The British Arts and Crafts Movement encouraged people to build simple homes of wood and other natural materials and to decorate them with hand-crafted pottery, metalware, stained glass lighting and furniture. The movement came to the United States in the early 20th century, where it became the American Craftsman Movement. Does this Spark an idea?
The Arts and Crafts Movement
Craftsman-style homes are examples of the American interpretation of the Arts and Crafts Movement, which emerged in Britain at the end of the 19th century. Primarily a reaction against the factory-made, mass-produced home furnishings that were products of the Industrial Revolution, the Arts and Crafts Movement championed the creation of simply designed houses made from and furnished with natural materials such as wood, stone, and hand-crafted objects.
The Arts and Crafts Movement crossed the Atlantic to the United States about the turn of the century, where it became known as the American Craftsman Movement. Almost immediately, the tenets of the movement inspired Gustav Stickley, a furniture-maker who worked in New York state, to adapt a different approach to designing his products. From 1901 till 1916, Stickley also published the influential magazine The Craftsman, which promoted the American Craftsman philosophy.
Craftsman Homes in the United States
Craftsman houses caught the public imagination because they were simple and practical, and yet were very adaptable to the needs and personal styles of their residents, according to Paul Duchscherer and Douglas Kiester, co-authors of "Inside the Bungalow: America's Arts and Crafts Interior." Characterized by simple floor plans and extensive use of wood paneling, wainscoting and floors (usually oak), Craftsman designs are surprisingly adaptable---even contemporary art can find a comfortable place in one of these houses. If you want to achieve a true period look, however, you should decorate your Craftsman home with Mission-style furniture and decorative art pieces.
Mission Style Furniture
"Mission-style" is the description that Joseph McHugh, another New York furniture manufacturer, used to describe the rustic, straight-lined furniture he started making about 1895. Stickley soon began to develop furniture with a similar aesthetic, and by the turn of the century, "Mission-style," "Arts and Crafts," and "Craftsman" were pretty much interchangeable descriptions for this furniture style. Constructed mainly from oak, the furniture had clean lines, narrow wooden slats that supported chair arms and formed the backs of sofas and settees, and, often, leather cushions.
Aesthetics and Decorative Objects
Decorative objects common in the heyday of the Craftsman movement included stained glass lighting fixtures and table lamps; Roseville, Weller and Rookwood pottery; metalware bowls, bookends and firewood holders by Roycroft and Heintz; and area rugs and other textiles. To fit into the Craftsman aesthetic, objects had to be handcrafted, but they were not necessarily plain or unadorned. Warm colors inspired by natural materials dominate the Craftsman palette, with modest additions of mild green and blue shades.
Stained glass was mainly cream-colored or amber, though ornate, wildly colored chandeliers and sconces also showed up regularly in Craftsman homes. Metalware made from brass, copper, and iron, rather than silver or another more costly metal, predominates.
Ceramic pieces made by manufacturers like Roseville, Weller, and Rookwood are among the most expressive of the Mission-style arts. Frequently featuring raised floral or decorative patterns, in colors ranging from the subdued to the exuberant, these pieces add interest to mantels and the built-in, glass-windowed bookcases so common in Craftsman houses.
Finding Mission-style Arts
You can still find antique Mission-style furniture and decorative pieces for sale at steep prices, but several companies also manufacture good reproductions that will give you the look without the high price tags. Study the originals designs until you have an idea of what to look for, and then seek out reproductions that will create the look. Keep in mind that the Craftsman aesthetic is cozy but not cluttered. Decorative pieces should complete the look of the home's interior, never compete with it.
Tags: Arts Crafts, Arts Crafts Movement, Crafts Movement, American Craftsman, natural materials