Arts & Craft style - William Morris

An Arts & Craft style House

We went from winter to spring in 2.0 seconds. Just a few days ago there was about 4 inches of snow on the ground and today it’s 55* and sunny! I was motivated to get out and walk the neighborhood.

I love walking around here with all the different styles of homes (Mediterranean, Tudors, Colonials and American Four Squares). Some have manicured landscapes and others definitely need some curb appeal. To those people with lackluster front lawns, I want to knock their doors and say, “come on, you have such a beautiful house, why does it look like the Adams Family live here? Do something, will already!”

Bungalow

One of my favorite architectural styles has to be a Craftman home. There is so much detail and yet not frilly or overdone. To me it’s a warm inviting home to live and entertain.

As an adverse response to poor quality machine-made items (a result of the Industrial Revolution) and a return to well-made, handcrafted goods, the Arts and Craft Movement, was a British, Canadian, Australian and American design movement that influenced architecture, domestic design and the decorative arts. It flourished between 1880 and 1910 prompted by artist/writer William Morris, inspired by the writings of John Ruskin and was initiated by the Schools Of Design from 1852. It was a search for authentic and meaningful styles. The principle foundation of the Arts and Craft Movement was to emphasize truth of materials used, preserve traditional craftsmanship and advocate economic reform. Its trademark was the simplicity of form often exposing construction and the lack of unnecessary decoration or ornamentation. Influenced by the British countryside and its customs, Gothic Revival and Medieval designs - designers used bold forms and strong color.