Decorating a Craftsman-style bungalow on a budget
Why do I appreciate Craftsman bungalows, those low-slung, early 20th-century Arts and Crafts-era homes known for their clean, horizontal lines and sturdy woodwork?
In these homes, there is an emphasis on natural materials and colors, from slate gray to clay brown. Architectural twists such as sleeping porches, wide-open entrances, and pillars made out of stone were built as a minimalist reaction against industrial design and as an ode to warmer weather and (back then) fresher air.
Decorating a Craftsman is a labor of love.
“The whole Craftsman movement was about rediscovering handmade things,” says Sue Mossman, executive director of the preservation nonprofit Pasadena Heritage. “There’s a natural ‘form follows function’ approach. Everything has a purpose to it as well as a beauty.”
Lure of Stickley furniture
Gustav Stickley, who started making Arts and Crafts-style furniture and accessories in the late 19th century, has long represented the pinnacle of Craftsman design. Antique hand-finished, solid-wood armchairs, tables and couches by Stickley, defined by a sleek vertical-lined “mission” style, can run upwards of $5,500 today.
Mossman, who lives in a traditional Craftsman and says she owns a couple of “fine Stickley pieces,” views the furniture, like Craftsman homes, as having lasting appeal.
“In the 1980s and ’90s, the value of these antique pieces went through the roof,” she says. “It has dropped off since then, but the value of original pieces is still very high.”
Hunting on a budget
My fiancé, Dave, and I rent a small, century-old Craftsman house in Pasadena’s landmark district, Bungalow Heaven, home to more than 1,000 historic bungalows, most of them Craftsmans.
Since Dave and I, like many, can’t afford the prized Stickley brand, we searched for much less pricey, though not necessarily handmade, furniture and decorations for our place. There are strong connections between the Craftsman and midcentury modern movements when it comes to simple functionalism, says Mossman. Our home is a mixture of both.
We found a modestly priced 1963 Lane Acclaim walnut coffee table with dovetail edges at an antique store to fit in with the earthy Craftsman color scheme in our living room.
Our geometric mica glass, wood and metal table lamp we snagged on sale for $150 at retailer Lamps Plus to perch on top of a Wildon Home espresso-hued end table for not much more.
Bought at a nearby sofa store, our couch is made out of chocolate-brown wood and tweed, a midcentury modern reproduction called “The Draper.”
Our vintage living room rug is a 1960s striped blend of warm orange, green, pink and white. We also picked up glass vases, Arts and Crafts-style wooden frames and dinnerware from flea markets and online through Etsy and eBay. Call it Craftsman flair with a dash of “Mad Men” thrown in.
House tour inspires
Inspiration especially came in the form of a trip to the custom-furnished, three-story Gamble House, Pasadena’s premier example of California Craftsman architecture. It was designed by the architectural firm Greene & Greene in 1908 as a roomy winter home for David and Mary Gamble, of Procter & Gamble.
Inside, we stood surrounded by curved stairway banisters, smooth surfaces, and wooden pegs all made out of soft mahogany, teak, oak, maple and cedar.
“Craftsman style has a casual but clean simplicity to it that can be dressed up or dressed down,” notes Alvin Huang, an architect and University of Southern California School of Architecture assistant professor.