Craftsman Style Interior – The Stair Apprentice part 3

Now we wanted to add a personal touch to our craftsman style home and began to inlay tiny pieces of walnut, hand cut into the shape of oak leaves, onto a few of the lower treads and around the newel post. The inspiration for the inlaid leaves was for them to feel as if they had “fallen” from the oak branch design on the lantern hanging over the stairs. Here’s what they looked like before we stained our stairway. Notice how the grain of the walnut gives the feeling of veins on the leaves…neat huh?

Now the Greene & Greene inspired lantern was where the real creative collaboration began. Since buying a craftsman style light fixture like the one I wanted would totally blow the lighting budget, and since I already had experience with stained glass, (at least I did in 1978…) my cabinetmaker suggested that he and I could build the lantern frame together as a sort of a wood shop class/birthday present for me. Oh yeah! As an artist who enjoys the challenge of creating in different mediums, I took to it like a duck to water. Did you know that different species of wood have different smells..? Sorry I digress. We had such a blast making the lantern frame, that Pete encouraged me to stay involved, learn more about the woodworking craft, and continue with the designing and building the stairs. I would be The Apprentice. Oh – and best part? I was the client so I couldn’t be fired!

 

Craftsman Style Interiors – The Stairway Apprentice, part 2

We created our Greene and Greene interpretation in quarter-sawn white oak. Each piece of wood was laboriously hand selected for its grain and “flake” pattern, every tread carefully grain matched. We were into it. We got a little crazy – maybe even obsessed. This was our masterpiece, our very own craftsman style stairs. We tortured ourselves trying to break the code – to figure out how to make the alternating widths of intertwining mortise and tenon railings into the pattern we had only seen in photographs. It was a jigsaw puzzle!

 

Craftsman Style Interiors – The Stairway Apprentice

Looking for the Stairway to Heaven? Pardon my immodesty, but I think it’s the one in my Craftsman Bungalow. The chance to become involved in creating it came as a surprise when I was working with my cabinetmaker Pete Thomsen of Pacific Valley Woodsmith on other details in the building of our California Craftsman. I really can’t take much of the credit – it was inspired by the railings in the Blacker House, built by Greene and Greene.

This photograph taken by Linda Svendsen is featured in the book “Along Bungalow Lines” by Paul Duchscherer. It was a huge honor to have our bungalow featured in his book. Many amazing craftsman style homes are shown in this and other publications by Paul Duchscherer, and all of them are wonderful sources of inspiration and ideas.

Our goal was to be inspired by the masters, but to use lighter materials. To reinterpret the staircase with our own uniqueness and creativity, and make it our own.

 

Craftsman Style Light Fixtures – What I’ve Learned About Lighting

It’s very easy to underestimate the impact that lighting will have on Craftsman Style Homes. Using Arts and Crafts lighting fixtures in the right way will add tremendous “mood” and impart a bit of drama to your home that your visitor can’t quite put their finger on. Yes, period Arts and Crafts lighting is very expensive and out of reach for many people, but you don’t have to let that stop you. Take your time, spend a bit here, save a little there, be creative, and you will be surprised what you can accomplish.
What I did in my home was a mix… since it was new construction, I allowed for the usual pot lights recessed in the ceilings and put all of them on dimmers. In the kitchen over the island, I chose pendants with very simple clear shades. But to me where it really counted was what I call the “art glass”. Here I combined reproduction craftsman light fixtures with mid range antiques I collected over time. A huge reproduction Tiffany dragonfly lamp reigns over the piano, reminding me of a memorable trip to New York City with a dear friend. I’ve added a couple of Heintz Art Metal pieces to the great room and a table lamp with a reverse painted shade I picked up an an antiques show. That’s where the bigger money went. To those pieces I introduced quality reproduction craftsman light fixtures to the mix, and I even made a stained glass lantern for over the stairway when there wasn’t enough in the lighting budget for the one I’d wanted.

In my constant search for the unique and undiscovered, I’ve recently found an artist who makes incredible blown glass shades. He even forges the chains and bases used in on his pieces. I only wish I’d found him earlier. His scale is generous and prices reasonable for the exquisite quality he produces. I’d use his pendants over a dining room table, and one or two of his cathedral lamps on a fireplace mantel. Hand crafted artisan lighting is really a great way to add quality to your home, giving the richness of an antique at the fraction of the cost.

Remember to balance overhead lighting with pendants, table lamps, candlesticks and votives to create flattering light from many angles in the room. Mixing lighting fixtures by using various shapes and styles within the movement adds impact to any room.

My favorite way to enjoy the mood in my home at night, especially when entertaining, is to turn off all the overhead lighting, and just keep the art glass pieces illuminated. Oh yeah…there’s that drama again.