Arts & Crafts/Craftsman/Mission

Sarah Susanka has a series of books out starting with “The Not So Big House”. Alot of the work is in the Mission, Arts & Craft style. Even if you have a big house the ideas in these books are great concerning dealing with space efficiently, storage, etc. The whole series is listed on Amazon. Hope this helps give you some ideas.

-- Better to say nothing and be thought the fool... then to speak and erase all doubt.

I’m headed to Amazon right now. Our home is small, just over 1300 sq. feet so all the space/organization tips are welcomed. Thanks Chip!!! :)

-- "Creativity is...seeing something that doesn't exist already. You need to find out how you can bring it into being and that way be a playmate with God."

your house will be filled with so many memories by the time the children spread their wings—family memories and home building memories. Very special

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

I like Arts & Crafts / Craftsman / Mission style as well. There are some great projects and blogs on LJ focusing on this style. One jock comes to mind as a great start for ideas – Dusty

-- http://foldingrule.blogspot.com

Book: Shop Drawings for Craftsman Interiors by Robert Lang. This gives measured drawings for interior woodwork. Great book.

Magazines: American Bungalow, Style 1900, Arts&Crafts Homes
All of these are at Barnes & Noble

You can use poplar wood and stain it a cherry or warm brown tone quite nicely. Poplar wood is easy to mill, stain, and finish. It is very stable and economical. That means you can achieve the look without buying the more expensive wood.

Many of the period homes did something like this. They used the expensive wood in the main areas where visitors would see it. Then they used a cheaper, secondary wood with the same stain color in the other rooms like the bedrooms. Using poplar and staining it will look great I assure you. I built a $2.25 mil home with stained poplar and it looks great.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

One more thing, is your house of a style that will work going with an Arts & Crafts look?

Another Book: Bungalow Style published by Taunton.

There is another one called The New Bungalow or something along that line. It is full of updated craftsman designs which is really good. I have a bunch of books on the subject, but I left them in Montana and I am working in Ohio right now. These are the books and mags that I have with me right now.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

The exterior is a big fat no. I live in a subdivision with a home owners association that severely limits what can be done to the outside of the home. Its your standard bland starter home that looks like every other home on the block, complete with two Bradsford Pear trees out front and the same crappy lawns. The interior is fair game, however. Right now, I’m trying to determine what walls are load bearing. I’m starting my project blog today. I’ll have a pic of the outside and the floor plan of the house.

-- "Creativity is...seeing something that doesn't exist already. You need to find out how you can bring it into being and that way be a playmate with God."

Is it just a ranch type of home with a single story?

Does it have trusses or rafters? Trusses have all the “W” shaped supports running between the bottom and the angled sides. If you have trusses then all the walls on the interior of the house are just dividers and are non-bearing. Trusses are engineered to carry the roof load by bearing all the weight on the outside walls only.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

I’m just picturing myself walking up the path, surrounded by the mundane….... everything the same.. nothing unique.. and then opening the door into another world.. the surprise of seeing the unexpected design style…. pretty exciting!

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

I’m a huge fan of Arts & Crafts style. In truth, it’s the one style of furniture that my wife and I can almost universally agree on…that and asian stuff. I’m looking forward to seeing what you do!

-- "Give me your poor tools, your tired steel, your huddled masses of rust." Yep, I ripped off the Statue of Liberty. That's how I roll!

Here is the exterior. YAWN. Nothing remarkable other than it provides shelter for my family.

Here’s is the exciting floor plan…lol

I’ve painted the shutters a more brighter red and come spring I’m removing the front door and painting it to match. Other than trying to overseed the yard, I’m not putting anymore effort to the exterior.

-- "Creativity is...seeing something that doesn't exist already. You need to find out how you can bring it into being and that way be a playmate with God."

You have a nice house. What walls are you thinking of moving? My guess, this is a guess, is that you have trusses and the center vaulted area has scissor trusses. Trusses are the common means of modern construction for the roof. I recommend that you call a pro here if you don’t have a friend in the trades. You will run into moving electrical if you move a wall.

I can guess based on the photo and rooflines which are bearing walls but it should be looked at by someone on site.

On newer homes I recommend going with a lighter palate on the earth-tone colors and use the poplar stained a warm reddish brown or cherry tone. There is a range that works real well without getting too dark.

Do the trim work but skip any of the paneling going up the wall part way, that can close the house down but the paint colors will not.

Other things that go well are natural products like slate tile and bamboo flooring. You can get both at Lowe’s pretty reasonably priced.

You can get a good, middle of the road quality, set of cabinets from them that will fit your style. I just looked into some at Lowe’s about 8 months ago for a job. You might want to pick your cabinet style so you can base your trim off of that color. It does not have to be the same, but it should be a coordinating and complimentary color.

Brushed metal fixtures for lights and faucets go well in this style. This is a modern interpretation, not a historic restoration.

Since it sounds like you are going to do this over time, get a long term design and game plan together. Decide how you want the finished project to look. Pick your colors, trim style, flooring, and cabinetry. Don’t forget lighting. Stick to the plan.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Not going to bang into the walls all that much. Want to enlarge the utility room, can hardly turn around in there. We want to knock out the coat closet which can only hold a couple of large coats anyway. The trick of this is matching up the orange peel on the drywall. I begged the builders to not spray it on the drywall because I can’t stand the look…makes the walls look like they have acne. But, my pleading fell on deaf ears. I either have to live with it or plaster over it, a task that doesn’t sound all that fun.

-- "Creativity is...seeing something that doesn't exist already. You need to find out how you can bring it into being and that way be a playmate with God."

my first thought at your “nothing special” was that the shutters were special! And then you said that you painted them. :) I like!!

As to the floor plan… why do we put the entrance and garage at one end of a house and then the kitchen in the opposite corner?? Haven’t architects ever had to carry groceries in before????
I’m sure there are reasons for the layout .. but there has to be a way .. ..

-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)

Another floor that goes well with this style is Brazilian Cherry – Nice!

As I understand it: You want to delete the closet altogether that encroaches into the utility room. That would include getting rid of the door on the hall side and doing a texture match.

I don’t see that as a problem. Are there any outlets on the utility room side of those two walls? If there are no outlets it does not mean that they did not use it as a run for wiring but it makes it more unlikely. My guess is there may be a light switch and light to deal with in the closet?

The texture is not that hard to match, orange peel is one of the easiest to blend. I do it all the time. It does take a certain skill and you might be better to hire somebody for that. I don’t care for orange peel texture myself. It is usually put on too heavy.

Do you have any friends in the trades? If not you might see about using someone as a consultant to help guide you through this. Nobody will keep coming out for free but someone may be able to assist or guide and it would not cost as much. The professionals know when they are being pumped for information, I can tell when it is happening to me. It would be better if you let someone know up-front what your intentions are. Time, skill, and knowledge are money to professionals.

You can read a book and we can tell you how, but it doesn’t mean that you will be able to pull it all off. Sheetrock, tape, and mud are some of the cheapest things to purchase and the most difficult to make look good.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

I’ve hung sheetrock and I am fairly decent with the mud and tape. I planned on hang plastic sheets just to help cut down on the dust while sanding it. I’ve bought a small can of the orange peel spray that I use for touch ups to repair holes. I’d like to use an industrial size of it rather than renting equipment to spray it if I could. I may go back to Home Depot and hook up with some buddies of mine. I worked there last year briefly in the painting department and made friends with some who just worked at Big Orange part time for the insurance and worked in remodeling for the money. At least I’m thinking everything through first before grabbing a hammer and knocking holes in the wall…lol.

-- "Creativity is...seeing something that doesn't exist already. You need to find out how you can bring it into being and that way be a playmate with God."

This will be fun to watch and learn from.

-- Maplewood, MN

It is not possible to get a good job out of the can for a patch job the size of a door. By the time you feather the joint out it will be a pretty big area. I have used those cans before and I don’t care for them at all.

Get one of the mud hoppers for texturing. I think Home Depot sells one called the “Mantis”. You mix the mud to a milkshake consistency that will pour and start with the small or medium orifice. Set the pressure on the compressor at about 35psi. Depending on the size of texture you are getting and what you need you can turn the pressure up or down a little or change the orifice.

The best one to get only has 3 orifices. It is not the model that has a dial ring with 10 different sizes. That is a gimmick and a piece o’ crap.

I see now by your blog that you do have some experience, that will certainly help.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Thanks Todd. I appreciate all of your advice. I’ve started a list of all things to check out once I’m feeling better and have the energy to walk more than 20 feet without needing a nap…lol. My DREAM would be to just re-hang every last bit of sheet rock in this home and get rid of the “acne”, but with our budget it just ain’t gonna happen anytime soon and I’d rather deal with just sealing up one doorway and put up with the walls as they are. Once again, everyone has just blown me away with advice and ideas. You guys are the greatest!

-- "Creativity is...seeing something that doesn't exist already. You need to find out how you can bring it into being and that way be a playmate with God."