Gardenweb search for cpartist has whole house build thread, beautiful craftsman

Spend some of your time searching via google, and here on houzz.

We don't know what you consider craftsman or farmhouse.

I suggest you go on Amazon and pick up books showing real craftsman style homes and the details that make it craftsman. That's what I did. Look for books by Robert Winter, Paul Duchscherer or Jane Powell. Don't just look up craftsman, but also look for bungalows.

I was limited because I'm in FL to do a hipped roof although a gable roof is more common. Here's a link to my threads. While I have pretty much the same wishes you did, my house would not work well on farmland. My house was designed for a narrow, city lot. You most likely will want something more open in feel than the U shape I have.

Absolute Final Plans

My final House Photos

My final Kitchen

I recently purchased an existing home, but I wanted to have someone build my home on property I purchased. I used magazines over the internet for most of my research. I also watched the home improvement shows on PBS.

The signal to noise ratio is very very high on the internet. There is a community on Houzz, but over the years, the ratio of building contractors to homeowners has changed.

Maybe you are not ready to build, but are in the dream/design phase. Are you ready to write a check for $10,000 to get things going?

How do you define "Craftsman look but some farmhouse elements"?

When looking at photos of Craftsman homes, consider whether they were designed for city or for country. A house of any style that sits on acreage calls for a different relationship between house and outside world (emphasis on views, light) than that of a house intended for city lots (emphasis on privacy).

Sorry I don't think any of those three work as real craftsman designs. Yes they have some of the elements, but the overall feel is just very wrong.

Which of these would not be an authentic Craftsman?

While these last illustrations are some wonderful Craftsman examples, do any of these look like farmhouses or suitable for farm land?

The Craftsman Style has a long history starting with the California architects, brothers trained in woodwork and metalwork, who brought the outdoors inside with natural materials in grand houses in the countryside. Then it traveled east across the nation gathering popularity from magazines dedicated to the style with free house plans becoming smaller and less oriented to the outdoors. It ended up in long suburban rows of bungalows with virtually no relationship to the outdoors other than ubiquitous front porches.

IMO the style is so varied it would be difficult to determine an effective test for authenticity. The second photo above was designed by Greene & Greene; the fourth one was not.

As for finding an authentic design that might have been built on a farm, I think that's a really big stretch.

Need: big front porch, master bedroom/bath, one guest room, one office and one full or half bath on first floor; two bedrooms, one full bath and small office on second floor

What's the thought process on wanting an office on the first floor and a second office on the second floor? If the answer is, the upstairs office is for the kids, I'd be wary. Kids + internet is a tricky proposition, a tough line to walk.

The problem you're going to encounter: You're talking about more space downstairs than upstairs ... probably 2Xs the downstairs space. You might need to use "wings" to incorporate the larger downstairs areas, or design an "L" shaped house.

We don't know what you consider craftsman or farmhouse.

This is a good point. Craftsman can vary from a small Bungalow to a large, sprawling two-story ... but both will have certain elements in common. And what I just said isn't really completely true: Bungalow and Craftsman are related, but not exactly the same. Farmhouse has no real definition, but will be simple in design and furnishings.

And I think Cottage could kinda be in this mix too.

To what specific design elements are you attracted? For example, I like the low-slung rooflines of California Bungalows, and I like their wide, inviting porches and the fact that they often include stained glass windows.

I think you can marry these two successfully. Here's a house I'd say has Craftsman Bungalow influence ... but would work on a farm:

While I have pretty much the same wishes you did, my house would not work well on farmland. My house was designed for a narrow, city lot.

I agree with that. Your house is lovely, but it was designed for a city /suburban lot ... as are many Craftsman houses. Craftsman and narrow lot seem to go together.

A house of any style that sits on acreage calls for a different relationship between house and outside world (emphasis on views, light) than that of a house intended for city lots (emphasis on privacy).

Specifically, a house on acreage would almost certainly need to be "wide" instead of "deep" ... the garage should not be incorporated into the main body of the house (but could still be attached, perhaps by a breezeway).

Here's a deep Craftsman ... not for you:

And a wide farmhouse ... could be for you:

OP, is your goal an authentic Craftsman, or just a house with a nod to Craftsman style?

A building site has a lot to do with the design of a custom home...or it should. Houses and sites should be tailored to each other

That's just one of the problems with generic plan factory house plans.

I always try to take my cues from the homeowner and save my own ideas for later; its and old architect's habit. The OP said she was "Looking for interior and exterior photos of homes with Craftsman look but some farmhouse elements." I don't take that to mean authentic or historic Craftsman houses and the farmhouse elements could be something as simple as a porch with posts. But what is clear is she is starting at the wrong end of a professional design process.

I often find the last thing someone says to be revealing and the "we like dormers" comment suggests she is not really serious about the Craftsman or farmhouse references since they rarely have functional dormers.

What I am left with is the idea of a one and a half story house with a big porch and dormers of a simple traditional nature, the style of which should be left until a detailed space use program and site diagram have been created.

One was built in Atlanta in 1914 and the other is for sale at Archival Designs in Atlanta. Can one be a "real Craftsman design" and the other "just very wrong"?

video link

Here's a 2 story Craftsman hybrid with functional dormers.

Some other real but wrong Craftsman designs from the early 20th century.

Interesting how these seven designs posted by RES are all the same, but different. Look closely!

My point is that historic Craftsman houses have endless variations but they break down into perhaps a half dozen shapes and this is a prominent one, especially in the South. Whether you like their appearance or not, the feeling of the houses is not "wrong" by any standard.

The OP doesn't seem to have found the responses interesting so we should turn out the lights as we leave.

Yes, no idea on OP but I’ve found the photos and discussion very interesting, thank you!

These would look pretty in the Country!

Indian Lore Residence · More Info

Farmhouse Updo · More Info

Oi. That last one looks like a flurry of roof leaks.

It's a good idea to start some sort of visual storing of images you like to take with you when you meet with whoever will design your house. Either an Ideabook here on Houzz or some boards on Pinterest or files on your PC.

Which of these would not be an authentic Craftsman?

That's not what you originally posted. You removed your original post with builder versions of craftsman houses.

The ones you replaced are all craftsman.

Craftsman Bungalows tend towards double windows, lower rooflines, 1 - 1 1/2 stories

Bungalows yes, but craftsman houses can be a full two story. Look up Greene and Greene as an example.

One was built in Atlanta in 1914 and the other is for sale at Archival Designs in Atlanta. Can one be a "real Craftsman design" and the other "just very wrong"?

The top one is the one from 1914, right?

Here's a 2 story Craftsman hybrid with functional dormers.

Looks more like what a builder considers craftsman.

Interesting how these seven designs posted by RES are all the same, but different. Look closely!

They were the original plan factory houses!

Here's a nice little bungalow. I think you would be happy with one like this. Nice details inside and out. Cool dormers. Just an overall nice design.

I heard there were two of them and they were so disturbed by what people did with their ideas they became metal and wood workers.

An acquaintance of mine told me Frank Lloyd Wright was visiting one of the architects and his wife one day. Frank asked the architect how he is able to get clients to agree to build their designs. I asked my acquaintance what he answered and he didn't know, Alice told him she got up to get tea from the kitchen at that point and did not hear the answer her husband gave.

One of the biggest frustrations of my architectural experience.

It's very simple, Mark:

The wife knew where to be when a load of BS was about to be delivered.