Like a piece of Stickley furniture, a Craftsman Home has refinement of design and quality of construction and finish. It is often site related and placed to advantage using the site. As with Stickley's furniture, the house designs rely on exposed structural elements for decorative details. The variety of natural materials provide textures for light to play on. Voids, in the form of recessed porches and entrance ways, and terraces and pergolas, create visual interest.
Interiors emphasize form and function.
Space is conservatively and creatively used for living, with design elements utilizing wood and built-in spaces such as inglenooks, benches and cabinets. Light fixtures and hardware relate as design elements. This philosophy and these decorative details were expensive to execute. Consequently, although the homes were idealistically conceived for the masses, they were built primarily by the middle class. The middle class used Stickley's Craftsman Home plans, which they modified to suit their tastes and requirements and had built by local builders.