The Craftsman
Movement
The Craftsman
Movement (also known as the American Arts & Crafts Movement) emerged in the early 20th century in the U.S. as an outgrowth of the English Arts
and Crafts Movement. Its hallmark is a philosophy of honest, simple design
expressed in hand-made creations by skilled craftsmen. Long roof-lines, with
exposed rafters are the home styles marker, along with tapered piers that
support the long front porch so common with Craftsman home designs. Although
many of these front porch designs feature hallmark wood construction, many have also
been crafted with stone and brick accents and a low profile of natural
materials giving the home style an organic feel. Inside Craftsman floor
plans have few walkways and the family rooms and kitchen flow from one to the
other with a high level of detail focused on functionality along with
built-in cabinetry.
If you are the owner
of an historic Craftsman home, you appreciate that elements of its original
character cannot be duplicated in a newly built house. There is a sense of
continuity, a respect for the past, and an admiration of old-world
craftsmanship that comes from owning an historic home. On the other hand, an historical home’s scale is often smaller than the modern norm, especially in areas that families use most, such as the kitchen and bathrooms. This is NOT the case in this pristine circa 1928 Craftsman home at 204 S Shaver Street in Salisbury North Carolina. This over 2000 square foot home, (not including over 200 square feet of finished unheated attic space) with 4 bedrooms and two full baths, offers space galore for any family or professional who works from home.
This is the most authentic
(4) bedroom/(2) bath 1928 craftsman bungalow we have seen in
some time, and is beautifully maintenance free, newly painted, and in gleaming
condition!
Originally built in
1928 as a brick duplex in the Arts and Crafts style in the historic Brooklyn South Square District of Salisbury NC, this solid home is now converted to single family dwelling ~ yet its keeps its distinct separate living areas and historic character. The current owner, a
professional visual artist, renovated the home to a single dwelling with artist
studios on one side, and living quarters on the other, while maintaining the original
smooth flow and character of the Arts & Crafts home design. The remodel
created private living spaces in one half, enabling the artist to leave her
work in the studio part of the duplex and return with ease to the more private living,
entertaining, and sleeping quarters in the home. There is a choice, in other
words. Not living in the middle of one’s work seems a key way to manage the
stress of today.
All the right things
have been done to make this as close to zero maintenance as possible. The home
features hardwood & tile floors throughout that are in immaculate condition. Since the fireplace and hearth were so important to the center of the Craftsman home and family, it received special attention. Often made of brick, tile, or rustic river stone, the fireplace with simply constructed mantelpiece might often be framed by symmetric bookshelves or even built-in benches. The fireplaces at 204 S Shaver Street are in keeping with the Craftsman philosophy, and gas logs heat the 24’ x 12’ great room fireplace. You will find built-in shelving and cabinetry, also a Craftsman trait, throughout this historic home. This bungalow features new wood replacement windows, in keeping with the historic character of the home, but providing energy efficiency. The conditioned crawl space provides better performance than vented crawl spaces in terms
of safety and health (pest control), comfort (warm floors, uniform temperatures),
durability (moisture) and energy consumption (vented crawl spaces experience
serious moisture and mold problems that can cost homeowners significant
resources to repair).
This
Craftsman bungalow has been outfitted with a gas tankless water heater, which
uses high-powered burners to quickly heat water as it runs through a heat
exchanger, and is 22 percent more energy efficient on average than the
gas-fired storage-tank water heaters. This historic home is outfitted with a security system.
In true Arts &
Crafts style, the home has a connection with the landscape. With the amazing
flow of the home, the kitchen leads to the breakfast area, which in turn leads
to a large deck at the rear of the home, overlooking an artistically designed,
maintenance free garden and landscape. Outside, the xeriscape gardens are meticulously
landscaped, again with low maintenance and energy efficiency in mind. Xeriscape
landscapes and xerogardening are defined as “quality landscaping that conserves
water and protects the environment”, referring to landscaping and gardening in
ways that reduce or eliminate the need for supplemental water from irrigation.
There is virtually no lawn to mow at 204 S Shaver Street.
The artist designed the gardens, nominated for the City of Salisbury’s Landscape of the Month Award in 2012, with low-water consumption perennial plantings, river rock, and stone mulch, creating an oasis of beautiful and smoothly transitioning gardens along the front of the home, up the wrap~around driveway, and along the back perimeter of the property and 2-car garage ~ flowing down the south side of the house resplendent with smooth river rock, canna lilies, and other perennials.
This historic 1928
Craftsman Bungalow at 204 S. Shaver Street could easily be converted back to duplex. It features (2) separate HVAC units for each half of the home. There are two separate front porches and
front entries, each with its hand-crafted front door, true to the Arts & Crafts style. The design flow includes (4) bedrooms, two on each half of the
home. Currently, the Master Bedroom in the north suite of the home uses that 2nd bedroom as a walk-in closet system. The current owner utilized the 2nd kitchen area and living room as studio space.
A large finished attic, with its notable eyebrow window, is located in the wood-paneled, ½ story upstairs that is unheated and not included in the overall square footage. This enormous, tiled-floor, space is outfitted with more built-in storage and (2) closets. This large 26' x 9' space can be used as a fifth bedroom.
Craftsman Architecture Historical
Background
The Arts &
Crafts Movement, (dating from the 1880's in England), fomented artistic
revolutions across Europe and America: Art Nouveau in France; The Secession in
Vienna; Style Moderne in Russia; Gaudi in Spain; Jugenstil in Germany; Mission –style
furniture; and Craftsman Architecture of Gustav Stickley in New York. The
American form followed the blocky stylization of the English more than the sensual
style of the continental Art Nouveau.
Craftsman
Style
When you walk into a Craftsman Bungalow,
you’ll find the openness of the rooms, the sense of space, and the rustic or bold-square styling are
characteristic of these beautiful free-flowing homes ~ completely different
from that of the Victorian houses of the late 1800’s-early 1910's. The Victorian
excesses included highly stylistic ornamentation and gingerbread trim, blending
an ornate mish-mash of patterns and style. The primary inspiration for the
Craftsman style was to look to nature, local materials, local or native
building traditions, and to design and construct after the manner of honest
craft traditions using iron and copper blacksmithing, pottery, coarse weaving,
and rough-hewn materials.
The Craftsman
Bungalow style layout emphasizes the horizontal, rather than multiple
stories, with focus on family living ~ with the fireplace or the hearth becoming
the family center to a degree that was almost mythical.
The Craftsman home is typically one to one-and-a-half stories, with a long sloping roof-line and a wide, sheltering overhang that makes the house appear to nestle into the earth. The porch is often wide enough to feel like an outside room. The woodwork was often heavy and dark, but is usually square or simple rather than ornately built-up in layers or with gingerbread and spindles as in Victorian times. Some versions of the Craftsman Bungalow have beamed ceilings, wainscoting, many built-ins, hand wrought iron or dark-patina brass hardware, and cozy warm-hued lanterns hanging from ceiling woodwork or as sconces along porch or hallway walls.
Master architects of
the Arts & Crafts period include Gustav Stickley, who was the
premier design maven of the period, Frank Lloyd Wright, who deserves his own
category, and Bernard Maybeck and Greene & Greene, who built many Craftsman
houses in California. These architects designed the interior furniture as well
as the house in order to create a unified design. The mission furniture of
Gustav Stickley, while flat and angular by itself, completes the design of a Craftsman Bungalow at a human scale.
World War I brought to an end the positivism and the
philosophical themes of the Arts & Crafts era, although houses continued to
be built in that style, with improved building techniques so that Craftsman
style bungalows from the later period are well built and have better foundations and basements.
The Remodeled Historic Home
Any remodel in a historical home should appear natural and historically accurate. The successful whole home remodel of a historic home honors its essential character, while adding new spirit and modern convenience. The reconfiguring of the Craftsman Bungalow at 204 S. Shaver Street from its original duplex construction to a single family dwelling was performed with respect to the house and its history ― historically accurate, and tying to the home's essential character. The open-flow design and smooth room transitions of this historic home work for today’s life styles with respect for the authenticity of yester~years.
Call Greg Rapp, Salisbury
Realtor & Historic Home Expert
Greg Rapp, one of
Salisbury North Carolina’s historic home professionals, has a passion and
respect for old houses. Greg says, "Homes, cars, antiques...anything with age possesses a sense of security. An older house feels like a safe place to call home. And the quality construction and character cannot be matched in newer homes." To see the authentic 1928 Craftsman bungalow at 204 S. Shaver Street for yourself…and the possibilities it presents for living, working, or an extra income (if restored to its original duplex character), call Greg at 704.213.6846. The ease of maintenance combined with its beauty and character create a a unique and affordable ($129,900) opportunity
to make this immaculate, pristine, and special Arts & Crafts home your own.
Circa 1928 Craftsman Bungalow ~ 204 S. Shaver Street ~ $129,900
SOLD! 
Most importantly ~ note the price tags! $182,000??? $750,000??? OUCH! 
