It encompasses interior design, fine and decorative arts, printing and publishing (book design, illustrations, posters, and advertisements), jewelry and tableware, textiles and wallpaper, furniture and ceramics-and, oh yes, houses. The term Arts & Crafts refers to a broad social and artistic movement that took shape in Great Britain and Europe in the middle of the 19th century and then leapt the Atlantic to garner wild acclaim in the United States at the turn of the 20th century.
Practically the only common factors to be found in all Arts & Crafts houses are those that encourage an informal but cultured lifestyle: First of all, Arts & Crafts isn’t really a single style it’s an intellectual approach to many styles. And what does an Arts & Crafts-style house look like anyway? Is it a Craftsman bungalow, a Foursquare with bracketed eaves, a quaint cottage, or perhaps an architect-designed Prairie house?
The name sounds improbable-more like a Girl Scout merit badge than a house style. Architect Gary Brewer breathed new life into this Yonkers Foursquare, which he calls home.įor many old-house observers, Arts & Crafts may be one of the most confusing architectural styles.
