Project: Adding A Touch of Craftsman to a Boring Ranch

Our project house was built in 1969, and like most brick ranches, it didn't have any sort of architectural identity to speak of. It is after all just a brick ranch. I love mid-century houses, but I'm not above taking from another design school to dress one up. In this case, I was inspired by the loden green trim and the tan brick to create a bit of Craftsman character. The clean simple lines of ranches lend themselves well to Craftsman color schemes and design elements. I started out by adding a redwood color to the porch railing and a butter yellow to the new front door, which of course has a Craftman style window.

The hubby was so quick installing these new porch lights that I didn't even get a before photo, so imagine a faded black Colonial style sconce with the top broken off. These lights were the perfect detail to add that Craftsman charm, and it all works perfectly on this house. Every time we drive up to it, I just think how pretty it is.
Craftsman homes often use three colors next to one another on the color wheel starting with a primary and using the secondaries on either side. In this case, yellow with orange and green. The colors are then softened and "muddied" for an earthy effect. I think this is a great way to dress up any brick home--just choose the scheme that best compliments your brick!