Historic Craftsman homes for modern living

Demonstrating the utilitarian beauty of Arts and Crafts architecture, the wood wainscoting of this Highland Park stairway is finished with contrasting butterfly joinery.  (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

This Craftsman home is among several architectural styles represented in the historic Carroll Park community in Long Beach.  (Barbara Davidson / Los Angeles Times)

This Greene & Greene-designed Lucy Wheeler House is in the West Adams area of Los Angeles.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

All of the woodwork inside Don and Natalie Kick’s Craftsman house -- including a staircase and the stained glass dining room light -- is the work of Don, a graphic designer by trade.   (Mariah Tauger /Los Angeles Times)

Hollywood agent Ron Bernstein transformed the interior of his 1915 Craftsman house into a Vienna Secessionist space with major pieces by such famous designers as Josef Hoffman and Koloman Moser.  (Beatrice de Gea / Los Angeles Times)

The entryway and dining area of this 1909 Craftsman house in Pasadena features Arts and Crafts furniture.   (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Golden hour in a light-filled Craftsman.   (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

A prairie sofa is one of many Arts and Crafts furnishings in this Pasadena Craftsman.   (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

An American Craftsman house in Pasadena with a touch of Swiss chalet style was built by the firm behind Grauman’s Chinese Theatre.  (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

The living room of the George and Anna Marston House in San Diego was completed in 1905.  (Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The living room of Hillary Danner’s 1904 Liddell “La Boheme” House in Highland Park glows with vintage charm, and Christmas tree lights.  (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

The Gamble House in Pasadena, a Craftsman masterpiece, was designed in 1908 by architects Greene & Greene.   (Francine Orr / Los Angeles Times)

Annette Gutierrez lined the stairs to her 1908 Craftsman with potted plants, including tall electric pink cordylines. Next to them she planted black agonis peppermint trees, and in the foreground, aeonium succulents in pots.   (Bethany Mollenkof / Los Angeles Times)

Designed by architect H.M. Patterson in 1909, the J.B. Merrill House, as it is called, was declared a city of Los Angeles Historic Cultural Monument in 1990.   (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)

Architect Rick Corsini designed a new, modern art studio at right to complement the existing 1909 Craftsman main house in Mt. Washington.   (Kirk McKoy / Los Angeles Times)