Throughout the Puget Sound area and Seattle itself, the Craftsman architecture style is one of the most common for single-family homes. But while they may seem straightforward at first glance, Craftsman houses require a certain finesse when it comes to entry doors. Because this architecture style is so specific, it is easier than you might anticipate to make a design choice that rings false. And this is especially true for mass-produced doors, since so much of what makes a Craftsman home authentically Craftsman is the use of real, genuine materials and handcrafted techniques. In this design guide, you will learn the hallmarks of the Craftsman home, how to choose an entry door design that fits in, what materials are best, and how to avoid common design mistakes.
The StyleWhat Is Craftsman Design?
Craftsman, also occasionally called Mission, refers to an architectural style that originates from a larger artistic and design movement known as the Arts and Crafts movement. The Arts and Crafts movement came about in the late Victorian period in England as a response to the waste and ugliness of the Industrial Revolution. Arts and Crafts designers wanted to raise the standards of decorative design because they believed that industrialization had destroyed the beauty of the built environment and the dignity of the craftsman and artisan. Instead of the division of labor common to industrial fabrication, the Arts and Crafts movement sought to restore specialization and creative autonomy to the work of the craftsman.
The influences for this movement were culturally diverse, ranging from the Gothic architecture of medieval England to the exposed wood joinery commonly found in Japan. Important figures who were part of the movement or inspired by it include textile designer William Morris, glass designer Louis Comfort Tiffany, and architects Greene & Greene and Frank Lloyd Wright.
In the context of residential design, a Craftsman style home has several defining features:
- Deep front porches with columns
- Low pitched roofs with wide eave overhangs
- Windows with stained glass
- Natural and locally-sourced materials: wood, stone, bronze, copper, brick, ceramics, and textiles
- Tapestries and hand-drawn wallpapers
- Articulated woodwork
- Dougong-style interlocking wood brackets and cloud lifts
- Exposed beams
- Built-in furniture like bookshelves and cabinets
- Open floor plans
- Fireplaces as center of gathering spaces
You won't find every feature listed above in every Arts and Crafts home, but the porch and roof design and use of natural materials tends to be common throughout neighborhoods in Seattle. For other common architectural styles in the Pacific Northwest, read our complete guide to PNW door design.
Why Is Craftsman Architecture So Popular?
The Craftsman look has enduring appeal because it blends down-to-earth practicality with an appreciation for how things look and feel. Oftentimes, modern or contemporary spaces are so minimalist that they end up feeling sterile, or cold. They might be built with utility and efficiency in mind, but that is all they have in mind. They don't account for the fact that most of us want homes that feel comforting, and that requires a little bit of ornamentation. Crown moulding to soften the edges of a space, furniture edges that are corbeled or eased, botanical or floral motifs, and real materials with texture.
With its emphasis on natural materials and subtle levels of ornamentation, the Craftsman style home has the warmth and comfort we want. At the same time, the thoughtful floor plans, built-in cabinets, and efficient use of space make this style compatible with how most families actually live. You don't have to worry about empty space that needs filling, or needing a lot of storage furniture.
Craftsman homes have character. And in an era of mass production, character is hard to find. But whenever you see it, it's unmistakable.
Craftsman and Mission Door Features
The typical Craftsman front door is made with mortise-and-tenon joinery, with clearly defined rails, stiles, and panels. An ultra-modern plank style door is not going to look right here. The preference for rail-and-stile doors is in keeping with the return to traditional crafts that's so important in this design movement.
The other key feature of a Craftsman door is that it usually features glass panels on the upper quarter of the door itself. The most common variation of this is a triple light glass panel, meaning it has three glass pieces, evenly divided by wood pieces called mullions. But double or single panel glass is also common. Occasionally you'll see a specialty door like a round-top door or a Dutch door on a Craftsman home. But one door type you're not likely to see is a pivot door. (It's just too modern in sensibility.)
Our PicksRecommended Door Designs for Craftsman Homes in Seattle
01Savona Triple Light Door
Shown in Sapele Mahogany
The Savona Triple Light Door is our most popular Craftsman style door. With three divided glass lights and two elegant vertical panels, it's a door that will look good forever.
02Mulholland Cross Window Entry Door
Shown in Plain Sawn White Oak
The Mulholland Cross Window Entry Door is a simpler variation on the classic Craftsman formula.
03Mariposa Craftsman T-Window Exterior Door
Shown in Black Walnut
Simplest of all, the Mariposa Craftsman T-Window Exterior Door has just one glass panel at the top of the door with two vertical panels. This design is great if you have a lot of other ornamentation on your home facade (like stained glass windows, cloud lifts, or other woodwork) and you want to balance it with something simpler.
04Polaris Round Top Door
Shown in Cherry
If you want something a bit different, we love the Polaris Round Top Door for a bungalow. With four divided glass lights and a tongue and groove panel, it offers a hint of whimsy and is perfectly aligned with the practical-and-ornamental blend of Arts and Crafts.
05Craftsman T Window Dutch Door
Shown in Spanish Cedar, with optional Dutch shelf
Finally, a Dutch door looks great on Craftsman homes, too. This design is our best-selling Craftsman T Window Dutch Door. It's like the Mariposa, but with two separate door leafs.
Top Five Wood Species for Craftsman Doors
Any good quality true timber wood can work here, but these are our recommendations for Craftsman style entry doors:
Sapele Mahogany
Since true mahogany (which was often used in Craftsman homes) is no longer commercially available, Sapele is the next best thing. This African hardwood has a reddish undertone with shimmering golden streaks.
Black Walnut
The premier American luxury hardwood, Black Walnut is prized for its rich chocolate brown tones. Frequently streaked with blond, and featuring knots throughout because of the tree's comparatively smaller diameter. This is our most popular wood species and it's only too easy to see why.
White Oak
Available in Plain Sawn, Quarter Sawn, or extra-rustic Knotty variants, our go-to for a wide range of styles and applications has natural water resistance as a key advantage. The neutral tawny coloration and wavy, cathedral style grain make it a perfect choice for a Craftsman bungalow door.
Spanish Cedar
This species is, confusingly, neither Spanish nor a Cedar. Common names for trees can be funny that way! But this cousin to the true mahogany boasts a softly red-toned coloration with distinctive dark grey streaks running through its straight grain.
Cherry
A premium American hardwood with a fine texture and straight grain, it darkens from pinkish red to dark red with UV exposure. But unlike most UV exposure changes on wood, this shift is highly desirable, showing the wood's long-lasting heritage.
Four Common Mistakes to Avoid on a Seattle Craftsman Home
01Putting a modern door on a Craftsman home
This qualifies as a major needle scratch. Ultra-modern plank style doors are too far out of step with the Craftsman style, which is time-bound to its era, about a hundred years ago. It's important to honor the historical context of this design movement, if you want it to look authentic.
02Ultra-modern hardware
We understand the impulse to modernize, but the Craftsman look is not as flexible as other architectural styles here. Fidelity to tradition is important even in the details. However, that doesn't mean you can't optimize the function of your hardware. We offer a Smart lock system from Emtek with a low-profile touchpad and classic handle shape, with twelve interior knob design options.
03Choosing a standard big-box mass produced door
Of all the mistakes you could make, this one is the most consequential. A Craftsman home carries the energy of handcrafted construction and genuine materials. So a standard fiberglass entry door will ring hollow when surrounded by features like stone masonry or real hardwood floors. Your entry door should be made from solid wood. Anything synthetic will come across as flimsy. Plus, since Craftsman bungalows often have such deep roof overhangs over the porch, this means a wood entry door is extremely well protected from the elements.
04Fake leaded glass
A lot of "leaded glass" these days uses tape or other cheap substitutions to create the look of leaded glass. However, authentic leaded glass was often used in Craftsman doors, windows, and other applications. Since the aesthetic is so clearly about the use of genuine materials, false leaded glass will seem obviously out of place. It's also understandable if you don't want to use the real thing. While leaded glass does not have the same health risks as lead paint, it is still a toxic substance. So if you're not going to use real leaded glass, we say, don't try imitating it.
Built to Order in Gig Harbor, Washington
Shop our complete front entry door collection to discover dozens of classic designs. Each one is built to order with 100% true timber solid wood by a small team of expert artisans. In our own way, RealCraft is carrying on the Arts and Crafts tradition, with our commitment to real materials and designs that look good and last for generations. Best of all, we do it just a stone's throw from Seattle.
Shop Entry Doors Visit Our Showroom
Leave a comment (all fields required)