Many believe that life is cyclical. Styles, trends and, of course, history repeats itself. (Go-go boots, grandmother’s silver pattern, revolutions...you get the picture.) And building styles are no exception. As fads come and go, one thing that has never gone out of style is the idea of home and the sense of nostalgia it invokes. Although the term refers to a house, it also symbolizes a community—a sense of belonging—so it is no wonder that homes that not only remind people of simpler times but are also designed to foster a sense of community, as Craftsman-style homes do, are coming back into fashion.

“Buyers like the look of yesteryear and feel a sense of community with these types of homes,” says Beth Ann Clanin, a realtor with Bo Bridgeport Brokers. With wide front porches and welcoming—classically American—facades, Craftsman-style houses embody what many people look for in a home. Steve Brock, president of Brock Built City Neighborhoods, agrees. “Craftsman style is warm and friendly. It encourages outdoor activity with its front porches and inviting architectural features,” he says.

The features that characterize the Craftsman style date back to the English Arts and Crafts movement of the 1880s. Celebrating handicrafts and encouraging the use of simple forms and natural materials, this movement later spawned an early-20th-century American homebuilding trend. Both the function and the appearance of houses exemplified the Arts and Crafts ideals—the result was a marked departure from the Victorian homes then dotting the American landscape. These homes, often bungalows, came to be described as Craftsman, a name culled from the title of a popular magazine. And while a Craftsman home did fit a certain pattern published in the magazine originally, the term soon came to refer to any house generally expressing the Arts and Crafts ideals.

Each Craftsman-style home is distinct, but in various ways, each incorporates natural materials and evinces pride in form and handiwork. These homes are detail-oriented, with simple lines and earthtone colors. Materials such as stone, rough-hewn wood and stucco are seen on many Craftsman houses, and low-pitched roofs, wide eaves and triangular brackets, porches with square or round columns, numerous windows and beamed ceilings, as well as dark wood wainscoting and moldings are all features of the Craftsman style. Hallmarks of the floorplan include an open layout and few hallways.