Decorating the Arts & Crafts Bungalow
Standing alone with it’s understated elegance and simple appeal, the Craftsman Style Bungalow started today’s ongoing shift towards simple, uncluttered interiors. At the turn of the last century,in diligent rejection of severe Victorian standards and pretentious interior design, the Arts & Crafts Movement promoted a return to true craftsmanship.
Understated elegance, simplicity in purpose, and form following function are hallmarks of the well designed Craftsman Bungalow. The current trend awareness of environmental issues and “green living” dovetails into this aesthetic has resulting in a resurgence of interest in the Arts and Crafts Style.
Creative use of space in traditional bungalows typically included built in cabinetry and open practical floor plans. Many of today’s newer craftsman style homes and bungalows are much larger than at the turn of the century, but still reflect open styling and distinct interior and exterior detailing.
Original Craftsman homes with their darker wood interior details often boasted lots of windows to bring in natural sunlight. Choose sheer, simple fabrics for window coverings to allow ample light into the home. A simple embroidered detail along the hemline will add the “craftsman touch.”
The natural interior colors for your craftsman style home can be easily inspired by nature. Think of using the colors of a vineyard, the different hues of fall leaves, the muted tones of stones. Nature is anything but boring! It is soothing to the eye to follow your interior colors as they continue outside, as when glancing through a window or an open door. Take your outdoor surroundings into consideration, the colors of the foliage and sky. The craftsman style home ideally feels as if it is “growing” from it’s foundation. Colors should reflect nature and never be glaring or harsh.
There are talented artisans reproducing craftsman furniture at many price points. Do your research and look for the best quality you can afford. Try not to fall for the cheap imitations, take it slow and furnish your home with one or two fabulous pieces at a time. Your beautiful home will be much more reflective of you when doing it this way. Don’t be afraid to mix antiques with good quality reproductions. Simple and sturdy well made pieces will give your home the look you are after. You can easily mix in textural upholstered pieces in a simple shapes to soften the room. Embroidered pillows and tabletop linens also “soften the edges” of the typically masculine forms of mission furniture, adding color and texture to delight the eye.
Don’t underestimate the effect lighting will have a on the feel of your craftsman home. It can never be said too often, mixing good quality carefully chosen pieces with your antiques is a great way to get the most from your design dollar. Remember to balance overhead lighting with table lamps and pendants to create flattering light from several heights in the room. Combine fixtures of different materials, a stained glass floor light, a hand blown glass shade on a table lamp, perhaps pendant lights over the dining room table or kitchen island. Hand crafted artisan lighting is a great way to add quality to your home and can give the richness of an antique at a fraction of the cost.
Rugs can vary from Navajo style to the many beautiful Arts and Crafts patterns produced today.
Remember to add your personal touch with accessories made of hand hammered copper, Tile and pieces of Art Pottery to complete the Craftsman Touch.
About the Author
After designing and building her own Arts and Crafts Bungalow, artist and designer Jan Davidson began devoting her talents towards creating products for the Craftsman Home. She has collected her favorites products from other artisans & designers and made them available at http://www.CraftsmanTouch.com
Easy Arts & Crafts Kid’s Projects: How to make a Toilet paper tube Octopus
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Wilton 570-1121 Easy Flex 3-Piece Silicone Spatula Set, Blue $5.91 Silicone Baking Accessories. Silicone is the Wonder Kitchen Tool: it can be used in the oven (up to 500F/260C), toaster over, microwave, refrigerator and freezer and it is virtually unbreakable. These silicone utensils are the perfect tool cold foods: Jell-O, ice sculptures, Candies and hot foods: cake, muffins, bread, pies, main and side dishes and so much more! The flexibility makes removing foo… |
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Cuisinart DCC-1200PRC 12-Cup Replacement Carafe-Black $19.66 Cuisinart DCC-1200PRC 12-Cup Replacement Coffee Carafe… |
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Wilton 4-Tier Stacked Cupcake and Dessert Tower $12.81 Dessert Tower 4 Tier-16.25″X12″. WILTON-Stacked Dessert Tower. What a great way to display cupcakes; appetizers; brownies; fruit and other party treats! This stand consists of four stacking sections with angled tiers for the best view of decorated desse… |
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Carpenters Gold (CD) [2 Discs] $10.83 All products are BRAND NEW and factory sealed. Fast shipping and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed…. |
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Robots Vs. Indie Queens … |
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Recollection 2 CD Set $8.72 LANG K. D. RECOLLECTION… |
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Richard Simmons Dance Your Pants Off! [VHS] $5.48 Richard Simmons, the great motivator, presents another light-intensity, low-impact, high-energy workout in the style of his popular Sweatin’ to the Oldies series. Again live music is the focus–this time 1980s dance hits such as “Celebration,” “Flashdance,” “Gloria,” “She Works Hard for the Money,” and “Call Me.” Just like in the Sweatin’ videos, Simmons leads a large class of people of both gende… |
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Blue’s Clues – Story Time [VHS] $8.49 Finally, parents will have something to pop in the VCR when their hopelessly addicted tots ask for a hit of the blue dog during one of the many hours it’s not actually playing on television. This 50-minute video contains two segments that touch on several traditional tales, but focus on “The Three Little Pigs” and “Goldilocks and the Three Bears.” There’s a little Elvis humor for the adults, but m… |
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Blue’s Clues – Arts & Crafts [VHS] $9.95 If the phrase “Blue scadoo, we can, too” means anything to you, and you know that salt and pepper are actually a married couple with French accents, you probably have a potential consumer of this 50-minute video residing in your household. During two 25-minute segments, our host Steve and his animated dog Blue together serve as a Martha Stewart for preschoolers by showing them how to make a stage-… |
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RoomMates RMK1470SCS Disney Princess Peel & Stick Wall Decals with Gems $9.24 … |
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Melissa and Doug Sticker Collection Book $7.68 This sticker collection book from Melissa and Doug includes over 500 stickers with 10 themed pages. This kids craft set is great for arts and crafts, scrapbooking and creating original scenes. |
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Crayola Crayon Maker with BONUS 71 Extra Pieces $34.99 Great for making personal colors and combinations, this Crayola Crayons set lets you mix, melt and mold crayons to create your own colors. This set is a great way to get your child’s creative juices flowing. |
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Imagine Nation Knitting Machine $34.99 Brand: Imagine NationTurn the crank to swiftly knit your own clothesKnits 20 times faster than needles |
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LetterHead Mega Stationery Set (84 supplies) $22.49 Fully stock your office, school or home with all the vital supplies for your desk with the LetterHead Mega Stationery Set. Youll be able to take care of all your office functions in one effective and convenient set. |
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As Seen On TV Magic Growers 3-piece Christmas Growers Set $22.49 Magic Growers SetSanta, snowman and treeMagic Growers transform themselves in just six hours |
