Falling in Love with Craftsman Homes

Craftsman homes are architectural icons of the American west. Even more so, there’s something about their earthen, moody color palettes, cozy fireplaces and low slung porches, perfect for hosting throngs of trick-or-treaters, that ties Craftsman homes to fall in particular. In fact, Pasadena, Calif., a city known for some of the most recognizable Craftsman homes and architecture firms like Greene & Greene, celebrated its 28th annual Craftsman Weekend this November.

The Craftsman Home: A Primer
But wait, what is Craftsman style and why does it matter? Craftsman design grew out of the Arts & Crafts movement of the late 1800s, with designers celebrating functional hand-made products and the labor of artisans and craftsmen over products churned out in factories. Where Victorian-era homes are often narrow, tall and ornately detailed, Craftsman homes feature simple low pitched roofs, deep eaves, exposed rafter tails, and large covered porches supported by tapered columns.

Photos Credit: Bungalow Company

Choosing A Historically Appropriate Paint Palette
What better way to honor your Craftsman home than to use colors appropriate to the architecture of the time? Dunn-Edwards Then, Now & Forever® Collection is a collection of historically-accurate colors that honor architectural styles throughout the last two centuries, alongside a collection of colors that are most popular for today. In creating the historically-accurate paint color collection, we partnered with Architectural Resources Group (ARG), a group of architects, planners, and conservators who believe in the value that history adds to modern life, and work to vet each paint color for time-appropriate accuracy.

Photo credit: LAURIE AVOCADO

Because Craftsman design features motifs drawn from nature, traditional color palettes stick to natural shades, from earthy browns, to sophisticated greens, blues and warm neutrals. Have fun grouping at least 2 or 3 paint colors in your palette to highlight the different lines, details and dimensions of your Craftsman home.

Rich Browns
Like Pasadena’s famous Gamble house, you could keep things simple with a classic dark brown. Try a brown hue with reddish tones like Sunken Ship (DEA148) for your exterior. And why not also paint the eaves, door and window trim golden yellow like Maple View (DE6152).

Gamble House. Photo Credit: Grace Lennon

Nature-Inspired Greens
Craftsman homes are commonly painted green like Mission Jewel (DET539) which serves as an excellent jumping off point. From here, you could pick a neutral taupe or sandy accent color like Muscat Blanc (DET676),Cameo Role (DET671), or Wax Poetic (DET651), or play with a rusty red like Attar of Rose (DET422) on window and rafter trim.

Finally, greens lend themselves well to shade layering. For example, keep Mission Jewel as the main color and paint trim or the different dimensions of the home, like dormers or the inside of the porch with the Morris Artichoke (DET530) or Deco Gray (DET609). For more on Dunn-Edwards classic Craftsman checkout our curated color guide here.