Why the American Craftsman Is Still Relevant

Why the American Craftsman Is Still Relevant

The Craftsman-style design for homes is still as popular today as it was nearly 100+ years when it was first "a thing."  This is by no accident.  Before the Craftsman, the Victorian-style houses were the popular choice, showing off the manufacturing and technology capabilities of the time, so more detail was put into place which sometimes came across as "over the top" or "showing off."  Shortly after that, enter the Craftsman movement, where there was a return to hand-made architectural pieces and assembly, rather the mass-produced approach of Victorian homes at the time due to technological advances, such as the first use of 2x4s, rather only the use of beams, wire coil nails versus hand wrought nails, and metal to help rapidly produce moldings rather completely fabricating molding by hand. 

Americans always have taken pride in American-made products, due to the more labor intensive approach.  Nothing out performs American pride more than putting your head down in order to bootstrap something together than knowing American grit made something come from nothing.  As a result, the Craftsman home became symbolic of that American pride, backed by blood, sweat, and tears, knowing that each Craftsman home was assembled by hand, despite Sears, Roebuck and Co. providing the home design kit in a catalog.  Ultimately, that kit still had to be assembled by hand while individuals added their own creativity and personal flare.

Origin of the Craftsman Style

Interestingly, the Craftsman style technically originated from the Arts and Crafts movement in England during the late 1880s.  This movement spread internationally, including the United States, starting in Boston, MA in the 1890s by the Boston Society of Arts and Crafts thanks to Ralph Waldo Emerson (a distant cousin of Charles Wesley Emerson, the namesake of Emerson College in Boston and good friend and fellow transcendentalist, Henry David Thoreau) and Harvard Art History professor Charles Eliot Norton in 1897.  The Arts and Crafts movement influenced the design of the American Craftsman, not just architecturally, but also with the original interior design, landscape design, and art / decor.  Later, Greene and Greene of Pasadena, CA would construct the "Ultimate Craftsman" that was Japanese-influenced with larger gables and typically two stories.  Craftsman homes east of the Mississippi were also typically two stories since the Great Depression affected microeconomics differently throughout the US as it did the world.

Depression / Recession Proof

With the first Craftsman home being credited around the 1890s, the American Craftsman had to endure the Great Depression throughout the 1930s.  The American Bungalow, a variation of American Craftsman, was also built during the Great Depression.  This explains why many of them were around 900 to 1,200 square feet in certain parts of the country, especially the Southwest.  The Great Depression hit that region pretty hard.  Yet, the fact that American Bungalows were typically one story high made it quite economical and possible to construct these houses on a tight budget and with a tight schedule.  As aforementioned, with Sears, Roebuck and Co. providing a turn-key kit, it is of no wonder that American Bungalow homes went up swiftly in California, especially that there was still a housing crisis.

Albert Einstein once said, "Genius is making complex ideas simple, not making simple ideas complex."   Fast forward to 2008 during the Great Recession and existing American Bungalows were much easier to maintain due to the simple, yet unusually elegant design.  With its simplicity brings an economic maintenance schedule, completely by design.  Take a Craftsman style window trim, for example, in the interior: in order to add interior trim to a Craftsman style window, you only need a few straight cuts rather more intricate work done by hand.  After that, apply a quick caulk and paint...and you're done!

Consequently, we saw simpler, yet elegant designs coming out of the Great Depression, with Colonial Revival and Ranch style homes.  There are many parallels to those styles and the American Craftsman, which is grist for another blog post.

Notice the window grids as well as roofing, dormer, and eaves.

Typical Design Cues of American Craftsman

Typically, a Craftsman home has exposed roof rafters, or at least eaves that overhang.  At minimum, they are one story, but some may come with a bonus room or an attic space, making it technically 1 1/2 stories in that example.  A roof may be gabled, if not a single dormer may be present.  If a dormer is part of the architecture, it typically is a large dormer that is always centered to the structure, rather a small dormer with a single window, for example.  A porch is not mandatory, but was common since you couldn't really go anywhere and do anything during the Great Depression.  If there is a porch, typically they are either thick square, rounded, or tapered columns.  The porch base is extended to ground level, rather elevated like in Victorian homes with porches.  The living room was at the center, with a dominant fireplace and wooden mantle.  Hallways may not have always been present.  Beams were often present at ceilings and traditionally you would see dark wood wainscoting and moldings.  Of course, white molding is more common today.  As far as American Bungalow, due to being smaller square footage, there would be numerous and / or large windows, with gridlines typically making 1/4 or 1/2 the window, adding a simple design touch, although large or numerous windows are generally also present in Craftsman homes.

American Craftsman and American Bungalow design recap:

• gabled roof (possibly)
• large, centered dormer (possibly)
• exposed rafters and / or overhanging eaves
• 1 to 1 1/2 stories if American Bungalow
• 2 stories if American Craftsman
• porch (possibly)
• porch columns thick; either square, rounded or tapered
• porch base extends to ground level
• wood, stone, and / or stucco siding (traditionally)
• clapboard and / or cedar shake vinyl siding and / or stone or stucco (modern)
• numerous and / or large double-hung windows
• windows with gridlines in top 1/4 or top 1/2
• beamed ceilings

In Conclusion

With the "Tiny Home" movement being just as popular because of similar economics, and the allowance of the American Dream to flourish, even during uncertain economic times that may lie ahead, or from still feeling some PTSD from the recent Great Recession, the American Craftsman style home not only is a smart economic choice, but it echoes the same American Pride and sentiment from over 100 years ago.  Since we've had recent economic uncertainty with the Great Recession, COVID-19, and not knowing what tomorrow brings, it comes to no surprise that many are looking for simpler lives with simpler, yet beautiful homes...especially if something too tiny isn't your thing.

About Lira Estates

Lira Estates is proud to construct and / or maintain Craftsman homes, preserving American resourcefulness, ingenuity, and pride.  We are also proud to serve New England and Southern California, making the Craftsman home and culture truly dear to our hearts.

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