Following the acquisition of California from Mexico, and Statehood in 1850, Americans emigrated to Southern California, and were intrigued with the ruins of the Spanish Missions they found.  To them, these forgotten monuments were tokens of the former Spanish Empire that once ruled the area, and therefore served as a link to the grand cathedrals and rich architectural traditions of the European mainland.

The design team at Home Front Build & CarbonShack has put together our predictions for hot & sustainable design trends for your home in 2023

Both styles are inspired by Spanish architectural traditions but have their own unique characteristics. Understanding the differences between Spanish Colonial and Mission Revival architecture is not only fascinating but also helps us appreciate the beauty of these styles.

Victorian architecture is an ornate style now dismissed as decorative excess, but this period is actually about the democratization of home building and interior design.  Queen Victoria was the British monarch from 1837 to 1901.  Her name is associated with this period of design not for anything she did, but for the fact the period paralleling her reign was one of significant industrial, scientific, and social change.  The industrial revolution allowed for the mass production of goods at a lower cost so suddenly everyone could afford architectural detail, furniture, fabrics, wallpaper, ornament and more; products that were previously only available to the robber barons and those with wealth.  And, admittedly, the masses went crazy. 

On the heels of the Victorian came the Craftsman Style, with its reverence for all things handmade.  The Craftsman period is better thought of as a rejection of the societal damage and disruptions caused by the industrial revolution.  The movement emphasized natural materials and basic forms, tossing aside excessive ornamentation, and elevating human creation and the natural over the mass-manufactured. 

Thanks to Guad Flores for his master’s thesis, which entailed observing the deconstruction and preservation work we do at CarbonShack (the sister company of Home Front Build), and for helping to contextualize the topic of deconstruction within the heritage community. Salvage-focused deconstruction is indeed appropriate, and not at all a dirty word. Not all buildings built before a certain age can, or should, be preserved - but their construction materials can be, especially those that have not been identified as a contributing historic resource.