• An Arts and Crafts home, the Craftsman-style house, was the American response to the overabundance and heavy decorating of the Victorian period. Known for their simplicity, the original Craftsman homes were built mainly between 1900 and 1916. However, elements of the Craftsman live on, and you can still build a new Craftsman-style home.
  
  

Natural Products

• Usually built from materials native to the site or region, Craftsman-style houses emphasize natural products. Stone fireplaces and exposed brick or stone walls add interior detail and reflect the light. Designed for form and function, Craftsman homes often have open beamed ceilings, which make the rooms seem larger and more open. Stone or hardwood floors complete the look, bringing another element of the natural outside world indoors.
  
  

Grouped Windows

• After the sometimes dark colors of the Victorian era, Arts and Crafts-style architecture lightened things up a bit. Craftsman-type homes often have asymmetrical or grouped windows. Large window groupings in living rooms or dining rooms also frequently have built-in window seats below them.
  
  

Built-Ins

• Built-in shelves, window seats and other components are a large part of the Craftsman aesthetic. Rooms are designed for both form and function, and built-ins provide function while saving space. Built-ins, trim and other exposed wood elements are done in either dark or light wood colors and are often left completely natural.
  
  

Simplicity

• One of the major components of the Craftsman house and the Arts and Crafts movement is simplicity. Extra ornamentation in Craftsman-style homes is often minimal. Instead, structural elements become details. Joinery, where two beams meet, often serves two purposes, both functional and aesthetic. Carved stairway railings or balustrades are common, and small carvings in wood trim are not unheard of.
  
  

Central Hearth

• Almost all Craftsman homes have a centralized fireplace or hearth in the living room. These fireplaces are usually of exposed stone with wooden mantles and are often large and reminiscent of fireplaces from ages past. The central fireplace provides a visual focus for the living room area.
  
  

Stained Glass

• As part of the "aesthetics serve a function" mentality, smaller stained glass windows are sometimes added in Craftsman houses as details by themselves or set as a type of banner over a large plain window, like a picture window.
  
  

Handmade

• Interior decorating elements in Craftsman-style houses tend to be homemade. Needlepoint pillows, quilts and other homemade items, such as afghans, add a warm touch. These elements carry into other rooms, like the kitchen, where even the towels are often handmade from natural linen and hand-stitched.