Craftsman-style houses are one of the most popular house styles in the U.S. While original craftsman houses are most heavily concentrated in the Midwest and Southern California, the architectural style can be found all over the country. Today, new-builds using craftsman principles continue to be popular.
To understand how this style withstood the test of time, we’ll discuss:
- Common features and key characteristics of a craftsman house
- Types of craftsman houses
- How to find craftsman houses when conducting your home search
History of the craftsman-style house
Craftsman homes have their roots in the British Arts and Crafts movement. Both the Arts and Crafts style and the craftsman style house were a response to the mass-produced housing of the industrial revolution and over-stylized housing of the Victorian era. Most craftsman homes were built between 1900 and 1940 in the United States.
The name was coined from the turn-of-the-century journal, The Craftsman (1901-1916), founded by furniture maker and designer Gustav Stickley. His experimental line of “New Furniture” in 1900 marks the beginning of the Craftsman Era in the U.S.
Quintessential craftsman styles include the California Bungalow, popularized by Henry and Charles Greene and heavily influenced by both Bangladeshi and Japanese architecture. This style of home can be found throughout the U.S., though the earliest builds were in Pasadena, CA. And, though the movement celebrated handicraft, prefabricated home kits in the craftsman-bungalow style were available from Sears Company and others.
Perhaps just as famous, the Prairie School of architecture, led by Frank Lloyd Wright, also comes from the American Craftsman movement. Most Prairie homes have been converted to museums, but some are still residential.
Characteristics and charm of the craftsman-style house
Craftsman-style homes draw from the natural world, and following this principle, craftsman-style houses display many of the same…