In this month’s Real Estates we look at the Craftsman—an architectural style heavily influenced by the Arts and Crafts Movement of the 1880s, when English designers John Ruskin, William Morris, and Philip Webb among others were celebrating handcrafts and the use of simple as well as natural forms. In 1902, brothers Charles and Henry Greene from Pasadena, California began to design houses that combined the Arts and Crafts ideas with a fascination for the simple wooden architecture of China and Japan.
“Architects Greene and Greene explored Arts and Crafts ideas in California, creating houses that blended Eastern and Western traditions in their expression of the materials and techniques of wood frame construction,” explains Madlen Simon, AIA, director of the architecture program at the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation at the University of Maryland.
The name “Craftsman” comes from the title of a popular magazine published by the famous furniture designer, Gustav Stickley, between 1901 and 1916. A true Craftsman house is one that is built according to plans published in Stickley’s magazine.But other magazines, pattern books, and mail order house catalogs began to publish plans for houses with Craftsman-like details. Soon the word “Craftsman” came to mean any house that showed characteristics of the Arts and Crafts ideals, most especially the simple, economical, and extremely popular Bungalow.
The terms “craftsman” and “bungalow” are often used interchangeably, though there is a fundamental distinction. “Craftsman” refers generally to the Arts and Crafts movement and is considered an architectural or interior style, whereas “bungalow” is a form of house or building. Bungalows may or may not exhibit craftsman style, and many of them feature certain Arts and Crafts elements.
“The bungalow is a popular Craftsman plan. Other Craftsman house types include the Foursquare and Prairie style houses. The key feature that identifies Craftsman houses is the expression of the carpenter’s craft, with exposed roof rafters, wide eaves supported by brackets, thick-columned porches, and built-in cabinets, shelves, and seating in the interior. Other craftsman touches may include stone chimneys and stained glass windows. Floor plans are open with few hallways,” notes Simon.
Today, Americans are either restoring older bungalows or purchasing newer “Neo-Craftsman” bungalows now constructed by builders as specially designed semi-custom homes. “Craftsman houses remain popular today. Extraordinary Craftsman houses, rich in patterned stone, wood details, and stained glass, are a real find. Many of the houses are compact and economical—well suited to single or family life,” adds Simon.
Location Comparison of the Craftsman
LISTING AGENT: Kathleen Williams/Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc. (410-825-6400)
Baltimore, Maryland
This Baltimore Craftsman built in 1924 has four bedrooms, two full and one half baths, a total square footage of 2,936 and is situated on .316 acres. It sold in June 2008 for $770,000, $68,800 under the asking price.
Crownsville, Maryland
This Crownsville Craftsman built in 2005 has four bedrooms, three full and two half baths, a total square footage of 5,700 and is situated on 1.229 acres. It sold in July 2008 for $2,300,000, $195,000 under the asking price.
LISTING AGENT: Florence M. Calvert/Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage (410-263-8686)
Takoma Park, Maryland
This Takoma Park Craftsman built in 1938 has four bedrooms, three full and one half baths, a total square footage of 4,900 and is situated on .281 acres. It sold in March 2008 for $800,000, $49,000 under the asking price.
LISTING AGENT: Jamie Little/RE/MAX Realty Services. (240-403-0499)
Arts and Crafts, or Craftsman, houses have many of these features:
• Wood, stone, or stucco exterior • Low-pitched roof • Wide eaves with triangular brackets
• Exposed roof rafters • Porch with thick square or round columns • Stone porch supports
• Exterior chimney made with stone • Open floor plans; few hallways • Numerous windows
• Some windows with stained or leaded glass • Beamed ceilings
• Dark wood wainscoting and moldings • Built-in cabinets, shelves, and seating
Craftsman Styles: A Craftsman house is often a Bungalow, but Arts and Crafts, or Craftsman features are common in many other styles such as:
Bungalow • Prairie • Mission • Foursquare • Western Stick • Pueblo
Jennifer K. Dansicker is Special Projects Editor for ChesapeakeHome.
These listings were complied with the help of Lynn Summerlin Hoeckel, Residential Agent for Yerman Witman Gaines and Garceau Realty (410-583-0400 or lsummerlin@ywggrealty.com)
