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Arts & Crafts was an artistic and philosophical movement that began in 19th century Britain. Craftsman refers to a specific style of early 20th century American architecture that was part of the Arts & Crafts Movement. So Craftsman is actually a subset of Arts & Crafts. The Arts & Crafts Movement was a reaction against the Industrial Revolution. British pundits such as Augustus Pugin and John Ruskin rebelled against mass production technologies that devalued individual workers and stripped creativity and the human touch from products. The poet and artist William Morris was hugely influenced by these ideas,
and he is usually credited as the founder of the Arts & Crafts Movement. Morris advocated a functional style of art and architecture that emphasized simplicity and quality craftsmanship and often made use of natural materials. These ideas were in strong contrast to the prevailing Victorian fashion. The Arts & Crafts philosophy spread across Europe and to America. In France, it became known as Art Nouveau and took on a sensuous style, reminiscent of plant shapes. In Scotland, it was called the Glasgow School, and its chief artist was Charles Rennie Mackintosh. In the U.S., furniture designer Gustav Stickley was an early and influential proponent of the movement. It's
from Stickley that we get the Craftsman house. Between 1900 and 1916, Stickley's magazine, The Craftsman, published plans for Arts & Crafts style houses. While some purists insist that only homes built using these Stickley plans can truly be called "Craftsman," many homes were designed in a style similar to Stickley's. These Craftsman homes were popular across the U.S. from 1900 through the 1930s. According to American Bungalow magazine, classic Craftsman homes usually have these features: - street-facing gables with composition or shingled roofs
- wide overhanging eaves
- a deep porch
- dark wood paneling
- a large fireplace
- an arched opening that separated
the living room and dining room
- built-in cabinetry in the dining room and kitchen
In addition, Craftsman homes are low-slung bungalows. Many of these homes make extensive use of local wood and stone to emphasize the importance of nature.
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