Craftsman houses were inspired mainly by two California brothers – Charles Sumner Greene and Henry Mather Greene  who practiced together in Pasadena from 1893 to 1914. About 1903 they began to design simple Craftsman-type bungalows. By 1909 they had designed and executed several exceptional landmark examples.

Common architectural design features

• Low-pitched roof lines, gabled or hipped roof
• Deeply overhanging eaves
• Exposed rafters or decorative brackets under eaves
• Front porch beneath extension of main roof
• Tapered, square columns supporting roof
• 3-over-1 or 6-over-1 double-hung windows
• Hand-crafted stone or woodwork
• Mixed materials throughout structure
• 1905-1930

Several Influences – the English Arts and Crafts Movement, an interest in oriental wooden architecture, and their early training in the manual arts appear to have lead the Greenes to design and build these intricately detailed buildings. These and similar residences were given extensive publicity in some of the most popular magazines of the day thus familiarizing the rest of the nation with the style. As a result, a flood of pattern books appeared, offering plans for Craftsman bungalows; some even offered completely pre-cut packages of lumber and detailing to be assembled by local labor. Through these vehicles, the one-story Craftsman house quickly became the most popular and fashionable smaller house in the country.
-from A Field Guide to American Houses (McAlester)

The American Craftsman (commonly Bungalow) style was a complete about face stylistically from the preceding Victorian style which was characterized by it’s formality and overly ornate detailing. Most Craftsman homes were one or one and a half-story homes of modest proportions. This style was a return to a simpler way of living that was more in touch with nature. Thus the extensive appearance of natural woods in construction and landscaping design that seamlessly transitions from garden to living space. The evolving needs of contemporary life in the 1910s-1930s also necessitated a smaller and more user friendly kitchen with the new range of appliances available to homeowners for the first time. Bathrooms of the era were usually all white tiled floors (typically with mosaic borders) and tiled or wainscoted walls. Having an all white bathroom ensured that homeowners could keep their bathrooms clean of the newly discovered idea of germs (or so they thought!)

The American Craftsman was the darling of middle-class families and the dominate house style from 1905 until the 1920s. It quickly faded from favor by the early 1930s and many homes fell into disrepair over the following decades. Today, the Craftsman is one of the most often restored house styles in America due to it’s manageable size, family friendly design and prime location in first-rung neighborhoods near or surrounding the city centers across America.

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Tags: 1920s, 1930s, architecture, bungalow, craftsman, Historic, historical, History, home improvement

Categories: Architecture & Design