Arts & Crafts Architecture

The Arts & Crafts home is one of comfort and character, with a cozy warmth that will envelop your family for generations. This home style is based on a deep-rooted philosophical movement and a back-to-nature approach to life that originated in the British Isles in the 1850s.

English artists and writers including William Morris and John Ruskin were repulsed by the Industrial Revolution, believing that the assembly line degraded the dignity of the individual worker, and the mass-produced ornamentation of the Victorian era was stripping the soul from the family home and senselessly cluttering design.

Morris and his contemporaries took it upon themselves to build homes in harmony with nature’s unhewn beauty championing handmade, heartfelt craftsmanship and simplicity of form. The style and it’s greater purpose caught fire throughout Great Britain, where the simple, heartfelt cottages were right at home amongst the twisting vines and wildflowers of the English countryside.

Visiting American entrepreneurs brought the design concept back to the United States, where the style and scale translated beautifully to the middle-class family homes in demand there. This led to the development of the American Craftsman style.

The Arts & Crafts home is attentive to making every detail matter, favoring handcrafted furniture, woven tapestries, and wall coverings often featuring nature themes and native flowers as motifs. Hearty fireplaces composed of hand-laid stone or brick invite families to gather, and bay windows, dining nooks, and cozy living spaces bring all the comforts of home.

IMAGE CREDITS:

Vine Covered House Photo by Ethan Kent on Unsplash