Seeking something quaint to move into? Or perhaps you’re looking to update your current house? There are a lot of different home styles out there that you can check out or even mimic (depending upon the design of your current home). But what should you choose?  If you haven’t yet given a look to craftsman style houses, perhaps now is the perfect time to do so.

Craftsman style homes got their start in the early 1900s and earned its name because of its founder, Gustav Stickley and his magazine, The Craftsman. The homes have many of the same characteristics that make them of craftsman design. They can include low-pitched gabled roofs, as these houses got their start in sunny California, open floor plans where rooms practically flow from one to the next with few or no hallways, exposed rafters and beams, large porches with stone, square, or round columns, built-in cabinets and seating, and plenty of windows to allow in a lot of natural light. Doors are often multi-paneled, and when they include small windows, often have a small shelf for added design.

You may hear craftsman style homes referred to as bungalows; however, not all bungalows are craftsman homes. Craftsman homes are represented not only by design, but by workmanship and practicality. They will utilize modest designs that integrate the land they are to be built on as best as possible. They also are crafted using local materials from natural sources such as stone and timber. Craftsman homes were never meant to be built in the same mass-produced fashion that other homes are, and this gives them an extra sense of pride and something special.

Even if you don’t have a craftsman style home, you can see if a craftsman style door or other elements can fit into your current home if you are looking to make some remodeling decisions. Sometimes a door can make the house. You can also look to switching out your floor to wide plank hardwood flooring, as many craftsman homes include this type of flooring. Opt for simple mouldings made of wood. If you have a current craftsman home, paint it in a fashion that makes the architecture stand out. If you are doing some work, play up the arts and crafts aesthetic and focus on the brackets and exposed beams to make them even more noticeable, or switch out your current door for an even more obvious craftsman styled one.