Style Guide Navigator

The Arts and Crafts Movement began in England in the 1860s as a reform movement that challenged the tastes of the Victorian era. Its primary proponents were John Ruskin (1819-1900) and William Morris (1834-1896). Subsequently this style was taken up by American designers around the time of Morris's death in 1896, with somewhat different results. In the United States, the Arts and Crafts style was also known as Mission style.

Morris and Ruskin's notions of good design were linked to their notions of a good society. This was a vision of a society in which the worker was not brutalized by the working conditions found in factories, but rather could take pride in his craftsmanship and skill. The rise of a consumer class coincided with the rise of manufactured consumer goods. In this period, manufactured goods were often poor in design and quality. Ruskin, Morris, and others proposed that it would be better for all if individual craftsmanship could be revived - the worker could then produce beautiful objects that exhibited the result of fine craftsmanship, as opposed to the shoddy products of mass production. Thus the goal was to create design that was... " for the people and by the people, and a source of pleasure to the maker and the user." Workers could produce beautiful objects that would enhance the lives of ordinary people, and at the same time provide decent employment for the craftsman.

Types of Arts and Crafts styles include: Arts and Crafts, Craftsman, Mission, and Art Nouveau

Arts and Crafts Examples

Identifying Features

Low-pitched gabled roof with wide, unenclosed eave overhang
Roof rafters usually exposed
Decorative beams or braces under gables
Porch support bases extending to ground level
Porch supports usually squared and sometimes slanting inward

Craftsman Bungalow Style

Arts & Crafts (Craftsman) Style

Craftsman Bungalow Style

Arts & Crafts (Craftsman) Style

Arts and Crafts Links

The Arts & Crafts Society - In the spirit of the societies created during the early 20th century in response to the Arts & Crafts Movement, this site has been created to provide an online "home" for the present-day Arts & Crafts Movement community. If you aren't sure what the Arts & Crafts Movement is/was, check out their Archives for more information
The Craftsman Home - The Craftsman Home is located in the heart of the Berkeley/Oakland California craftsman bungalow neighborhoods. We offer a full selection of home furnishings in the craftsman style. Here you will find furniture both antique and new, carpets, pottery, lighting, textiles, and fine art. Our in house design service will help you create the interior of your dreams. Please come visit us in the San Francisco Bay area.
Darrell Peart, Furnituremaker is an independent, small furniture shop making fine furniture reminiscent of Greene and Greene. We offer contemporary interpretations as well as more traditional designs.
Hewn and Hammered - All about Prairie, Craftsman, and Mission Architecture Art and Design. Regularly updated, this wonderfual journal is packed with information.
Bungalow Heaven
Oak Park Home and Hardware
Historic Chicago Bungalow Association
Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation
Mission Studio
Arts and Crafts Movement web site