The Power of the Arts & Crafts Movement

The Arts & Crafts movement is defined as a period of time from the late 1890s until the 1920s considered to be a socioligical revolution as opposed to a technological revolution. It was more of a change in the feeling and mood within the country about how industrialized life had become. People were speaking out against the over-industrialized life at this time.
What impact did this movement have on architecture? Consider the Prairie Style, the Craftstman style, and the Bungalows.
The country embraced theses new, simple styles without all the false ornamentation, rejecting the previous Victorian Style.
Brent takes us to a house in the historic Fairmont District built by Charles Butcher, an excellent example of an Arts & Crafts style home. He'll take us through the details that embody this style.
Hull Millwork

[@chriscampbell4796]

I can't believe the low views on your videos. Amazing videos. Arts and Crafts period is my personal favourite, I feel like it can be all replicated with minimal tools. Would love to share some of my work with you and get pointers of things I did wrong. I'm Australian and have owned two can't bungalows over here. Would love to get some advice on books for the arts and crafts period homes

[@BrentHull]

Wow, thank you! Would love to see your work. Send pics and questions to [e-mail]. Thanks.

[@bighands69]

Arts and Crafts was really about individual craftsmen making things rather than it being about the tools they used. Some used lots of tools and even machines while others used very little.

[@bighands69]

Great video.
Arts and craft was not against design features as in ornamentation. What they were against was the overuse of mass manufactured pieces that used ornamentation that was not intrinsic to the design. So for example making a nice cabinet and the plastering all over it with mass manufactured trim that served no purpose.
Trim in a room was different and was not treated the same way by the arts and craft movement.

[@BrentHull]

Thanks!

[@ericmattinen4728]

I don't know if you have done any videos on the Greene & Greene designed houses like the Thorsen and Gambles houses. Simply amazing places!

[@BrentHull]

Yes I have, check out the one on the Gamble house. One of my favorites.

[@beverlyboys73]

Great stuff. I really appreciate the arts and crafts style.

[@BrentHull]

Thanks! Me too!

[@theofarmmanager267]

Brilliant - but so short! It should be a teaser for an hour long in-depth tour of the house. Oh well.
It was very interesting to see up close the grain of the timber elements- it was like raised grain? The only time I have seen that in the UK was actually when I shotblasted (small glass balls) some oak and the shot left the annual rings.
I have got lots of books on this (including some by a certain Brent Hull) but I haven’t been able to get (at anything like a price I could afford) either the Curtis book you showed on the video or the Morgan “Building With Assurance”. Do you happen to know if they have been copied onto DVD or available to view on some way?
The Arts and Crafts movement over here had a distinctly political, social dimension. The Quakers were enormous philanthropists through the second half of the 19th century - 2 of the largest UK producers of confectionery were Rowntrees and Cadburys. Both built model villages for their workers - the Cadburys one at Bournville was built just before 1900 and is largely untouched today.
The term Arts and Crafts seems to have been first used by T. J. Cobden-Sanderson at a meeting of the Arts and Crafts Exhibition Society in 1887, although I’ve read that the principles and style on which it was based had been developing in England for at least 20 years. Key inspirations included people such as Pugin, Ruskin, William Morris.[8] Along with the desire to bring to fruition their Bon mot of “form and function” came the social desire to improve the lives of the workers making the goods. It’s a fact that adopting the Arts and Crafts lifestyle was not a cheap choice; in fact, it was usually the middle class who could afford it - so, the paradox is that only the relative rich could afford to actually respect the “form and function” products. Nevertheless, I don’t think that should be a detriment to the aims of Morris and co as they did improve the lot of their employees.
Did the mission/craftsman/prairie/bungalow entrepreneurs also have these socialist ideals? I’m gathering that this wasn’t the case?

[@BrentHull]

Thanks again. Try eBay for the millwork books. There are a few people there who have digitized these books and it may be an easier way to view them. Cheers!

[@appidydafoo]

Wonderful, thank you so much

[@BrentHull]

Glad you liked it!

[@bloemundude]

I have a question regarding my old family home in the Chicago suburbs. My family finished building our beautiful Arts & Crafts house in 1924, but going with what was the trend at the time, there was no restroom on the ground floor. My question is, "Why oh why was this ever a trend, and is there any reasoning behind it?"

[@BrentHull]

Bathrooms were fairly novel in 1924. Only 50% of houses had them, and thus, how they were used, their cost all meant that there wasn't enough.

[@petrastrong7799]

Weighted Double sash windows are great but not in cold climates

[@BrentHull]

Thanks for sharing.

[@wandelgartking5446]

Great video

[@BrentHull]

Thanks for the visit