Adaptable to the Revival

Elements of the Arts & Crafts era are easy to identify and adaptable (as examples, they do not require high ceilings; woodwork may be painted or done in clear-finish hardwood). The simple forms and unostentatious detailing make it a popular style. Furthermore, documentation is readily available in old millworks catalogs, many of them online. Such rectilinear elements as square columns and butted trim are relatively easy and inexpensive to duplicate. All this makes Craftsman a favorite vocabulary for new construction and for home makeovers.

In a wide variety of expressions, several key elements of the era have made a comeback in the past 20 years. Chief among them are room-dividing colonnades, breakfast nooks, panel or skeleton wainscots, staircases with square spindles, painted kitchens, and fireplaces with art-tile surrounds.

LEFT One of 22 stock colonnades shown in the 1917 Curtis woodwork catalog. RIGHT ”Stock interior finish” window trim from the Adams-Rogers Company millwork catalog, ca. 1920s. BELOW The ‘Whitney’ staircase, Adams-Rogers Co. BOTTOM RIGHT A nook from the Curtis catalog; stylized leaded glass in the windows.