Understanding Your Home’s Style Can Inspire Home Remodeling Ideas You Wouldn’t Have Thought About Before
In the early 20th century, craftsman-style homes were all-the-rage, inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement, which celebrated the decorative design and hand-craftsmanship that the industrial revolution devalued in prior years.
Craftsman-style homes are known for their natural materials – including wide and visually captivating woodwork, natural color palettes, and their simple space plans. Over the years, four distinct types of craftsman-style homes emerged, each sharing similar designs and floor plans, but with obvious architectural differences: the bungalow, the prairie style, the four square, and the mission revival.
Architectural Craftsmen, the Kansas City-area leading home remodeling contractors near you, are here to compare and contrast these styles so you can identify yours before seeking home remodeling ideas tailored to your home’s history and aesthetics.
The Bungalow
Commonly found in neighborhoods like Hyde Park and Waldo, the bungalow is marked by its smaller size, covered front porch, and gabled roof. It is usually no taller than one-and-a-half stories.
Despite its diminutive stature as compared to other architectural styles, it still commands attention with its deep roof eaves with visible knee braces, centered dormer windows, and tapered columns supporting the roof.
The Prairie Style
The prairie-style craftsman home was dreamed up by famous Chicago architect Frank Lloyd Wright. This home is characterized by an open floor plan, wide chimneys and hipped roofs, rather than gabled.
Unlike its Victorian predecessors, the prairie-style craftsman looks modern with its clean lines and simple design. You’ll commonly find Prairie-style craftsmen in Prairie Village, along Ward Parkway, and in Brookside.
The Four Square
Larger than a bungalow, a craftsman four square is named such because each corner of the house contains four rooms – or four rooms per floor.
The four square was born after World War I. Homebuilders simply added second stories onto existing craftsman-style homes to help accommodate growing families after soldiers returned.
Spot four square homes in Brookside, Volker, Hyde Park, and Old Leawood. In the Kansas City area specifically, some four square homes are actually a unique architectural style called the Kansas City shirtwaist. These are essentially four square-style homes, but with a stone facade on the exterior from the ground to the second story.
The Mission Revival
The mission revival home draws inspiration both from the prairie-style craftsman and Spanish design.
Inside, its layout feels like that of a traditional craftsman home, but outside, you’ll find wide, open verandas, stucco exteriors, and terracotta roofs. You’re most likely to find a mission revival craftsman in Brookside, South Plaza, or Hyde Park.
Popular Home Remodeling Ideas for Craftsman-Style Houses
Now that you understand the type of craftsman-style house you own, you can start thinking of ways to improve its functionality while still honoring its past. Expert Kansas City home remodelers like Architectural Craftsmen can help you compare how you currently use your home to how you’d like it to fit into your lifestyle. Then, our crew will create a thoughtful design for a liveable home that checks off all your wishlist boxes.
Commonly, our team takes on projects like:
- Returning the Arts and Crafts kitchen to its former style, using Stickley-inspired custom wood cabinetry.
- Reformulating a kitchen layout to make it a more useful room for your family.
- Reconfiguring bedroom and closets to ensure your family has ample living and storage space.
- Revamping the exterior to reflect the appropriate architectural era and repair or reinstall the features that make your home a true craftsman-style.
- Incorporating historic home features into modern living.
- Creating retreats for homeowners, such as a beautiful bathroom oasis in the primary bedroom.
Protecting Your Home’s Character and Architectural Features During Home Remodeling Projects
To keep the true spirit of the home intact, Architectural Craftsmen works with homeowners to make key design decisions that make living in the home easier for modern families, but don’t harm or remove its character.
During a craftsman-style home remodel, Architectural Craftsmen will take great care to preserve features like:
- Exposed rafter tails that stick out of the house, under the eaves.
- Original multi-paned windows with wide trim casing.
- Paned solid wood doors.
- Colors – the washed-out earthtones the craftsman style is known for.
- Knee braces and tapered columns on the front porch.
- Unique woodwork, including custom features like window seats.
- Focal-point fireplaces in the living room.
- Built-in shelving and cabinetry.
- And more.
However, the team will happily change some features of the home to ensure your family is comfortable and happy living there. For example, our team will:
- Upgrade electrical and plumbing systems, both for safety and for modern living.
- Adjust kitchen layouts to create a more convenient work triangle or to accommodate the many ways your family spends time together there.
- Design and build additions to add much-needed space to your historic home.
- Craft custom cabinetry that marries the home’s original style with our clients’ preferences.
- Reconfigure rooms to meet a family’s lifestyle needs.
- And more.
Protect the Soul of Your Craftsman-Style Home During Home Remodeling
If you value your home’s historic charm and storied history, then you want to ensure the home remodeling contractor you hire understands how your home was built and why. Architectural Craftsmen pay special attention to your home’s architectural detailing so that the final product reflects the owner’s lifestyle and brings out the soul of the home.
For help with distinctive home remodeling in the Kansas City area, contact Architectural Craftsmen to learn more.
