Hello lovely friends! Can you believe it’s mid August already! This summer I’m obsessing over Craftsman style homes. We’ve been in our home for about 8 years. And, now that we’re (more or less) happy with the interior, I’ve been thinking of ways to enhance its exterior appeal. For me, the curb appeal of a Craftsman home is unmatched. Those deliciously charming exterior details are simply drool-worthy.
Source and credit: Masonite
Let’s face it, though. Not all of us are lucky to live in an authentic Craftman home with those sweet artisan details like over-sized tapered columns, exposed beams, cedar shakes, and wooden doors. If you are one of them, I am so jealous!
Inspiration Gallery: Craftsman Home Style!
Um, hello there, dreamy!!!
If you’re like me, perhaps you live in suburbia in ‘builder grade’ two-story. Not that there’s anything wrong with a builder-grade home. Gosh, when we built our home in 2007, I felt immensely blessed to move into a brand spanking new house.
Everything’s relative! A decade earlier, when we moved into our 40-year old bungalow with 1980s-upgrades, we faced a DIY nightmare. Semi-gloss emerald paint, 4 layers of wallpaper, and wall-to-wall shag carpeting were just a few of the lovely features we conquered. Let’s just say that I wasn’t too worried about artisan details or custom features when we finally built this home. At that point, just the word “new” was amazing!
But, when we build again in a few years, an authentic Craftman home will be my inspiration. For now, with this home I just want to enhance the curb appeal by adding a few signature Craftsman home exterior details.
One of my favourite features of a Craftsman home is a ‘recessed panel’ wooden door like the ones below.
Source and credit: Masonite
The ‘dentil shelf’ below the window (and, yes, that’s really what it’s called!), has an sweet artisan aesthetic that has gorgeous curb appeal.
Source and credit: Masonite
Here are some of the things we’re thinking of changing on our home’s exterior to ‘get the look’ of a Craftsman home:
- A stained ‘Craftsman’ style front door with wood texture and a dentil shelf
- Adding stone to the front porch and entire front of our home
- Adding shakes/shingles in one of the peaks
- Changing out the exterior lighting to a signature Craftsman style
- Adding custom landscaping
Many builder-grade homes are a perfect blank slate for creating some Craftsman appeal. Take a look at the photo below. I’m not sure if this home was built from a craftsman-inspired plan. But it definitely provides some great inspiration for creating craftsman curb appeal with a standard two story home.
A quick word of advice, though: Craftsman-style features might not work for all new home styles. Obviously, if your home is ultra-modern or Victorian in it’s design, these features wouldn’t look appropriate or authentic. Take inventory of your builder grade home’s exterior features, and then decide if it’s a good candidate for Craftsman appeal.
Fortunately, our home seems like a good fit. It is basic in it’s design with a nice peak for shakes, and it already has a covered front porch which is a Craftsman-style feature. Also, our home’s vinyl siding has a clapboard-style profile, and it is a hue that is often seen in traditional Craftsman home colour palettes.
I’d love for you to follow along as we attempt make some of these exterior changes in the coming months and year.
So, do you love the appeal of a Craftsman home as much as me? If you are looking for some inspiration, check out these links out which I found helpful:
- Craftsman-Style Home Ideas slide show from Better Homes & Gardens
- Masonite fibreglass Craftsman-style doors
- Craftsman colour palettes from Behr
- Houzz.com: search Craftsman exterior design photos
Until next time,
K.
Disclosure: I’ll be partnering with Masonite in the coming months to change our front door to a Craftsman style. More details to come!