The term "Arts & Crafts" doesn't mean macramé plant hangers and rubbery paint-on-sweatshirt designs! The term refers to Arts & Crafts Movement that began in Great Britain in the mid-1800s as a reaction to the cheaply made products of the industrial revolution and the decorative excesses of the Victorian era. Today, terms like Arts & Crafts, Craftsman and Mission are often used interchangeably to identify a broad design vocabulary. By the late 1890's, the Arts & Crafts Movement had made its way to America. Furniture maker Gustav Stickley, Roycroft founder Elbert Hubbard, Frank Lloyd Wright and others were influenced by the simple design of British Arts & Crafts furnishings. Gustav Stickley loved the natural beauty of wood - Quartersawn Oak was a favorite - the rectilinear design and elegant exposed mortise and tenon joinery for the furniture. So strong was Stickley's passion, that he became regarded as the major tastemaker of the era. He published The Craftsman Magazine, whose depiction of furniture, house plans and decorative arts further defined the aesthetic, and undoubtedly contributed to the term "Craftsman" as a major identifier the style. Today, he is regarded as the father of the American Arts & Crafts Movement - a movement that is enjoying a resurgence that has surpassed the popularity of original movement. Think simple, sturdy furniture made of oak and other beautiful hardwoods, where the grain of the wood and the craftsmanship of the construction are its only decoration. Think Gustav Stickley, of Roycroft and Dard Hunter, and Frank Lloyd Wright, and California architects Charles and Henry Greene, and of European influences from William Morris, C.R Macintosh and others. Today, sometimes, this simple, graphic, straight-lined furniture is referred to as Mission furniture. While opinions differ, this can be attributed to either the idea that the furniture was kept simple to fulfill it's "mission", or for its similarities to the massive Spanish influenced furniture found in early California Missions. Think of a palette and motifs drawn from nature: soothing greens; warm ochre; rich terracotta and umber; creamy linen whites. Stylized botanical forms, pinecones and other graphic elements decorated items from textiles to metalware. Arts & Crafts furnishings and accessories feature hand-wrought details - whether from the blows of the coppersmith's hammer, the skilled hands of the woodworker, the stitches of hand embroidery, or the potter's tooling - the artisans touch is always evident. The American Arts & Crafts Movement simultaneously spawned America's first modern architecture for the emerging middle class - the Bungalow in all its permutations. These houses were the first to break away from classic revival styles of architecture in America. Their design, while featuring material and design adaptations for their locale, commonly emphasizes a physical connection with their site, many seeming to literally grow up from the ground. Broad eaves, exposed construction in the form of exposed beams and rafter tails, eaves supported by brackets or "corbels" of wood or masonry, and inviting porches with squared-off and sometimes tapering columns are hallmarks of the style. Often, pergolas and trellis helped blur the line between indoor and outdoor space. Inside Craftsman houses, an open floorplan provides physical and visual connection between rooms; significant focus was placed on the hearth as the social heart of the home. Light from outdoors is often filtered through leaded-glass windows with simple curtains or no coverings at all. These leaded glass designs are often extended to the doors of built-ins. Cozy inglenooks and built-in bookcases, china hutches and linen closets were designed with a different and modern kind of living in mind. A new role for the woman of the house was emerging as a homemaker - a marked departure from affluent households managed by servants or the cramped flats of the 19th century working class. Close This Window