Posted by John Robinson Thanks for writing regarding the cottage and home plans on our website. I will do my best to explain the relationship between the arts and crafts movement and the craftsman style. Believe it or not, the Arts and Crafts movement was the first stage of the Modern movement, which developed between 1900 and 1940. Up until then, in the recent years before that the Queen Anne, Victorian and Shingle styles were dominant, with quite a bit of of ornamentation and classical detailing. The Arts and Crafts turned it's back on that fussiness, and relied on the structural elements to achieve the decoration. This movement also celebrated the arts and craftsmanship of artists and tradespeople as a knee jerk reaction to the mass produced of the shelf items that were made available to the booming homebuilding industry of the time, with the advent of machines and technology of the time. Copperwork, stained glass, fine built-ins are all features that were used to illustrate this level of craftsmanship. Two 'styles' sprang from this movement. The first was the Prairie style, (1900-1920) which Frank Lloyd Wright was the leader. These homes featured strong horizontal lines to harmonize with the low prairie landscape, broad roof overhangs, local building materials, and carefully integrated interiors featuring built-in furnishings and trims. The second style to form was the Craftsman Style, (1905-1930). The Green brothers in California and Gustav Stickley were instrumental in getting this style going. This style again featured structural members, wood joinery. Exposed rafter tails, knee brackets, multi pane top sashes were common. In both of these styles, any ties to heritage and historical elements were missing, and there was instead a devotion to honesty of materials and an impeccable quality of craftsmanship. I hope this helps you sort this out. I have commented on the American version of the Arts and Crafts style. After World War Two, the Modern Movement changed again back to the Machine Age standardization, with the Modernistic and International Style. Home by now were to be considered a machine for living. John Robinson
on 1/16/2006, 9:25 am, in reply to "Styles"
Hi Benny:
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