In all the years I’ve been designing and building custom homes it has always been a desire of mine to see the return in popularity of the Craftsman Style Home.
I’m happy to say my dream has come true. The rising popularity was brought on in part by the trend to downsize homes from what we’ve been seeing over the last 15-20 years,
We’re seeing bungalows pop up all over the country.

Origin

Surprisingly, what we now know as the American Craftsman originated from the British Arts and Crafts movement. The Arts and crafts movement was started by William Morris in the 1860’s as a reaction against the eclectic ‘over-decorated’ aesthetic of the Victorian era. It was an anti-Victorian movement, with William Morris a staunch socialist.

The Style emphasized hand made over mass produced.
The Arts and Crafts movement in this country was made popular by Frank Lloyd Wright however the most renowned practitioners of the original American craftsman style was a southern California firm Greene and Greene
Some of the common Architectural features of the craftsman style include larger than average overhangs at the eaves, low pitched roofs, clustered groups of double hung windows, raised covered front porches, and an eclectic mix of materials throughout the structure.
One of the characteristics adamantly applied by Frank Lloyd Wright was the use of local materials and transitional planting to integrate the home with it’s surroundings. It was also traditional practice to incorporate furnishings and ceramic pottery that lends itself to the craftsman style like furniture by Stickley- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gustav_Stickley.
I personally like the way Wright applied higher ceilings but still maintained the more intimate feel of lower ceilings by applying wall treatments or paneling that terminated at 8’-0”.
I also like his eclectic mixes of stone, hand crafted wood architectural features, and built-in furniture.
As the Craftsman bungalow style evolved it began breaking off into several variations including the California Style, Queen Anne, Craftsman Style, Mission Style, and the Prairie Style to name a few.

Take a video tour of the famous Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater house

If your considering having a craftsman style home built contact us at Hiline Builders Inc. for a free consultation.
916 962-2828