CRAFTSMAN STYLE MOULDING PROFILES & GALLERY
ABOUT CRAFTSMAN ARCHITECTURE
The Arts and Crafts movement movement of the late 19th Century in reaction to the excesses of machine-production during the Victorian era, gave birth to the birth of the Craftsman, Mission, and Prairie style in home decor, design, and architecture.
Popularized by people such as William Morris, Gustave Stickley and Elbert Hubbard, the movement advocated for a return to simplicity, the handmade and the “modern”. It sought to inspire the craftsman and artist in all of us.
CHARACTERISTICS OF CRAFTSMAN ARCHITECTURE
Craftsman era architecture consisted of simple designs, without superfluous decoration. Handcrafted joinery, exposed mortises and tenons and other construction details were often visible.
The work typically emphasized the qualities of the hardwood materials used. The Craftsman style was uniquely American, combining the grid of the prairie with the austerity of Protestantism.
CRAFTSMAN STYLE MOULDINGS
Craftsman style, or more broadly, Arts and Crafts mouldings, are a combination of S4S shapes with eased edges and simple geometric design. Note: Many Craftsman style moulding catalogs and Craftsman style moulding publications are available in print for architects, builders, designers, and arts and crafts aficionados.
HISTORY OF CRAFTSMAN ARCHITECTURE
Craftsman architecture gained prominence in the United States during the opening years of the twentieth century as American society experienced rapid urbanization, industrial expansion, and changing patterns of domestic life. As cities grew and homeownership became increasingly attainable for the expanding middle class, there arose a growing demand for thoughtfully designed residences that emphasized practical, comfortable family living. The style quickly spread across the country through pattern books, widely circulated publications, and innovative mail order house kits shipped by rail, making well designed homes accessible to families in communities of every size.
Between approximately 1905 and the early 1930s, Craftsman architecture flourished as one of the nation's most influential residential styles, shaping neighborhoods from California to the Midwest and beyond. Its widespread popularity reflected broader cultural values that favored a closer relationship between the home and its natural surroundings. Although changing architectural tastes gradually gave way to Colonial Revival and Modernist influences during the mid twentieth century, Craftsman architecture has retained its lasting appeal through its timeless sense of livability and exceptional workmanship.
