Roots of Style: See What Defines a Craftsman Home
They charm us with an intimate scale and intricate wooden details gently layered over stucco, shingles, stone and bricks. Their porches turn back time while providing a gentle transition between the outside world and cozy spaces inside. These are Craftsman houses — uniquely American creations that began to appear around 1905 in Southern California and are considered modern eclectic architecture. They’re a fusion of wooden Asian architectural details, the English Arts and Crafts movement and an innovative California spirit.
Mastered by the Greene brothers, whose landmark Gamble House still stands as a masterpiece of the ideals that the Craftsman style promoted, the fashion translated to all scales of home building. These houses became extraordinarily popular throughout the U.S. during the first 30 years of the 20th century. Pattern books and periodicals furthered the study of the architecture; even kits to build an entire house could be ordered and delivered to building sites.
Other revivals — and midcentury modern architecture, including ranch — replaced the Craftsman style after the 1920s. Its own revival, among revivals of many other types, blossomed in the late 20th century and continues today. The range of configurations probably contributes to the adaptability of this architecture to newer houses.
Originals can be found in four primary roof shapes: front gabled, cross gabled, side gabled and hipped roof. The details of the porch posts and rails, rafter tails and eave brackets allow significant variation. Also, brick, stone, stucco and wood siding of many different types is used in this style, resulting in almost every example’s taking on its own unique identity.
Front-Gabled Craftsman Homes
This Seattle house has a full-width porch stretching from one outside end post to the other. The square posts rest atop brick piers that rise to a height just slightly above the porch railing. Many variations of the post and pier are found on Craftsman houses, as illustrated in the following examples. Decorative brackets typically support the barge board, as seen here. A triple attic window underscored with a bracketed flower box adorns the broad gable face here also.
Notice the transom section above the lower-level windows, which is another common Craftsman detail. Dark gray paint unifies the clapboard and stucco exterior wall finishes on this house.
Another front-gabled example, this one in Atlanta, has its own defining characteristics. Here three square posts resting on brick piers support the porch roof. Knee braces support the barge board brackets. As in the previous example, the body of the house is clapboard, but this gable face is shingled. As in almost all Craftsman houses, the rafter tails are exposed, as opposed to being enclosed within a soffit.
This newer Craftsman revival house employs gable end details similar to the previous two examples, but tapered porch supports rest on square brick piers here. Distinctive to this style, tapered posts on some originals may be of wood or stone. Notice that the brick extends to form the porch railing and that the right end of the porch appears as an enclosed portion, which is nicely detailed with multipane windows.
The staggered shingles reflect the texture of the mixed brick. Look closely to see a combination of red and weathered blocks. Once again clapboard siding surrounds the main body of the house.
Continue reading Roots of Style: See What Defines a Craftsman Home
Mastered by the Greene brothers, whose landmark Gamble House still stands as a masterpiece of the ideals that the Craftsman style promoted, the fashion translated to all scales of home building. These houses became extraordinarily popular throughout the U.S. during the first 30 years of the 20th century. Pattern books and periodicals furthered the study of the architecture; even kits to build an entire house could be ordered and delivered to building sites.
Other revivals — and midcentury modern architecture, including ranch — replaced the Craftsman style after the 1920s. Its own revival, among revivals of many other types, blossomed in the late 20th century and continues today. The range of configurations probably contributes to the adaptability of this architecture to newer houses.
Originals can be found in four primary roof shapes: front gabled, cross gabled, side gabled and hipped roof. The details of the porch posts and rails, rafter tails and eave brackets allow significant variation. Also, brick, stone, stucco and wood siding of many different types is used in this style, resulting in almost every example’s taking on its own unique identity.
Front-Gabled Craftsman Homes
This Seattle house has a full-width porch stretching from one outside end post to the other. The square posts rest atop brick piers that rise to a height just slightly above the porch railing. Many variations of the post and pier are found on Craftsman houses, as illustrated in the following examples. Decorative brackets typically support the barge board, as seen here. A triple attic window underscored with a bracketed flower box adorns the broad gable face here also.
Notice the transom section above the lower-level windows, which is another common Craftsman detail. Dark gray paint unifies the clapboard and stucco exterior wall finishes on this house.
Another front-gabled example, this one in Atlanta, has its own defining characteristics. Here three square posts resting on brick piers support the porch roof. Knee braces support the barge board brackets. As in the previous example, the body of the house is clapboard, but this gable face is shingled. As in almost all Craftsman houses, the rafter tails are exposed, as opposed to being enclosed within a soffit.
This newer Craftsman revival house employs gable end details similar to the previous two examples, but tapered porch supports rest on square brick piers here. Distinctive to this style, tapered posts on some originals may be of wood or stone. Notice that the brick extends to form the porch railing and that the right end of the porch appears as an enclosed portion, which is nicely detailed with multipane windows.
The staggered shingles reflect the texture of the mixed brick. Look closely to see a combination of red and weathered blocks. Once again clapboard siding surrounds the main body of the house.
Continue reading Roots of Style: See What Defines a Craftsman Home
