Craftsman style
favored quartersawn oak with well-defined, eccentric grain patterns.
The Craftsman movement dated from the end of the 19th century through the beginning of the 20th. Craftsman designers rebelled against the mix of heavily draped little rooms and machine-made furniture found in Victorian homes. Turn-of-the-century middle class kitchens benefited from the affordability of hand-crafted materials and wide availability of central heating and electricity. Resulting kitchens were open, sunny rooms with simple, classic handmade furniture and modern-looking appliances. Does this Spark an idea?
The Craftsman Kitchen
The Craftsman kitchen, according to Gustav Stickley, should be modeled on colonial kitchens as the heart of the home. He wrote at a time when many large middle class homes included servants as family members. Craftsman style placed great emphasis on surfaces and features that could be easily cleaned. The "sanitary kitchen" contained many elements familiar to today's homemakers: plenty of built-in cabinets, storage space and electric appliances. They also boasted open plumbing and cement floors, details that only a purist would insist upon.
Adapting Craftsman Style
Modern kitchens can incorporate elements of Craftsman style without adhering to its rather austere details. Today's homes generally do not employ servants but the entire family and guests frequently use the kitchen. Many modern homeowners prefer center islands for cooking, informal buffets and quick breakfast--an element not present in the open plan of the Craftsman kitchen. Quarter-sawn oak cabinets and custom-built cabinetry may be expensive, but plenty of reasonably priced look-alike woods and mass-produced materials that capture the spirit of the original are available, melding historically accurate style with modern budgets.
Wood
Add storage space to the paneled benches of a breakfast nook or window seat--both period-appropriate details--with flip tops. Add glass doors with mullions that mirror Craftsman-style windows to upper cabinets. Add chair rails and wainscoting, plain or painted. Although built-in cabinets are expensive, modern pre-built cabinetry is available in period-appropriate oak and cherry. Islands built using the same wood and plain Craftsman style modernize the floor plan. Although cement and linoleum were materials of choice, narrow or random-width wood flooring in pine or oak were also used and are definitely softer on feet.
Other Materials
Replace windows with energy-efficient three or six-over-one sashes or casement windows with ribbon lights, consisting of a central pane surrounded by rectangular panes. Fill glass-front cabinets with heirloom dishes and handmade pottery. Rather than curtains, use valences of linen material with simple patterns based on nature; if privacy is important, use wood blinds. Arts and Crafts wallpaper reproductions can be expensive but patterns copied onto stencils for borders or details executed in semi-gloss paints is scrubbable, period appropriate and less expensive. Copper or zinc range hoods and reproduction fixtures add elegance and atmosphere. Drawer and cabinet hardware in bronze or iron finish mirrors the plain, handmade Craftsman style. Soapstone, quartz or marble countertops and handmade tiles for backsplashes adhere to the Craftsman rule of easily cleaned surfaces.
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