents. The cornice returns should be correctly detailed in the classical style that they emulate or be omitted. (Don't want to offend the Greeks) The shutters should be more formal or omitted. At some point it is necessary to decide if a house is formal or casual and the multiple symmetrical gables and cornice returns seem to have already made that decision for you.)

To make the house more interesting I would wrap it with cedar shingles without corner boards since the multiple vertical trim boards are too Victorian (unless you want to go in that direction and then the porch should be detailed to match).

The blank upper part of the gables are a major issue. If you use shingles they might be left blank or you could add a round window in the center gable (I would probably not put a round window over a Palladian window) Three round windows might be OK but they would likely make the house look like a giant bird house. This house would be better served by a major center cross gable and two dormers or structural roof ventilators set back on the roof. If this were my house I would change to dormers or make the center cross gable larger so its ridge reached the main roof ridge and the eaves reached the other gables. But then I would probaby turn it into a Shingle Style because that style has the natural casual charm of a Craftsman and the elegance of a Colonial Revival but allows a lot of freedom with the floor plan. The use of Palladian windows, multiple ganged windows and natural materials were primary characteristics of the Shingle Style.

It makes little sense to drop the large windows on the right below those in the main house while maintaining the same foundation line. If that structure is a garage then it makes even less sense.
Who is the designer of the house?

Two story Craftsman houses are not typical of the style across America but here are two of them.

Notice the use of natural materials and with bold yet simple carpenter-like detailing with many different patterns and textures. These houses manage to be modest in form but grand in detailing and materials. This represented a major design statement by those who revolted against the Victorian styles of the previous century and the decline of handcrafted design work in the new industrial age.

Mightyanvil, I love your input. I always love when I find a post with your input.

This was especially interesting to me as I will probably be coming up with something very similar. I went to the drafts lady yesterday, so I can hardly wait.... about ready to BURST actually, but I am so anxious to see what she comes up with.

Will have to compare your input here with what I get back :-)

Mightyanvil - thanks for your input; it's obvious that you have a lot of knowledge! The house plan is a customized Frank Betz plan. I could send you the blueprints in pdf form so you could look at the gables more closely. Would you mind doing that -- I don't want to start our build if we have structural issues. Please email me at pdessena@stny.rr.com - thanks so much!

I second the praise for Mightyanvil. Your breadth of knowledge and willingness to assist others is very much appreciated.

Here is another rendering of the front elevation -- this one shows the center gable a little smaller than the other two. Does this configuration look better?

Asking a professional to give you his time for free for a consultation that you should have had (and paid for) with your own architect is foolish at this late date. It's also borderline rude to ask him to donate his professional services to you in a private consult when that is how he puts the bread on his table. It's like asking a doctor at a party to listen to this nagging cough that you've had for a couple of months. Your own architect is the one that should be on the hook to fix this mess.

Since you asked for opinions, here goes: Shed roof dormers instead of the gabled dormers would be more appropriate for a Craftsman style home. Eliminate the sad inappropriate attempt at a Palladian window. 6 over 1 windows and cedar shingles would also be more appropriate. Eliminate the shutters entirely. You need much more substantial sized support columns for the porch--and fewer in number. Stone for the columns would add a nice natural accent.

Even with doing all of that, you still will have only have some Craftsman styling on a modern home. You'd have to do a substantial redrawing of the whole structure from your architect to achieve a true Craftsman style home. For example, the roof pitch would have to be lowered and the rafter tails become part of the signature style of the home. You need to emphasize a strong horizontal line in the home's design rather than the verticality that the present design exhibits. This is one of the hazards of buying one of the housemill plans off of the net.

That explains why mine is so similar... that is the same one that I like!! However it is a Don Gardner I am pretty sure, the Brentwood.

I knew when you first posted it, there wasn't much I would have changed :-) While it is not the Craftsman style, it is the style I was looking for and I love it. We live out in the country and have 8 horses and lots of critters and I wanted a plan that reflected coming to visit Grandpa's Farm.

I really like the color rendering -and if your version is similar I can't imagine it needs anything to make it more interesting (would become busy). As mightyanvil suggests, a complete rework of the styling would be in order to make it more craftsman- like IMHO.

Of course I like plain and try and remember "simplicity to the extreme is elegance". I think it applies to many things including weddings and houses!!

Good Luck. I will tell you don't build it unless you love it and paper changes are a breeze compared to the changes made after you start!

PD

I would recommend not trying to bring this house into conformance with a particular historic house style. I would concentrate on improving the balance and proportion of the eclectic elements so they appear to belong together.

Amen!

(If MA were a girl, she'd be what in high school we used to call "easy".)

To Live Wire Oak -- First, I am sorry that you found my request to mightyanvil so inappropriate. I am brand new to this board and I beg you to please tell me how on earth I would know that he/she is an architect? While I found his knowledge to be very impressive, he is after all answering questions on a public forum. Second, I was only asking him to address ONE structural concern that HE mentioned -- the proximity of the windows to the roof line. I had no intention of asking him to redesign my home. Third, if you would please read my OP carefully, you will see that I wish to incorporate craftsman "touches," not change my home to a true craftsman. Of course I know that would be ridiculous.

gopintos - I am so glad you like the style! And you are absolutely right -- the color rendering is of the Don Gardner Brentwood! Here's what we did -- we showed Frank Betz the Don Gardner outside and had him work it into an existing Frank Betz design. We had to make a lot of modifications to get it to work -- but it is perfect for us now. At least on the inside! I am just a little unsure about the outside. We've had the blueprints for a year now, and I think I'm looking at too many other houses and starting to get cold feet! :-)