Dream Craftsman House Plans & Designs

Craftsman house plans are super-popular, and one look at them makes it easy to see why. Craftsman style house plans (also called "Arts and Crafts house plans" or "Arts and Crafts home plans") are highly sought after. Craftsman designs with modern amenities, like big kitchens, luxurious master suites, and extra storage are especially "in" right now.

Craftsman house plans are based on the thinking of English designers, including John Ruskin and William Morris, who launched the Arts and Crafts Movement, which celebrated handicrafts and encouraged the use of simple forms and natural materials. In the United States, the style was perfected by the California architects Charles and Henry Greene and widely publicized in home magazines of the time, where it was sometimes called Western Stick style. Between the two world wars, craftsman house plans sprang up by the thousands all over the country, thanks to mail-order plan books. Sharing characteristics of Bungalow and Prairie styles and sometimes influenced by the building techniques of the Far East, Craftsman home plans typically feature a low pitched roof with multiple intersecting gables. Often the façade will include more than one gable end, with triangular knee braces lending interest. Wide eaves with exposed rafter tails are a hallmark of Craftsman style, along with hefty “battered” (tapered) piers that support the ubiquitous front porch. Though most Craftsman homes are constructed of wood, the piers may be crafted from stone or brick. Together with the low profile and the tapering piers, the use of natural materials gives the Craftsman home an organic feel.

Inside, Craftsman floor plans have few hallways, with rooms flowing one into another. This makes the Craftsman style a natural fit with modern lives which often demand open site lines from the kitchen to the living area, be it for keeping an eye on the kids or entertaining guests. Craftsman house plans also display a high level of detail, like built-in benches and cabinetry, which heightens the design’s functionality and ultimately makes living a little bit easier.

Related categories include: Bungalow House Plans, Prairie House Plans, California House Plans, and House Plans with Front Porch.