Craftsman-style homes have a certain charm that it’s hard to put a finger on. Is it because they often feature large, welcoming porches? Is it the natural wood siding and calming earth tones? Maybe it’s Craftsman windows, with their traditional grids and colors. Let’s explore some of these charming features, then determine the best windows for a Craftsman house, including one enchanting example.
What Is the Craftsman Style?
Craftsman is an architectural style that originated in the early 20th century as part of the Arts and Crafts movement. Influenced by designers like William Morris and Frank Lloyd Wright, it emphasized hand-crafted quality and natural materials. American architects popularized the style, especially in California.
Characterized by low-pitched roofs, exposed beams, and built-in furniture, Craftsman-style homes prioritize simplicity and functionality. They’re beloved for their cozy, timeless appeal and cherished by those who appreciate traditional design and superior workmanship.
Key Features of a Craftsman House
Craftsman houses are known for their distinctive charm and attention to detail. They emphasize earth tones, natural materials like wood siding, hand-crafted elements, and functional design. Here are the key features that set Craftsman-style homes apart from other architectural styles.
Intricate Windows
Craftsman windows are typically double hung, with divided light panes in the upper sash, but single hung windows are also popular. Often grouped in sets of two or three, they let in plenty of natural light and provide excellent ventilation. The intricate woodwork around the windows showcases the craftsmanship that defines Craftsman architecture.
Exposed Beams
Exposed beams are a hallmark of Craftsman-style homes, often found in the interior ceiling and on their wide, welcoming porches. Unlike hidden beams in modern styles, Craftsman beams are both functional and decorative, emphasizing sturdy, hand-crafted construction and adding rustic charm.
Built-In Furniture
Craftsman home design often includes built-in furniture like bookcases, benches, and cabinets to maximize space and provide practical storage solutions. The custom woodwork and integration into the home's structure give these features a unique feel that is both utilitarian and stylish.
Low-Pitched Roofs
The low-pitched roof of a Craftsman house, often with wide eaves and exposed rafters, emphasizes the style’s horizontal lines and creates a distinctive silhouette. These roofs are designed to blend with their surroundings and harmonize with nature, but they’re functional, too: The wide overhangs protect the house from the elements.
Best Windows for a Craftsman-Style Home
Choosing the best Craftsman windows involves more than just aesthetics. The right windows enhance the home's design, energy efficiency, and overall comfort. Here are key areas to consider when selecting windows for your Craftsman home.
Window Grids
Window grids are a defining feature of Craftsman-style homes. The best grids are typically vertical or diamond-shaped and are often found in the upper sash of double hung windows to add to the traditional, handcrafted appearance.
Trim and Shutters
Craftsman windows often feature wide, decorative trim made from natural wood, which highlights the window's craftsmanship and adds a layer of visual interest. Window shutters, while not always used, should be simple and stick to earth tones if they are included.
Energy Efficiency
With their overhanging eaves, small footprint, and efficient layouts, Craftsman-style homes are naturally energy efficient. Modern Craftsman houses will have double or triple-paned glass with low-E coatings to reduce heat transfer and improve energy efficiency even more.
Staying True to the Craftsman Style with MI Windows
Having spent the previous decade and a half building houses, Don Justham knew exactly what he wanted when it came time to design his own Craftsman-style home in the spring of 2018. With an open floor plan in mind, Justham decided that he had to have a large number of windows to bring in natural light. And to Justham, that meant one thing: MI Windows and Doors.
Choosing MI Windows and Doors for Quality and Service
Justham started using MI products about five years before he began work on his own home, and he became so impressed by MI that he never even considered another window company when it came time for his new house.
“I’ve used other brands in the past, but I just know that MI is a quality window,” says Justham, of Oxford, N.C. “The warranty is never an issue, they’re easy to install, and it’s an all-around well-built window.”
Jay Sharpe, a window salesman at Builders FirstSource, takes credit for turning Justham on to MI. In the Raleigh-Durham region of North Carolina where Sharpe is located, he often recommends MI Windows to his customers.
“I sell as many MI products as I can,” Sharpe says. “We get far and away the best service from MI.”
Modern Windows for a Modern Craftsman House
For Justham’s Craftsman windows, he decided on the 3500 single hung (now called the V2000 single hung). One of MI’s long-time top sellers, the 3500 is a vinyl window that offers builder-friendly attributes such as pre-punched mounting fin, easy material pass through, snap-in sill, extension jambs, continuous head and sill mulling, and brickmould and J-channel trim.
The attributes of this product are not only sought by contractors. With bountiful customizable options such as an array of interior and exterior colors, stylish grid types, and energy-efficient glass packages, homeowners and designers incorporate MI’s 3500 single-hung into their home designs with ease. As both the homeowner and contractor for this unique project, Justham was able to experience the many benefits this product offers.
“The 3500 is very cost-effective and maintenance free,” says Justham, who lives in the home with his wife Cheri and mother-in-law Mary. “And it opens and closes well. I’ve used other windows in the past, and from my experience, MI windows operate much smoother than other vinyl products i’ve tried.”
Home Design that Lets the Light Shine In
To ensure that he got plenty of light, Justham used 43 windows in all. And while that total includes the attached mother-in-law suite, it’s nevertheless a large number of windows for a two-bedroom home.
“We wanted to open up not just the walls, but the ceilings too,” Justham says. “I wanted to let a lot of light in the room and utilize that large wall in the vaulted spaces.”
Incorporating abundant light was easy with the narrow frame profile the 3500 window offers. Additionally, the window grids that Justham chose also maximize the amount of light that enters the home. In order to complement the Craftsman-style home, he wanted grids in a “drop” pattern, so that most of the surface area of the window would be unobstructed.
“That pattern resembles a transom,” Justham says, “so it fits well with the Craftsman style. I really like that profile. It’s a very, very appealing look.”
The End Result: A Happy Customer and Builder
Justham and his family moved into the home in the fall of 2019. It’s one of the latest additions to the growing community of Oxford, which sits in the outer suburbs of Raleigh and the famed Research Triangle.
The area is one of the fastest-growing in the country; Justham has built other homes in the region and will certainly do more. And, if the past is prologue, those new homes will have MI windows, too. “It’s the model I use in upper-end homes,” he says. “The fact that I wanted them in my personal home says a lot about them.”
Find Your Perfect Craftsman Windows from MI
Craftsman-style homes have a lot of history, but that doesn’t mean you can’t get creative. There are plenty of ways to honor traditional design while creating a more modern Craftsman house.
From operating styles to window grids, to adding energy-efficient features, a Certified MI Dealer in your area can help you evaluate your options and create the perfect design. Find a dealer in your area today. Already know what you want? Request a quote and get a no-obligation reply from a dealer near you.
