9 Definitive Features of Craftsman Style Interiors

The Craftsman-style home has been popular since its introduction as a design style. It is designed for its distinctive looks, high-quality look and feel, its cozy interior, and beautiful natural materials. Craftsman-style homes are pretty easy to spot from the outside, but there are also plenty of dead giveaways on the inside that let you know you’re looking at a Craftsman house interior.

The Craftsman style has evolved from its 20th-century roots and it remains with the times while still retaining the down-to-earth charm that made it such a popular style in the first place. Bringing the Craftsman style into your interior is a simple matter that requires focusing on the bare essentials.

What is The Craftsman Style? 

Craftsman style is all about handmade rustic charm.

Craftsman homes are a great example of a historic trend that has endured the test of time. You’ve likely seen many examples of Craftsman houses without even realizing what category of architecture they belong to, as they have become quite ubiquitous. These homes have some common traits that set them apart from the cookie-cutter Victorian houses that dot the landscape of suburbia. Indeed, Craftsman homes were born at the turn of the 20th century as a direct rejection of the mass-produced nature of the Victorian style.

The Craftsman house was supposed to reintroduce individuality, honesty, and authenticity to the American home in the wake of the industrial revolution. Its proponents believed that industrialization had reduced the value of handmade human labor. So, the supporters of the Craftsman-style interior sought to restore the value of a laborer’s hard day’s work by emphasizing handcrafted high-quality goods in their design style.

Even though this is now a trend that is well over a century old, Craftsman homes remain highly desirable, and modern Craftsman homes are regularly constructed to this day. The Craftsman style isn’t just limited to homes though, and also spans interior design, landscaping, and the arts.

A crackling fire makes for a cozy center to your Craftsman home.

1. Fireplace 

You can’t have a warm and inviting atmosphere without a fireplace. The warm orange glow of the fire is exactly what is needed to bring the entire aesthetic home. It sets the tone for the rest of the Craftsman house interior and makes for much cozier winters. Plus, the stone fireplace in the center of the room is just what is needed to maximize the natural feel of the beautiful Craftsman-style interior design. 

2. Reading Nooks 

On the other hand, you could also build a reading nook where all your books can be stored and where you can read in a place of peace and serenity. The beauty of a reading nook is that it’s pretty simple to set up. All you need is a comfy chair, some shelves for the books, and maybe a plant or a piece of artwork to add some spots of color. That wall-mounted lamp will only improve your reading nook experience and give you some additional lighting for evening page-turner sessions.  

3. Rustic Dining Room

We all love to eat, and one way to make your meals even more enjoyable is to have a nice place where you can enjoy them. The open floor plan of the typical Craftsman house interior allows for a large and expansive dining room that is replete with that airy feel that makes the Craftsman style so comfortable. A regal yet simple dining table made from sturdy oak or some other premium wood is a perfect choice.

Wooden beams add character and depth to the room.

4. Ceiling Beams 

Exposed ceiling beams are another hallmark of this design style. Craftsman interiors and exposed wood are best friends and you really cannot have one without the other. Exposed wooden beams help to give your home a warm and cozy feel that is hard to replicate with other home design styles.

Newer homes have abandoned this style of interior design in favor of a dropped ceiling design that allows for a smoother flow of the interior design. However, ceiling beams have never fully died out and they remain a fairly popular design feature in many homes. Another quality that makes ceiling beams so appealing is that they are also quite evocative of nice places such as mountain cabins and ski resorts.  

5. Built-In Bookcases 

What can be more old-world style than a built-in bookcase? These used to be in many homes, allowing everyone to prominently display their most prized pieces of classical literature and philosophy. A built-in bookcase is the epitome of the Craftsman-style decor because it is simple, rustic, and handmade with quality and pride.

Of course, today our homes are filled with different pieces of media, and so you can use your built-in bookcases for records, CDs, DVDs, cassettes, and books alike. These bookcases can also be the perfect spot for your favorite art pieces or knick-knacks.

Natural materials set the perfect vibe for your Craftsman-style interior.

6. Natural Materials

As with their exteriors, Craftsman-style homes are made solidly on the inside as well and are filled with strong natural materials that are stylish and long-lasting. A Craftsman-style house’s interior is designed to be a homey place that is cozy and warm. It won’t have any of the ornamentation or finery of a Victorian house, because all those bells and whistles are just unnecessary.

Craftsman homes do not sport open-floor plan layouts but tend to favor distinct delineations between each space. As a result, each part of the house is its own zone and is separate from other home parts. You’ll find no shortage of wood on the inside of a Craftsman house.

7. Earthy Color Palette 

The Craftsman style is all about a return to nature and earthiness. That’s especially true when you see the exterior design of a Craftsman house, which is typically dominated by wood siding that features earthy colors. Classic colors for a Craftsman home are various shades of brown and green, alongside other dark and earthy colors. However, modern Craftsman-style houses today can come in many different colors and won’t necessarily be restricted to just one set of hues.  

8. Living Room Near the Porch 

A Craftsman living room by your porch means you get plenty of natural light in the interior living area. It also allows the interior design of your living room to flow seamlessly into the great outdoors and an expansive wooden porch. This connection between the two spaces helps to give the living room even more of an earthy feel by keeping it aesthetically connected to nature.

Wooden double doors or even a wooden sliding door between the living room and outdoors make for a stylish yet restrained divider between the outdoors and indoors. Open porches may not be the best solution if you want to keep the critters out, in which case a traditional porch may be more appealing since you’ll get shade and a frame for installing bug screens.

Wooden double doors allow for a classy divider between the indoors and the great outdoors.

9. Eco Friendly

Another thing that makes natural materials so neat is that they are far easier to manage when it comes time to dispose of them. Unlike artificial materials that may be toxic, natural materials such as wood, glass, and stone are generally easier to throw away or recycle. This makes a Craftsman-style interior perfect for eco-conscious homeowners who want to reduce their footprint.

You can even seek out more eco-friendly materials and ensure that you use non-toxic chemicals when treating the wood for your home or painting the house to even further reduce the environmental impact of your house. Given enough planning and resources, it is perfectly possible to make a Craftsman home more harmonious with nature.