American Architecture: The Elements of Craftsman Style
Proud of its handiwork details and with nature as inspiration, Craftsman architecture stands out for its purity of style
Steele Marcoux
May 23, 2012
After studying art and architectural history in college and honing my journalism skills as a healthcare reporter, I combined my academic and professional lives as a design editor for Cottage Living, then Coastal Living. I'm now a freelance writer and editor and live in Birmingham with my husband, son, and puppy.
After studying art and architectural history in college and honing my journalism... More
What it is: Craftsman homes were primarily inspired by the work of two architect brothers — Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene — who worked together in Pasadena, California, at the turn of the 20th century. The Greene brothers were influenced by the English Arts and Crafts movement (a reaction against the Industrial Revolution in an effort to promote the work of craftsmen and the handmade over the machine made), as well as by Oriental wooden architecture.
Where to find it: The earliest examples are in Southern California, but thanks to popularization of the style through national periodicals like House Beautiful and Ladies' Home Journal and the subsequent availability of pattern books and kit homes, Craftsman bungalows became the most popular style of small house throughout the country from about 1905 through the 1920s.
Why you'll love it: Like all things that come out of California, there is something distinctively American about this style. Outside there are details galore but inside, there's a simple, wide-open layout that makes the most of typically limited square footage.
Where to find it: The earliest examples are in Southern California, but thanks to popularization of the style through national periodicals like House Beautiful and Ladies' Home Journal and the subsequent availability of pattern books and kit homes, Craftsman bungalows became the most popular style of small house throughout the country from about 1905 through the 1920s.
Why you'll love it: Like all things that come out of California, there is something distinctively American about this style. Outside there are details galore but inside, there's a simple, wide-open layout that makes the most of typically limited square footage.
What Makes It Craftsman
A low-pitched, gabled roof. The low-slung rooflines reflect the influence of Oriental architecture on the style. These roofs typically have a wide, unenclosed eave overhang with decorative supports.
Roofs with a low pitch are typically better suited to warmer climates, where snow and ice are not likely to accumulate. They do require routine maintenance to make sure debris such as leaves does not build up over time.
A low-pitched, gabled roof. The low-slung rooflines reflect the influence of Oriental architecture on the style. These roofs typically have a wide, unenclosed eave overhang with decorative supports.
Roofs with a low pitch are typically better suited to warmer climates, where snow and ice are not likely to accumulate. They do require routine maintenance to make sure debris such as leaves does not build up over time.
A front porch. It’s rare to find a Craftsman bungalow that doesn’t have a porch, even if the porch simply covers the entryway. Porches are either full (like this one) or partial width, and are either sheltered beneath the main roof or under a separate, extended roof.
Porches are a great investment — they extend the livable space of small homes and make it possible to spend time outside.
Hire a builder to add a new porch to your home
Porches are a great investment — they extend the livable space of small homes and make it possible to spend time outside.
Hire a builder to add a new porch to your home
Tapered columns. This is one of the most distinctive characteristics of Craftsman homes, despite the variation in detailing. Tapered columns, which support the porch roof, are typically short and rest upon massive stone or brick piers that extend to ground level, both of which convey a certain solidity. Not all columns are tapered; another popular variation is the double column.
Borrowing the very recognizable porch supports from the Craftsman style is a great way to get a touch of the look without rebuilding your home from scratch.
Borrowing the very recognizable porch supports from the Craftsman style is a great way to get a touch of the look without rebuilding your home from scratch.
A partially paned door. One great authenticity test of Craftsman bungalows is how their doors are styled. Almost all original versions have glass panes in the upper third of the door, separated from the bottom paneled portion by a thick piece of trim.
Swapping out your door for a Craftsman one is another way to incorporate a little of the style into your home. There are lots of great sources for new Craftsman-style doors.
Find a door dealer in your area
Swapping out your door for a Craftsman one is another way to incorporate a little of the style into your home. There are lots of great sources for new Craftsman-style doors.
Find a door dealer in your area
Multipane instead of single-pane windows. Like a few other Craftsman details, this window style originated with the Prairie architectural style. The most common configurations are either four-over-one or six-over-one double-hung windows. The windows are often grouped together and cased in wide trim.
This window style is a great traditional or historical style for homes with a view, as the single-pane lower sash has no mullion obstructions.
Find a local window professional to update yours
This window style is a great traditional or historical style for homes with a view, as the single-pane lower sash has no mullion obstructions.
Find a local window professional to update yours
Earthy colors. Craftsman homes are often painted in a nature-inspired palette of browns and greens to help the low-profile bungalows blend seamlessly with their surroundings. Despite the mostly muted palettes, one or two contrasting colors are typically used to highlight architectural features like trim or decorative supports.
Put your best foot forward. Regardless of the style of your home, painting architecture features a contrasting color is a great way to highlight your home's best features.
Put your best foot forward. Regardless of the style of your home, painting architecture features a contrasting color is a great way to highlight your home's best features.
Single dormers. When Craftsman homes have dormers, they tend to be wider and stand out on their own, unlike the pairs of dormers that typically appear in Cape Cod–style cottages. Single dormers are often wide enough for two to three windows.
Dormers, especially wide ones, can transform unused attics into livable space by adding square footage (sometimes a whole room's worth) and ushering in natural light.
Dormers, especially wide ones, can transform unused attics into livable space by adding square footage (sometimes a whole room's worth) and ushering in natural light.
Stone details. Craftsman bungalows almost always feature a mix of materials. The siding is typically wooden clapboard (though shingled siding is also common), but porch piers and foundations are often made of stone. Brick, concrete block and stucco are also sometimes used.
Take a page from the Craftsman stylebook and mix materials freely. Consider cladding a small addition in stone or brick, even if your home has clapboard siding.
Locate a siding professional near you
Take a page from the Craftsman stylebook and mix materials freely. Consider cladding a small addition in stone or brick, even if your home has clapboard siding.
Locate a siding professional near you
Exposed rafter tails and beams under deep roof eaves. This another one of the more distinctive characteristics of the style; it reflects the influence of the Arts and Crafts movement, which sought to make visible the handiwork that went into design, on the style.
Adding exposed rafter tails and beams does not have to involve reconstructing your house, let alone replacing your roof. These details are often decorative and can be added underneath any deep roof eave.
Adding exposed rafter tails and beams does not have to involve reconstructing your house, let alone replacing your roof. These details are often decorative and can be added underneath any deep roof eave.
Knee braces.These triangular supports are a structural alternative to exposed rafter tails and roof beams. Like beams and rafter tails, they are often decorative and can be added underneath any deep roof eave.
Tell us: Do you appreciate the visible craftsmanship of these homes? Or does it feel like overkill, especially when you now know that so much of the distinguishing characteristics are decorative and only made to look like engineering revealed?
Browse photos of Craftsman-style homes
More:
Find guides to more home styles
Tell us: Do you appreciate the visible craftsmanship of these homes? Or does it feel like overkill, especially when you now know that so much of the distinguishing characteristics are decorative and only made to look like engineering revealed?
Browse photos of Craftsman-style homes
More:
Find guides to more home styles
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Can someone help me understand the roof style in the photograp accompanying the caption “Exposed rafter tails and beams under deep roof eaves. ” The architect is Dorothy Howard. Thank you!
HI David: That's a Clipped Gable roof (basically a gable roof with a little hip action on the polnt) -- also called Jerkinhead, English Hip or half hip.