8 |ARTS & CRAFTS HOMES Winter 2017
EDITOR’S LETTER&
A Big Tent
THE BUNGALOW REVIVAL has threatened a takeover of Arts & Crafts in general,
but not every Arts & Crafts house is a bungalow. (And not every bungalow
is Arts & Crafts. House forms, like bungalow or foursquare, and stylistic
elements, like Craftsman or Italianate, are not in lockstep.) In this issue
we extend the timeline in both directions, showcasing a startlingly ver-
nacular house designed by Ernest Gimson in England, as well as a remade
1940s Texas Ranch. Bungalows, they ain’t.
We can’t define Arts & Crafts style; there are too many expressions
and variants. Yet significant threads run through all the work we recognize
as Arts & Crafts. At first encounter, designs by William Morris and Gustav
Stickley are very different. We come to see in their work the underlying
philosophy; both men preferred simplicity, dug at the local roots, adapted
natural forms for two-dimensional ornament, embraced the past without
creating replicas, appreciated craftsmanship. The
philosophy behind Arts & Crafts explores the plea-
sure of good work—indeed the need to do work with
competence and pride, and it explores our relation-
ship with the land. None of these ideas has ever
really been out of favor.
In architecture, we can easily imagine the
California Ranch as a later generation’s evolution of
the Craftsman Bungalow. Both belong to the mod-
ern age, both are family-centric, both types merge
house with its site. In design, look no further than the perennial appeal
of Morris’s textile and wallpaper patterns, in production for 150 years and
befitting historic and contemporary rooms alike.
And so back to this issue, with its lovely feature on the restoration
of an American Arts & Crafts Bungalow...and another that presents an
eccentric house built of massive stones and with an almost primitive
whitewashed interior. And then there is the brick Ranch, which seemed
bereft of any style until it was redeemed by sensitive owners who took cues
from its Spanish antecedents and postwar construction. In my book, all
are expressions of Arts & Crafts.Patricia Poore, Editor
[email protected]
10 Harbor Rd., Gloucester, MA 01930arts & crafts homes
and the Revival
is the quarterly that covers contemporary
practitioners as well as the historical
antecedents of the continuing A&C movement.OUR MISSION is to offer expert
advice and perspective for those building,
renovating, or furnishing a home in the Arts
& Crafts spirit. a Our mission is to celebrate
the revival of quality and craftsmanship,
going beyond the narrow definition of
American Arts & Crafts as a “style” confined
to the first decades of the 20th century.
Offering hundreds of resources, we showcase
the work not only of past masters, but also of
those whose livelihoods are made in creating
well-crafted homes, furnishings, and works
of art today. a Each issue is a portfolio of the
best work in new construction, restoration,
and interpretive design, presented through
intelligent writing and beautiful photographs.
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[email protected]EDITORIAL DEPARTMENT
10 harbor rd., gloucester, ma 01930
(978) 282-
[email protected]
[email protected]to submit material: Most articles in the magazine
begin with images. We often assign professional
photographers for features, but “scouting shots”
tell us what the project looks like. These can be
presented as digital jpegs, transparencies, amateur
shots—sent to the editorial department by email
or on a CD by mail. a Please describe the project
concisely, and let us know where you think your idea
fits into the magazine.