What is Craftsman style? Craftsman style – a type of architecture first popularized from around 1900 to 1930 – remains in demand a century later. This style is characterized by simple silhouettes, the use of natural materials such as wood, brick, and stone, and a focus celebrating artisanal skill. After the popularity of highly ornate and ornamental Victorian style, Craftsman design represented a return to a simpler look.

In this guide:
How to Bring Craftsman Style Home
Frequently Asked Questions

How to Bring Craftsman Style Home

While Craftsman architecture is often recognizable on homes' exteriors with high gables, overextended eaves, and wide front porches, today's homeowners are also bringing the clean lines and simple characteristics of this design inside their homes with Craftsman-style decor ideas. Consider these ideas for creating the perfect Craftsman-style room.

Curate Collections Carefully

Built-in shelves and large fireplaces were design staples in original Craftsman homes, as were the simple, minimalist items that graced them. Add Craftsman style to your built-in or stand-alone shelves, mantel, or hearth by decorating with practical items made from natural materials in earth-tone colors. Ideas include clocks, plants, and stoneware.

Prioritize Outdoor Living

Traditional Craftsman-style homes are known for their wide porches, where a family can welcome guests, share a meal, and relax. Cozy outdoor furniture, well-chosen plants, and a rug can help you create a porch or patio that will feel like an outdoor living room, extending the reach of your home's four walls.

Choose Earth Tones

Craftsman style relies on natural materials such as wood and stone, and nature-inspired accent colors for other pieces. That means stone gray, wood brown, leafy greens, and sky blue are all important colors when building with a Craftsman-style color scheme. Choose wood coffee tables, mantels, and accents, then pair them with fabrics in matching earth tones to accomplish Craftsman-style decor.

Invite Window Seating

Built-in window seats are another hallmark of Craftsman style. If you're fortunate enough to have a built-in window seat, make it an inviting place to sit or snuggle with comfy throw pillows and attractive window hangings. But even if you don't have a built-in window seat, look for ways to create window-adjacent seating, since celebrating natural light is another important focus of Craftsman design. For example, arrange a bench with pillows or a couple of cozy chairs next to a window that gets a lot of sunlight.

Celebrate Practicality

As a counterreaction to the highly ornamental Victorian style that came before it, Craftsman style embraces practicality. That means creating rooms that are easy to live in by including furniture for dining, sitting, and relaxing all in one space. Prioritize built-in shelves, baskets, and cabinets to house the books and items you use on a regular basis so they're close at hand.

Incorporate Metal Lighting

Stick-like light fixtures and lamps, especially those made of metal, wood, or stained glass, hearken to original Craftsman style, as those were the most common materials for Craftsman lighting. Look for modern takes on these traditional designs to create your own Craftsman-style rooms.

Create a Defined Entryway

While traditional Craftsman-style homes typically have a small footprint, they usually include an entry space to create a barrier from the outside world and a space to decompress in before entering the living space. Create an entryway to help that happen, as well as a place to store coats, shoes, umbrellas, and maybe even mobile phones and car keys.

Article by Nancy Mann Jackson.