The Arts and Crafts Look

How to recreate an Arts and Crafts period look to your house; your period home needs to have its 21st century comforts, but you may like to have at least some rooms decorated and furnished in an Arts and Crafts style.

Bricks & Brass has a lot of information to help you achieve the Arts and Crafts look. Look in these sections:

Design by Style	This has an overview of Arts and Crafts style. Look also at the other styles in vogue at the same time, such as the Aesthetic movement and Queen Anne styles.
Design by Room	Visit the pages for each room and pick out the information for this period.
Design by Element	This has more detail than in Design by Style. Visit the pages for each element and pick out the information for this period.
Paint Colours	In Design by Element, this is a palette of typical Arts and Crafts colours.
DIY	This section will tell you how to do many restoration tasks yourself.
Products and Services Directory	Look for the technical advice, architectural salvage, doors, tiles, glass, baths and paints that you need.

Basic Principles

In Arts and Crafts houses, avoid bright white paint; instead use off-whites or pale creams.

All woodwork in soft woods such as pine should be grained or else painted. Hardwoods such as oak or mahogany should be varnished or polished.

Plaster and wood mouldings should be fairly simple in public rooms. Utility rooms such as kitchens do not need plaster coving.

Door furniture should be of black iron in Arts and Crafts designs of houses.

Use unfitted carpets and furniture.

Most Arts and Crafts houses would have been furnished with some mid-Victorian furniture, as well as some older items and also contemporary pieces. The more affluent owners might have hand-made pieces, but other people would have made do with mass-produced items.

Arts & Crafts room (Bradbury & Bradbury)