Craftsman Custom Homes
Honest materials and expressive woodwork a style defined by craft itself.
The Craftsman home is, by definition, a style about building well. It emerged from the Arts and Crafts movement as a deliberate celebration of handwork and honest materials, and its signature elements tapered columns on substantial piers, deep porches, exposed rafter tails, detailed woodwork, and generous built-ins are all expressions of craft. For a builder whose own identity is rooted in craftsmanship, it is a natural and rewarding idiom.
Forest Heart Builders builds the Craftsman home in its updated Chicago-area form: cleaner and more refined than the original early-twentieth-century bungalow, scaled for contemporary family living, but holding firmly to the style’s defining commitment to expressive, well-executed woodwork. The columns, the trim, the beamed ceilings, the window seats, and the built-in cabinetry are the heart of the home and they are precisely the work the firm’s in-house millwork studio exists to do.
Defining Features
01
Tapered columns set on substantial masonry or wood piers
02
Deep, sheltering front porches as genuine living space
03
Exposed rafter tails and expressed structural detail
04
Detailed, expressive interior and exterior woodwork
05
Warm wood trim, beamed ceilings, and natural finishes
06
Generous built-in cabinetry bookcases, benches, window seats
07
Low-pitched gabled rooflines with wide eaves
08
A material honesty that runs from the structure to the smallest detail
The Material Story.
The Craftsman palette is warm and earthy: natural wood, earth-toned siding, stone or brick at the base and piers, and warm metal hardware. Interiors emphasize stained and natural wood trim, warm wall colors, and tile or stone with a handcrafted character. The materials are honest and the woodwork is the ornament.
| Element | Specification |
|---|---|
| Exterior | Wood or fiber-cement siding stone or brick piers |
| Roof | Low-pitch gables wide eaves exposed rafter tails |
| Windows | Multi-pane upper sash often grouped |
| Flooring | Warm-toned hardwood |
| Millwork | Beamed ceilings built-in cabinetry expressive trim |
40+
Across Our Service Area.
The Modern Farmhouse performs in nearly every market we serve — but it is especially at home on the larger, semi-rural lots of the Barrington area, Long Grove, Inverness, and the Fox Valley communities of St. Charles and Geneva, where the agrarian silhouette has genuine landscape to sit against.
On wooded or open-meadow lots, the steep gabled massing reads honestly; in established North Shore neighborhoods, a more restrained, painted-brick interpretation keeps the home in conversation with its neighbors.
Barrington
North Barrington
Long Grove
Inverness
Lake Forest
Highland Park
St. Charles
Geneva
Glenview
Northbrook
Building This Style with Forest Heart.
A Modern Farmhouse lives or dies on its millwork, and that is where Forest Heart Builders’ in-house millwork studio becomes the difference. The beamed great-room ceiling, the painted Shaker kitchen, the mudroom lockers, the window seats and the panelled hood are all built to the home rather than ordered to a catalog.
- Beamed ceilings and cabinetry designed to the home, not for a catalog
- Dedicated project team carries design intent from framing through finish
- Sympathetic site planning preserves mature canopy and landscape character
Frequently Asked.
What makes the Craftsman style different from other traditional styles?
The Craftsman style is defined by its celebration of handwork and honest materials. Where other traditional styles emphasize formality or symmetry, the Craftsman emphasizes expressive, well-executed woodwork tapered columns, exposed rafters, detailed trim, and built-ins as the architecture itself.
Is a modern Craftsman home different from a historic Craftsman bungalow?
Yes. The contemporary Chicago-area Craftsman is typically cleaner, more refined, and larger than the original early-twentieth-century bungalow, and it is planned for modern family living. It retains the style’s woodwork-forward character while updating its scale and layout.
Why does the Craftsman style suit a builder with an in-house millwork shop?
Because the Craftsman home is, in essence, a millwork home. Its defining elements are all woodwork, and an in-house millwork studio allows that woodwork to be designed and built specifically for the home rather than sourced from a catalog — which is the entire point of the style.
Does a Craftsman home have to feel dark or heavy?
No. While historic Craftsman interiors were often richly stained, the contemporary version frequently uses lighter finishes, painted millwork, and larger windows to keep the woodwork-rich interior bright and current while preserving the craftsmanship.