•'I'.irV^iV li" i\ 
 
CORNELL 
 UNIVERSITY 
 
 COLLEGE OF 
 
 ARCHITECTURE 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
Cornell University Library 
 N A 7205.081 
 
 Country homes and gardens of moderate co 
 
 3 1924 015 414 463 
 
 Date Due 
 
"« 
 
 Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of this book is in 
 the Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924015414463 
 
Country Homes and Gardens 
 of Moderate Cost 
 
Country Homes and Gardens 
 of Moderate Cost 
 
 TWO HUNDRED ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 '■J 
 
 Plans and Photographs of Houses 
 and Gardens costing from $800 to 
 $6,000 from designs by well-known 
 architects. With practical discussions 
 on the building and furnishing of 
 the home by authoritative writers. 
 
 Edited by 
 
 CHARLES FRANCIS OSBORNE 
 
 Professor in the School of Architecture, University of Pennsylvania 
 
 m 
 
 THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY, PUBLISHERS 
 
 PHILADELPHIA 
 
-if ) -5 
 
 
 COPYRIGHT, 1907 
 BY 
 
 THE JOHN C. WINSTON COMPANY 
 
Table of Contents 
 
 Chapter I. 
 
 Choosing a Site for the House 
 
 By the Editor 7 
 
 Chapter II. 
 
 Choosing a Style for the House 
 
 By Frank Miles Day, President of the American Institute of 
 Architects. With Illustrations 21 
 
 Chapter III. 
 
 Choosing Simple Materials for the House 
 
 By William L. Price. With Illustrations 33 
 
 Chapter IV. 
 
 Fireproofing the House 
 
 By Emile G. Perrot. With Illustrations 4.9 
 
 Chapter V. 
 
 The Interior Finish and Furnishing of the Small House 
 
 By Margaret Greenleaf. With Illustrations 67 
 
 Chapter VI. 
 
 Planting about the Home 
 
 By W. C. Egan. With Illustrations 92 
 
 Chapter VII. 
 
 The Small Garden 
 
 By John W. Hall loi 
 
 Chapter VIII. 
 
 What Six Thousand Dollars Will Do 
 
 By W. P. R. Pember. With Illustrations 104 
 
 Chapter IX. 
 
 Some Hints on Wall Decoration 
 
 By Leila Mechlin jq- 
 
m I 
 
I] 
 
 List of Illustrations with Brief Descriptive Text 
 
 Exteriors, Interiors and Plans of Small Houses 
 and Plans of Gardens 
 
 A Suburban House at Wyoming, N. j. 
 
 J. W. Dow, Architect i 
 
 A Cottage at Wyoming, N. J. 
 
 J. W. Dow, Architect 2 
 
 A House for Eight Hundred Dollars 4 
 
 A Simply Furnished Farmhouse in Montgomery County, Pa 12 
 
 Swarthmore Lodge, Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania 
 
 Charles Barton Keen and Frank Mead, Architects 15 
 
 A House on a Twenty-five Foot Lot 
 
 Lawrence Visscher Boyd, Architect 30 
 
 "Sonnenschein," Westchester, N. Y. 
 
 William H. Beers, Architect 31 
 
 A Summer Home on a Farm 
 
 Sketches by Elmer Gray 42 
 
 A Suburban House in Chicago 
 
 Handy & Cady, Architects 44 
 
 A Suburban House at Germantown, Pennsylvania 
 
 Alfred Cookman Cass, Architect 45 
 
 A California Bungalow 
 
 Willis Polk, Architect 56 
 
 A Cottage Built of Stucco 59 
 
 A Dutch Colonial House 
 
 Walter P. Crabtree, Architect 64 
 
 Two Small Houses 
 
 Seymour E. Locke and Charles E. Patch, Architects 65 
 
 Cottage at Brantwood, Short Hills, N. J. 
 
 Rossiter & Wright, Architects 66 
 
 Seacoast Bungalows 77 
 
 "Aubrey," Whitemarsh, Pennsylvania 
 
 Cope & Stewardson, Architects 81 
 
 Redcrest Cottage, Guilford, England 
 
 Illustrations by Wetherill P. Trout 83 
 
 Cottages at Roland Park, Baltimore, Md 85 
 
 A Long Island Garden and Cottage 
 
 Grosvenor Atterbury, Architect 07 
 
A Suburban Home 
 
 Wilson Eyre, Architect 9^ 
 
 A Dutch Colonial House 
 
 E. G. W. Dietrich, Architect io6 
 
 A New Jersey Cottage 
 
 George T. Pearson, Architect lo8 
 
 Some English Suburban Houses 
 
 H. T. Buckland & H. Farmer, Architects . 109 
 
 The Old Red Rose Inn of "Stoke Pogis," Villa Nova, Pennsylvania 113 
 
 Ornamental Hedges 
 
 J. Frankhn Meehan 119 
 
A Suburban House at Wyoming, N. J. 
 
 /. W^. Dow, Architect 
 
 A N ideally homelike, inexpensive house, built of brick and stucco, and designed in a general way on the lines of an 
 English suburban cottage. The house is finished in soft wood, and has every modern convenience, including hot 
 water heating, electricity, gas, and the most approved open plumbing. 
 
 AS SEEN FROM NEXT DOOR 
 
 The narrow end of the house not shown faces the street 
 
 Plan of the Ground Floor 
 
 Plan of the Second Floor 
 
A Cottage at Wyoming, N. J, 
 
 /. H . Dow, Architect 
 
 ..* 
 
 THE GARDEN FRONT 
 
 I HIS charmingly rural cottage is adapted for execution in any 
 -'L local stone, preferably field stone. The roof is of shingles, 
 and the exterior woodwork should be painted some dark color 
 to harmonize with the coloring of the stone used. 
 
 I 
 
 Bed Room 
 
 
 XL. 
 
 Bed Room 
 
 1^1 
 
 Sewing 
 Room 
 
 Bed Room 
 
 JUL 
 
 r:> ^ Mtchen 
 D 
 
 1 
 
 Plan of the Second Floor 
 
 Plan of the Ground Floor 
 
A Cottage at Wyoming, N. J. 
 
 Interior Views 
 
 of 
 
 The Wyoming Cottage 
 
 /. IV. Doiv. Architect 
 
 WINDOW SEAT IN THE DINING ROOM 
 
 Dillllfi 
 
 GENERAL VIEW OF THE LIVING-ROOM 
 
 THE LIVING-ROOM FIREPLACE 
 
 THE interior woodwork of this cottage is poplar. It has never been painted or treated in any way, so that the natural color remains, 
 although darkened considerably through several years. The walls are finished in old-tashioned two coat plaster with the browning 
 floated to a finish. The agreeable texture of the walls, with a peculiar soft tint derived from the color ot the sand used has not been changed, 
 and walls and the unpainted woodwork harmonize admirably. The floors are of j inch quartered oak and against this background 
 show the curtains and upholstery in a kind of neutralized green. It is this combination which gives the key to the prevailing color effects 
 through the cottage. Most of the furniture is of light colored wood. The long settle with spindle back and arms before the fireplace was 
 especially built to stand where it does. There is a simple wainscot in wood with a projecting cap to form a narrow ledge which completely 
 encircles the first story, except the kitchen. The tour-Je-jorce,\i perhaps, the bow window with its cushion seat in the dining-room. 
 
A House for Eight Hundred Dollars 
 
 THE ENTRANCE FRONT 
 
 Floor Plan 
 
 NO type of house lends itself so readily to every condition of pocket-book as 
 the bungalow. In moderate climates it adapts itself to every season 
 with very inexpensive construction, making an acceptable all-the-year-round 
 house. The accompanying illustrations show a California bungalow which was 
 built for ^800 in the Sierra Madre foot-hills. The foundation of the house has 
 posts set on blocks of cement, which are covered by planed boards nailed 
 horizontally. The upper frame work of the house is covered with boards 
 placed vertically, and the joints are covered by a narrow strip of wood. The 
 eaves of the roof project 40 mthes and the roof is shmgled. The house is not 
 plastered. The planed side of the covering boards form a substitute for inside 
 finish. Stains have been applied to these boards, producing very charming 
 effects, as the wood is handsomely grained. The ceilings are finished in the 
 same way as the side walls. The outdoor veranda or dining-room is 10 feet 
 wide and 26 feet long, and is shaded by an awning supported by a gas pipe 
 frame; the awning, however, is seldom used. The house is complete and 
 modern in every respect, having the best of plumbing throughout. Most of 
 the furniture in the house is hand-made from arts and crafts designs, and 
 corresponds admirably with the rustic interior finish. Indian blankets, with 
 muchjcolor inlthe, pillows and curtains make the ,'nterior exceedingly attractive. 
 
A House for Eight Hundred Dollars 
 
 AN OUTDOOR DINING-ROOM 
 
 AN INDOOR LIVING-ROOM 
 
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I 
 
 Choosing a Site for the House 
 
 The Editor 
 
 I HE first step in the direction of making a 
 -*- home is usually the choice of a site. Usually 
 because, unless we propose to buy a home ready 
 made and attempt the always ungrateful task of 
 adapting ourselves to it as we find it fashioned by 
 other hands and for other purposes than our own, the 
 place for the house must be decided upon before we 
 can definitely consider the house itself. This is the 
 basic principle in home building. The house and 
 its site are one and inseparable, and the former cannot 
 be judged or discussed in any terms of common sense 
 apart from the latter. Were we disposed, from lack 
 of previous consideration, to question this law, let us 
 imagine the middle house of a city block transported 
 to a country hilltop, or a residence of the suburban 
 type placed endwise toward the sea, or a small coun- 
 try cottage set down upon a city lot fifty feet square, 
 and the grosser incongruities will be instantly appar- 
 ent. But there is a finer and more intimate relation 
 between house and ground than this, in which each 
 peculiarity and characteristic of the site is taken 
 advantage of in the arrangement of the plan and the 
 treatment of the exterior, and the whole becomes so 
 welded together as to be inconceivable apart. This 
 principle is elsewhere fully illustrated in this book by 
 photographs from actual practice. To avoid con- 
 fusion, however, it will be well first to agree upon 
 a definite meaning for some half dozen words which 
 must constantly recur. 
 
 A moment's consideration leads to the conclusion 
 that houses, with respect to their site, fall of necessity 
 into definitely separated classes. The usual designa- 
 tion of such classes is city, suburban, rural. But in 
 dealing with the subject in that quasi-scientific spirit 
 of inquiry which is required for our purpose, we must 
 be a little more exact, and will therefore assume the 
 following classification : 
 
 I. The Urban House. The type which is most 
 characteristic of city conditions, i. e. between two 
 party walls, with free Hght and air only at front and 
 rear, or at the narrower ends of the rectangle which 
 may be supposed to represent the lot. This is the 
 most sophisticated and least hygienic of all types of 
 the home, and requires most careful study to mini- 
 
 mize these adverse conditions, as will be later pointed 
 out in detail. When we speak of city houses, there- 
 fore, we will use that term in its usual sense, indica- 
 tive of any house built within city limits, since, 
 as we shall presently see, many different types may 
 be, and are, so built. 
 
 2. The Semi-detached House. Known in Phila- 
 delphia as the side-yard house. This is an inter- 
 mediate type between the urban and the suburban. 
 It has one party wall in common with its next door 
 neighbor on one side, but is detached on the opposite 
 side, having free light and air on front, rear and one 
 of the longer sides. It is adapted to, and originated 
 in, the commercial development of city property 
 units which are too large, economically, for one whol- 
 ly detached house, and too small, physically, for two. 
 When such units are generously divided and well 
 planned with ample room between the pairs of houses, 
 this type is an excellent and economical one; but it 
 often appears, in the hands of speculative dealers, 
 as a thoroughly decadent variant of the normal type, 
 having but five or six feet between the windows of 
 adjoining pairs. 
 
 Under such conditions life becomes well-nigh in- 
 tolerable. The domestic economy of one's adjoin- 
 ing neighbor is freely displayed by sight and sound to 
 our reluctant senses, as is ours to his. This condi- 
 tion is capable of some mitigation by a careful study 
 of the window spacing in the opposite walls, but 
 hundreds of such houses display crass unconscious- 
 ness of the most elementary conditions of civiHzed 
 existence; having the windows placed precisely 
 opposite each other. Such houses are designed and 
 built by men whose previous habits of life wholly 
 unfit them for the comprehension of such matters, 
 and to whom such criticism as this would probably 
 appear absurd. 
 
 3. The Suburban House. This term is used in a 
 restricted sense to indicate the type developed in the 
 outlying portions of a city, away from the more con- 
 gested centres, where the price of land is not pro- 
 hibitive of detached houses of moderate cost. 
 Under such conditions the lot will assume somewhat 
 
8 
 
 Choosing a Site for the House 
 
 the shape of the urban lot, decidedly longer than wide 
 with the narrower frontage on the street, but with 
 free light and air on all four sides. To properly 
 develop such houses they must, as in the case of the 
 semi-detached type, not be built so close together 
 as to prove a mutual annoyance. It is usually best 
 that the house be placed well to one side of the lot 
 with a maximum southern exposure or after that, 
 an eastern. One of the narrower sides toward the 
 north is well, but western exposures, especially of 
 the longer sides ot the house, should be avoided. 
 This question of exposure, or aspect as it is technical- 
 ly termed, will be fully considered later. 
 
 4. The Seaside House. This type develops under 
 conditions of site peculiar to water-front properties, 
 notably at the seashore; but found wherever 
 similar conditions prevail along the banks of rivers 
 and lakes, or, in some special cases in purely rural 
 districts detached from bodies of water. Its charac- 
 teristics are an outlook chiefly in one direction, with 
 the point of approach either of necessity or expedien- 
 cy on the opposite side of the house. The desirabil- 
 ity of keeping the principal outlook unobstructed, as 
 regards the more important rooms, leads to a peculiar 
 type of plan in which the principal entrance and the 
 service rooms are grouped together on the same side 
 of the house, the plan as a whole tending to develop 
 as an oblong rectangle with the longer side toward 
 the sea and the front door in the back of the house, 
 if one may be pardoned such an apparently absurd 
 expression. 
 
 5. The Country House. This is the most elemen- 
 tary and unsophisticated of the several types 
 and consequently the most wholesome. It implies 
 not only full hght and air on all sides, but an outlook 
 equally apportioned between at least three of the sides 
 (though, in restricted cases, to two) with correspond- 
 ing freedom in the development of the plan. It is 
 restricted chiefly by considerations of position with 
 respect to the points of the compass. These favor- 
 able conditions obtain as a rule, and for obvious 
 reasons, in the rural districts, where land is relatively 
 easy to obtain, and in larger tracts. Hence the name 
 of the type. 
 
 The next physical condition to be considered, as 
 applicable in general terms to all sites, is the question 
 of exposure. This resolves itself into the two factors, 
 aspect and prospect, previously referred to. Aspect 
 has to do with exposure to the points of compass and, 
 hence, to generally fixed meteorological conditions, 
 such as sunshine, the coldest winds of winter, or the 
 prevailing breezes of summer. Prospect, on the other 
 hand, concerns itself with the outlook from the site, 
 the best views, and those least desirable. Aspect 
 and prospect often, therefore, present conflicting 
 
 claims, and such cases require most careful considera- 
 tion; but from our present general standpoint they 
 may be discussed separately, and aspect first. 
 
 In so vast a country as ours, with such varying 
 climates, rules devised for one locality must needs 
 be considerably modified when applied to others; 
 but speaking broadly, and for the Northern and 
 Central Atlantic seaboard and adjoining States, it 
 may be said that from the north and northwest come 
 the coldest winter winds with the minimum of sun- 
 shine, while in midsummer from the northwest come, 
 too, the level hot rays of the late afternoon sun. The 
 western aspect, on the whole, is the least desirable. 
 Hot in summer, cold in winter, rooms having that 
 outlook are the most uncomfortable in the house, 
 and the plan should usually relegate to that quarter, 
 if possible, all or most of the secondary rooms. 
 From the northeast come the early rays of the sum- 
 mer sun, rendering bedrooms facing in that direction 
 insupportable to some people whose morning sleep 
 is made impossible under such conditions. From 
 this quarter, too, come most of the all-day driving 
 rain storms and, on the North Atlantic coast the chill, 
 fog-bearing marrow-piercing winds which breed 
 New England pessimism. 
 
 Generally speaking, however, an eastern or south- 
 eastern aspect is next preferable to a northern, as the 
 morning sun of the winter months, if visible at all, 
 is a welcome visitor in every room exposed to its rays; 
 and since the morning summer sun shines from such 
 a high angle as it swings to the eastern and south- 
 eastern quarter of the sky, windows looking in that 
 direction are easily shaded, if desired. 
 
 It is universally conceded nowadays that a house 
 is, other things being equal, the more hygienic, the 
 more it is exposed to the sunshine. It is for this 
 reason, and for the further one that from that quarter 
 come the prevailing breezes of the summer months, 
 that the southern aspect is the one most eagerly to be 
 sought and secured for the home. Even if the house 
 is to be occupied the year round, the high angle of the 
 summer sun during the midday hours renders it not 
 unwelcome, for it is only as it declines westward that 
 its lowering rays combine with the pulsating heat of 
 the mid-afternoon to form an almost intolerable 
 burden upon cloudless and breezeless days. It is 
 at such an hour that rooms having only a western 
 aspect are insufferable, just as they are chill and 
 cheerless at the same hour in winter. Such are the 
 larger elements of aspect. 
 
 Prospect, concerning itself only with the outlook 
 or view, presents wholly different problems whose 
 demands are often totally opposed to the claims of 
 aspect. The principal or, sometimes, the only view 
 is toward the north or west, and the skill of the expert 
 designer is often taxed to the uttermost to save the 
 situation by producing a plan whose skilful adjust- 
 
Choosing a Site for the House 
 
 9 
 
 ment and relation of parts meets all requirements 
 adequately. Then again, and this especially in the 
 country, the house cannot justly be considered as an 
 isolated self-centred subject, but must be treated, or 
 at least dealt with on broad lines, as a detail of a 
 larger picture. Whether it shall be placed upon a 
 hilltop, or upon a spur of a lower range, or in the 
 valley, involves general considerations which could 
 be best understood by reference to specific instances. 
 The materials for the exterior of the house must also 
 be largely determined by the site, and the coloring of 
 the neighborhood if rural, or the general treatment 
 in the vicinity if urban or suburban. 
 
 Generally speaking then, both the intimate arrange- 
 ment oi the plan, and the exterior design of the home 
 are, to use a mathematical phrase, functions of the 
 site, and are absolutely indeterminable apart from it. 
 
 Real estate offered for residential purposes is sub- 
 ject to an element of value which affects in a much 
 slighter degree other unimproved properties. A 
 business man, seeking a location for a new factory 
 or warehouse, considers only transportation facilities 
 and power, and builds where he can best get his raw 
 material in and his products out at the least possible 
 cost to himself. For his purposes, one site is as good 
 as another if these primary elements of value are 
 equal. It is only the merchant who is a retailer, and 
 whose purchasers are of the more well-to-do classes 
 whom sentiment affects. Here, it is of so great 
 importance as to amount to a factor in the capital of 
 the establishment. Of three or four large depart- 
 ment stores there would seem no apparent reason why 
 one should be preeminently more successful than the 
 others, aside from the question of personal skill in 
 management, which though important, is not suf- 
 ficiently marked to account for the obvious differences 
 in success. The real reason will be seen to lie in the 
 fact that preeminent success is the good fortune of the 
 one while denied to the others purely as a question of 
 location. To the one, the best class of customers will 
 come because it lies in the shoppmg district which 
 sentiment has marked for its own, while they will not 
 go to the others, though but a block to one side of 
 the main thoroughfare of the retail district, because 
 sentiment forbids divergence from the customary 
 route of travel. 
 
 In the better residential districts sentiment, again, 
 is the absolutely controlling factor of value. Its 
 influence appears in most concentrated form in the 
 city. Here there is always some one quarter which 
 sentiment has assigned to fashion, and the acquisi- 
 tion of a building lot here is merely a question of 
 price, which includes not only the high value at 
 which the land is held, but usually involves the pur- 
 chase and destruction of an older, to make room for 
 the newer home. As this book, however, is ad- 
 dressed to the larger class of home builders to whom 
 
 the prices of such properties are prohibitive, we need 
 give them no further consideration. 
 
 While it is in the city, that this element of senti- 
 ment appears in its most controlling aspect, it is far 
 from absent even in rural residential districts, though 
 manifesting itself under a different guise. Of two 
 adjoining properties in the same desirable locality, 
 one of which we will say has a small grove of trees 
 upon it, while the other is bare, the former will often 
 be held at, and is well worth, many hundreds of 
 dollars more per acre than the latter. Yet it is a 
 purely sentimental value that attaches to the trees as 
 a pleasant adjunct to the home. Commercially, the 
 timber is not worth the cost of cutting it down and 
 carrying it away. Or it may be that one property 
 commands a much coveted view which the other does 
 not. The fact that the view is desirable gives it a 
 market value which is added to the basic value of the 
 land. In the same way land which, as farm land, 
 was bought for one hundred dollars an acre can be 
 sold readily for building purposes, even in remote 
 rural districts, at several thousand dollars an acre. 
 Yet the change in value has been brought about 
 purely by a change in sentiment. This element of 
 value is the one, above all others, which the specula- 
 tive real estate operator spends most time and money 
 to create, and is the one which, when estabUshed to 
 his liking, he is most careful to preserve intact; 
 knowing well that a breath of suspicion or the slight- 
 est suggestion of disparagement will tend to depre- 
 ciate values very quickly if his bubble has no sub- 
 stantial safeguards. 
 
 Having now considered the chief elements which 
 affect all residential sites alike, we may consider 
 specifically the choice of a site for each of the several 
 types of home successively. All residential property 
 within the limits of a city is subject to practically 
 identical conditions, and it is only in minuter details 
 that the differences between urban, semidetached, 
 or suburban houses affect a choice of site. We may 
 therefore consider city property in a general way 
 as available for either of the above types. There are 
 some locations which are fundamentally objection- 
 able for any residential use. Such, for instance, are 
 minimum grades, especially in intersecting streets. 
 These lov? spots are subject to surface flooding during 
 heavy rain-storms, when, the capacities of the neigh- 
 boring sewers being overtaxed, water is very apt to 
 back up and run in the cellar windows. This is a 
 common phenomenon during heavy summer thunder 
 showers. But there is a more permanently obnox- 
 ious condition usually indicated by these depressions 
 in street grades, and especially so when they occur 
 at street intersections, namely, the presence of an 
 underground stream which, having been covered up 
 during the filling in of the neighborhood, now flows 
 either through a sewer or by some natural under- 
 ground channel. This will be certain to break bounds 
 
10 
 
 Choosing a Site for the House 
 
 during periods of prolonged rains, and dampen or 
 even flood the adjoining cellars. All surface dirt and 
 undesirable loose matter of all kinds, moreover, 
 work down to these low spots and dry as dust, 
 making the neighborhood a thoroughly unsanitary 
 one in all weathers. 
 
 Although a corner lot is usually to be preferred, the 
 local situation should be carefully studied before a 
 choice is made. Trolley tracks on both streets are a 
 distinct element of depreciation as the bumping of 
 the wheels over the crossing is an annoyance by day 
 and a distinctly injurious adjunct by night or during 
 illness. The best place for any trolley line is in an 
 adjoining street, rather than in your own. Corners, 
 even in the best residential districts, are sometimes 
 a source ot annoyance at night if made the play- 
 ground of children from less favored but neighboring 
 streets and alleys. This aspect of affairs should be 
 studied by personal observation before a final deci- 
 sion is made. Generally, however, a corner lot is 
 desirable in that our house becomes of the semide- 
 tached type, with increased opportunities for light 
 and air, and the New York vital statistics, quoted 
 below, show that these are real and not apparent 
 advantages. There is a choice of corners, if a choice 
 can be exercised. The best corner is the north- 
 western one, especially if the longer side of the lot 
 faces south. The least desirable is the southeastern 
 comer, for reasons already pointed out. 
 
 There are too many special considerations affect- 
 ing any particular lot to make it possible to anticipate 
 all imaginable conditions, and we must therefore 
 content ourselves with an indication of the more 
 normal conditions in the property. Property on 
 sloping streets, of course, requires careful study with 
 reference to the avoidance of surface washings from 
 careless owners of adjoining properties and also of 
 adjustments of plan to grade. This latter reaches 
 its most acute stage when the grade of the lot is 
 materially higher than that of the sidewalk. Often 
 in the latter case a depressed service entrance at side 
 or rear is quite possible of attainment, as is also a 
 depressed kitchen or laundry yard, both of which 
 features lend themselves readily to the fullest develop- 
 ment of the house garden as a real source of enjoy- 
 ment. Where the lot extends through to a minor 
 street in the rear, the most favorable conditions exist, 
 of course, for the completest development of a city 
 house that is possible on any lot of relatively limited 
 extent. 
 
 The advantages of lots on streets facing public 
 parks usually far outweigh the disadvantages which 
 are the apparently inevitable accompaniment of all 
 public utility features. There is a choice of privilege 
 however, the north side being preferable to the south 
 and the west to the east. In this connection it may 
 be well to point out a fallacy that is sometimes encoun- 
 
 tered, of assuming that a room with a northern 
 exposure is cooler in summer than one with a south- 
 ern. Owing to the almost entire absence of norther- 
 ly breezes in summer in this part of the continent and 
 the prevalence, on the contrary, of southerly airs, 
 together with the high angle of the sun's rays in that 
 quarter of the heavens, the latter room is cool and 
 pleasant in summer and, of course, far more agreeable 
 in winter, owing to the absence of southerly winds, 
 especially during extreme low temperatures, the low 
 angle of the sun and the additional fact that the sun 
 is more likely to shine in winter while in the south, 
 than earlier or later in the day. 
 
 Made ground is especially to be avoided, both on 
 account of the deformations, which are certain to 
 ensue in structures built upon it, as well as because of 
 the usually unsanitary nature of the filling material. 
 If inquiry does not suffice to elicit it, observation of 
 surrounding grades and of adjacent buildings will 
 usually suffice. Cracks in walls, especially about 
 door and window openings, if common in the neigh- 
 borhood, are a certain indication. A comparison of 
 street and rear yard grades is also useful. As for 
 filling material, good earth is seldom available in 
 sufficient quantities and any substitute is usually 
 accepted. In a recent case, a combination of half- 
 burned unbound book sheets from a neighboring 
 printing house fire and broken masses of asphalt 
 concrete from street repairs, smoothed over with a 
 top dressing of clean earth, formed a mixture upon 
 which a row of smart three-story brick dwellings 
 has been erected by a speculative builder. Far 
 oftener the filling material is of the most unsanitary 
 description, as the most casual observation would 
 suffice to show. 
 
 Vital statistics show that the north side of an east- 
 west street is distinctly more healthful than the south 
 side, which latter is altogether the most unfavorable 
 position for an urban house, hygienically. North- 
 south streets are more healthful than those at right 
 angles and, if the New York statistics are to be be- 
 lieved, houses in the middle of any block are less 
 wholesome than those at or near the corners. This 
 is what might have been expected from a priori 
 considerations. 
 
 It is perhaps a counsel of perfection to advise the 
 purchase, with the site for any city house, of the two 
 adjoining lots at the same time. But if one is looking 
 for investment, as well as a home, much is gained by 
 such an arrangement. We can, in the first place, 
 so plan all three houses simultaneously that the 
 desagrements of urban life may be reduced to a mini- 
 mum so far as they are derived from awkward 
 proximities of overlooking windows and doorways, 
 but also by exercising at least the right of veto in the 
 selection of our neighbors; which latter can be done 
 better, of course, incognito, through an agent. 
 
Choosing a Site for the House 
 
 11 
 
 The general question of desirability for residential 
 purposes of any locality, unless it be a new one, will 
 generally have been already determined; but it is 
 well to look into the matter a little in any event. 
 New influences may be at work leading to a deteriora- 
 tion in values. One should be suspicious of many 
 signs displayed of a desire to rent or sell. Sometimes 
 a detrimental element only operates during certain 
 conditions of wind or weather, which may determine 
 the deflection at such times of smoke or objectionable 
 odors or sounds in the direction of the property 
 under consideration. 
 
 As one passes the confines of the city to the larger 
 country beyond, it becomes not so much a search for a 
 preconceived site (though this is always possible 
 within somewhat wide limits), as a determination of 
 the best way to utilize a given site. There are, 
 certainly, obvious disadvantages in sites placed in 
 damp hollows, or close to dusty highways, or on 
 extremest hilltops, or cut out of a vast unshaded 
 plateau; yet there is scarcely a conceivable site m the 
 countr}' short of one rendered inadmissible by unsan- 
 itary conditions, that skill and experience cannot 
 redeem, however unpromising or barren, or spoiled 
 by unskilled treatment. In fact, in the country, 
 strategy may be said to be the fundamental element 
 of success in dealing with a chosen site. To one who 
 thoroughly loves the country it seems impossible to 
 choose an absolutely unavailable spot. 
 
 Existing buildings can be altered and reformed, 
 and nature's myriad aspects cleverly adjusted to our 
 particular needs. There seem but three inadmissible 
 mistakes that can be made. First, building on a 
 swampy site; second, building in the midst of a grove 
 of trees; third, building on a site devoid of trees — • 
 though this last is a relatively venial ofi^ense which 
 can be remedied in time. If one were to imagine an 
 ideal site in the country for a house and establish- 
 ment, of moderate expense, it would take the form of 
 a ten to twenty-acre tract with its narrower side along 
 the southwesterly or southerly edge of a well-kept 
 highway sloping from the highway irregularly south- 
 ward to a meadow and rivulet, partly wooded, with 
 an outlook in the middle and farther distances as 
 fancy dictates. But such imaginings are vain, not 
 because the reality is unattainable, but because of the 
 protean shapes the desirable site may assume. 
 
 In fact, there is but one way to deal in detail with 
 the subject practically, and that is by an examination 
 and explanation of actual examples photographed 
 
 upon our pages, and that we will do; contenting 
 ourselves meanwhile with a few concluding observa- 
 tions of a more general nature. 
 
 Hitherto the onward march of improvement from 
 urban to rural districts has been relatively slow and 
 long before the country place has been overwhelmed 
 its fate has been foreseen. But now, the rapid devel- 
 opment of trolley lines, pushing out in all directions 
 from the city over private rights of way, acquired 
 under the power of eminent domain, through the 
 most sequestered nooks and corners of the country- 
 side, add a new terror to rural life. 
 
 No one apparently is safe, nor is any topographical 
 position impregnable, and while we survey our home- 
 stead, secure in possession and planning new beauties 
 to be added to its charms, a real estate syndicate in 
 the city is preparing a map in which it is cut up into 
 rectangular lots alongside a trolley hne and in the end 
 resistance proves useless. Such at least has been the 
 practical result in some recent cases. 
 
 In considering a place for the house, consider also 
 the garden, and do not determine the one without 
 the other; and in placing the garden let it be for your 
 own, rather than the general public's delight, if the 
 choice is forced upon you. Let it be where the 
 intimate family rooms will look out upon it, rather 
 than the more public ones, if both cannot. Take 
 such advantage as you may of tree clumps and let 
 your house be so placed with reference to them as to 
 shield the western and northern sides, rather than the 
 eastern, and especially not the southern. Planting 
 out, and the location of roads and paths, and other 
 details belong to another field of design and cannot 
 be considered here. 
 
 Sites for houses of the marine type are also some- 
 what elastic in their requirements, but not nearly so 
 much so as are rural ones, owing to the paramount 
 importance of preserving to its fullest extent the sea 
 view and making it available for the maximum num- 
 ber of windows and verandas. As has already been 
 explained, this, in the majority of instances, results 
 in a longish parallelogrammic plan (with the service 
 wing twisted slightly back, out of the way of the sea- 
 ward view), having both the principal and service 
 entrances on the landward rather than on the sea- 
 ward side. 
 
 But it will hardly be profitable to generalize about 
 unknown sites for the home at further length, and the 
 following pages will afford abundant examples of 
 definite sites definitely and adequately treated. 
 
A Simply Furnished Farmhouse 
 
 In Montgomery County, Pa. 
 
 THERE are hundreds 
 of farmhouses like 
 this one scattered far 
 and wide through the East- 
 ern and Middle States, 
 which only need the touch 
 of a skilled hand to render 
 them as attractive and 
 homelike on the mterior 
 as they appear to be to 
 the passer-by. The ac- 
 companying illustrations 
 show very clearly that ex- 
 pense is far from being 
 a necessary accompani- 
 ment of cheerful and 
 homelike surroundings. 
 The whole secret lies in 
 buying the right things, 
 which can always be had 
 at very moderate cost, 
 
 and combining them in such a way as to impress their users 
 with a sense of agreeable simplicity and with real comfort. In 
 this old farmhouse which has stood as you see it here for more 
 than one hundred years, most of the rooms are of the full width 
 
 %As i 
 
 ..;r.--^::v -- 
 
 ■Ml. 
 
 '4 
 
 (■■- ; , ■—'"' 1 
 
 
 mt 
 
 
 
 
 
 ^ 
 
 ---:...,y.,s^.'^^r°7^^^---v'-:--; ■•;;- .r:::^-:'-''' ■■ ^■-, _.; -; ■ ' ■; , | 
 
 THE GROUP OF FARM BUILDINGS 
 
 of the house with windows 
 on both sides; a green 
 shingle roof, green outside 
 woodwork, all combining 
 to make a charming pic- 
 ture, but one whose key- 
 note is always simplicity. 
 The woodwork through- 
 out is generally painted 
 white with green matting 
 on the floors, comfortable 
 wicker chairs, and here 
 and there a white skin 
 rug, open fireplaces, and 
 in the dining-room a 
 "delft" wali-paper, costing 
 only fifteen cents a roll, 
 real glass knobs bought 
 second hand for doors and 
 furniture, old chairs re- 
 covered with new chintz 
 
 and painted white, chintz cushions, are the chief materials which 
 
 go to make up a charming picture. 
 
 And best of all this has been produced for the most part by a 
 
 few willing hands in the household. 
 
 NOTE THE CHARMING SIMPLICITY OF THE STAIR HALL 
 
 12 
 
A Simply Furnished Farmhouse 
 
 13 
 
 THE HOUSE AS SEEN FROM THE ROAD 
 
 ^1*^^ 
 
 i^" iixis:i''J *"•'>, 
 
 iaiW^7/^fcL . -_. ^ n ^ J A 
 
 A " DELFT " DINING-ROOM IN WHITE AND BLUE 
 
14 
 
 A Simply Furnished Farmhouse 
 
 THE BEDROOM OVER THE LIVING-ROOM 
 
 
 
 THE LIVING-ROOM, FURNISHED IN THE SIMPLEST MANNER 
 
Swarthmore Lodge, Bryn Mawr, Pa. 
 
 Charles 'Barton Keen and Frank Mead, Architects 
 
 m 'S I % 
 
 A ; 1. 
 
 ;*%^-|? i. 
 
 THE HOUSE AND GARDEN AS SEEN FROM THE FRONT 
 
 S has been so well pointed out by Mr. Frank Miles Day in the second 
 
 '^4 
 
 V, 
 
 €% 
 •^^s 
 
 5lTa_1/ord Lodge 
 
 i^eaivBryij Mavvi- 
 
 
 A^ 
 
 chapter of the text of this book, environment and traditions of the place 
 ought to receive most serious consideration in choosing the style of a house. 
 Swarthmore Lodge, illustrated on this and the succeeding pages, affords an in- 
 teresting study of the influence of both of these forces. Bryn Mawr lies in a 
 rolling country, watered by many creeks that flow through heavily wooded 
 valleys into the Schuylkill and Delaware. On a hilltop from which one sees 
 pleasant stretches of meadow-land and woods, lies Swarthmore Lodge. The 
 country around about was settled by Welsh Quakers, who followed closely in 
 the footsteps of William Penn. Simplicity and frugality and a Welsh manner 
 of building were their typical traits. This house is a study in grays. The gray 
 mica-schist of the locality is used for the stone work and gray shingles cover 
 the woodwork. The massive eaves in deep shadow and the white paint 
 combine to form a charming picture of Quaker dignified simplicity. 
 
 The same gray mica-schist that the settlers used is still quarried in the 
 neighborhood, and their old houses show how quiet and pleasant a wall it 
 makes when simply laid and when half covered with the broad wide point- 
 ing of the joints. Shingles, too, are just as reasonable a roof covering and 
 just as readily to be had as in the old days. Note especially the value of 
 the long level line of the eaves continued out by the lines of the pergola. 
 
 If no Quaker farmhouse ever had a garden that looked like this one still 
 environment has played its part, for the conditions of the site have dominated 
 its arrangement. Stepped terraces conform to the grade of the hillside, and 
 if the garden accessories show a decided Italian cult, it is not, after all, so 
 incongruous. The lines, after all, are simple, and horizontality is the perva- 
 ding element of the composition, and if the colors in the garden are somewhat 
 gay that is Nature's fault and not the Quakers'. Beauty, after all, has a way 
 of disregarding reason, and few can deny beauty to the house and garden of 
 Swarthmore Lodge. 
 
 (Note: In the adjoining plan the name of this place isjncorrectly given as 
 Stratford Lodge.) 
 
 15 
 
16 
 
 Swarthmore Lodge 
 
 THE HOUSE FROM BELOW 
 
 LOOKING DOWN ON THE LOWER GARDEN 
 
Swarthmore Lodge 
 
 17 
 
 
 PLAN OF THE GROUND FLOOR 
 
 PLAN OF THE SECOND FLOOR 
 
18 
 
 Swarthmore Lodge 
 
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 W 
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 O 
 
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Swarthmore (Lodge 
 
 19 
 
 INSIDE THE PERGOLA 
 
 LOOKING UP FROM THE LOWER GARDEN 
 
20 
 
II 
 
 Choosing a Style for the House 
 
 Frank Miles Day 
 
 President of the American Institute of Architects 
 
 '^TOT long ago, the editor of this book was asked 
 -'- ^ by one who was about to build a house, what 
 style it would be best to choose. The editor very 
 properly answered the better course would be to 
 retain an architect ot known ability and let the archi- 
 tect select the style. To this the would-be house 
 owner answered, that he had already done so, but that 
 the architect seemed as incapable of reaching a de- 
 cision as he himselt had been. He added, that there 
 must be some fundamental principles which should 
 control the choice of style for any given building, 
 things subject to reason rather than fashion, and he 
 suggested that the editor might well start a discussion 
 of such questions. It is as a part of this discussion 
 that the following thoughts are put forth. 
 
 The first thing that occurs to me — and this without 
 in any way attempting to beg the question — is that a 
 deliberate choice of style is by no means essential, 
 and is, indeed, often a grave hindrance to a right, 
 reasonable, and beautiful solution of the problem of 
 building. And by style, I here mean just what the 
 editor's questioner meant, that is to say, a well de- 
 fined mode of building prevalent in some certain 
 place and at some certain time. 
 
 Normally, style of this sort originates from the 
 needs of a people, from the materials at hand and 
 from a desire to build with beauty; but in the course 
 of its evolution, it is always modified and held in 
 control by the builder's knowledge of what has gone 
 before or what is going on at his own time. Until 
 the revival of learning, the age of the conscious, pas- 
 sionate striving to resurrect the glory of the classic 
 ages, there were but few, if any, deliberate attempts 
 to hark back to an earlier manner of building. The 
 ancients had done that sort of thing in sculpture when 
 they had imitated the early work of their forbears 
 in a way which, strive as it might, could not seize the 
 real archaic spirit, the way we now call archaistic. 
 But in architecture it is hard to put one's finger on 
 that sort of thing earlier than the time of the Renais- 
 sance. Then, gradually, the old order gave way to 
 
 the new. To be sure, even after the change, the 
 needs of the people had to be met, and their needs 
 were very different from those of the ancient Romans, 
 but such as they were, they were met in the way in 
 which the men of the Renaissance thought the men 
 of the Augustan era would have met them. 
 
 And thus for the first ti.ne arose the question of 
 a deliberate choice of style, a resuscitation of a way 
 of building in use in other ages and under other con- 
 ditions. And this is what we have been trying to 
 do ever since, only we out-Herod Herod. The men 
 of the Renaissance were in unison as to the style they 
 wanted to imitate. We do not know our own minds; 
 we do not know what age, what country to set up as 
 our standard and the voices that would guide us are 
 but crying in this wilderness of indecision. But 
 there is one thing well known, completely agreed 
 upon by all who have given serious thought to it: — 
 that it is not by the copying of the outward forms of 
 any architectural style that we can hope to make our 
 work vital and worthy. If from a plan suited to the 
 needs of a given building, if from a reasonable and 
 appropriate choice and handling of materials, there 
 should grow beauty, it is all that we can ask and all 
 that we need to ask. Simple as it sounds, the doing 
 of the thing is difficult beyond conception. Few 
 can do it well or even passably. Granted that this 
 is the right way, the only way by which we can hope 
 to make buildings truthful and beautiful and eloquent 
 of their time and place, it is easy to see how a choice 
 of style from a priori considerations is a most grave 
 hindrance to the following of it. 
 
 And having said all this, I am prepared to grant 
 paradoxical as it may seem, that style in architecture 
 is the one quality that above all others secures for a 
 building the esteem of generations of men. But style 
 in this sense is not an affair of archaeology but an 
 abstract quality, a subtle excellence very hard to define. 
 Perhaps it may be made clear by comparison with 
 that same quality of style as we think of it in the 
 sister art of literature. If a writer reaches real dis- 
 
 21 
 
22 
 
 Choosing a Style for the House 
 
 A SEASIDE COTTAGE FOR $3,000 
 
 nj Albert Kclsey, Architect 
 
 MRS. COMEGYS' HOUSE, CHESTNUT HILL, PHILADELPHIA 
 
 Cope & Stewaedson, Architects 
 
 f* 
 
 nil 
 
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 ^wi hi 1 . .teJ in 
 si I I.I u ^'t "iji 
 
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 fll|l»i(6>iiii-fr iiliiiiiiinf miHi'^ -^iHH!** "i" 
 
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 ■"■I ■ m!!. 1 
 
 J,iJ( 
 
 A COUNTRY RESIDENCE 
 
 Cram, Wentwokth & Goodhue, Architects 
 
 mitiiii II j 
 
Choosing a Style for the House 
 
 23 
 
 tinction, it may well be assumed that his work has 
 the quality we call style, and we do not demand that 
 this style be that of a definite school. We do not ask 
 him to write like an Elizabethan dramatist, or a 
 Georgian essayist, or a pre-Raphaelite poet. If he 
 have something worth saying, and if he surround the 
 saying of it with that indefinable thing called literary 
 style, it is enough. Now this precisely is the sort of 
 style that we should demand of the architect. That 
 he know the grammar of his art, that he plan simply 
 and directly, that he build strongly is not enough. 
 Has his work expression ? Has it the high quality 
 of style ? Has it, in other words, an excellence of 
 design that raises it to the plane of serious consider- 
 ation .? This, after all, is the thing that is to dis- 
 tinguish his work from that of his fellows. 
 
 And how have such of our architects as have 
 striven for it, succeeded in making houses interesting 
 and beautiful without resorting to the easy trick of 
 using a definite historic style. One way of doing it is 
 certainly by means of those simple, local materials, 
 whose use is so finely and justly praised by Mr. W. L. 
 Price, in the third chapter of this book. He has a 
 message for us, the essential truth of which we can- 
 not too quickly take to heart or put in practice. 
 Nor are we lacking in examples of the way to do such 
 work. Mr. Price has, himself built such a house at 
 Wallingford, in which the local stone, bearing ruddy 
 stains of the iron that is in it, plays the chief role. 
 In the house built years ago at Chestnut Hill, by those 
 two splendid men and admirable artists, John Stew- 
 ardson and Walter Cope, in whose untimely death 
 American architecture suffered so heavy a loss, we 
 see again a local stone, this time the cool grey mica- 
 schist, handled in traditional ways, but with a fresh- 
 ness and a personal note that will make this house last 
 as one of the most interesting in Pennsylvania. Even 
 in Elmer Grey's house at Fox Point, Wis., although 
 the use of local material is less evident, the simphcity 
 and directness of the design make it worthy of con- 
 sideration with the others. Similar qualities of free- 
 dom, charm, personal expression we see in Wilson 
 Eyre's house in Germantown; but examples might 
 be given by the score. 
 
 These things are the true answers to our amateur's 
 question. This is the style, conditioned on local 
 material, vocal of our own time and place; reason- 
 able, appropriate but nameless, that should come 
 naturally to us and not as the result of a deliberate 
 choice. 
 
 Unfortunately, we use the same word to indicate 
 the high degree of excellence in architectural design 
 of which I have been speaking, and also to indicate 
 a manner of building in vogue in a certain country 
 at a certain time. But let us avoid confusion by 
 recognizing the fact that while style in its higher 
 sense may be present in a work which it is quite 
 
 impossible to tag with an archaeological label, it may 
 equally be present in a work of the most definite 
 archaeological sort. Such, to take an example in a 
 French manner, is the Townsend House at Washing- 
 ton, D. C, by Carrere & Hastings, or, to take one 
 in an English style is the country house by Cram, 
 Wentworth & Goodhue. On the other handf^we 
 must bear in mind that a work filled with archasolog- 
 ical accuracy may be quite devoid of style in the 
 
 truer, higher sense. 
 
 i 
 
 But this high quality ot style is after all not the sort 
 in which our editor's questioner is interested. He is 
 concerned with something tar less subtle. Is his 
 home to recall a Tudor manor, a Tuscan villa, a 
 chateau by the Loire, or a Virginia homestead ? The 
 world is all before him where to choose. Unfortu- 
 nately he demands guidance as to his choice and insists 
 that this guidance shall be based on fundamental 
 principles and not on mere fashion or personal incli- 
 nation. Now while I am convinced that this ques- 
 tion is not a profitable one, and that it gives rise to 
 negative results, I am willing to make some inquiry 
 tor possible answers. Let us ask then what things we 
 might suppose would influence the style of a house. 
 Here certainly are some of them: 
 
 a. The kind ot country in which the house is to 
 
 be built; flat or rolling, mountainous, wooded, 
 or open. 
 
 b. Neighboring buildings, especially if of a definite 
 
 type. 
 
 c. Local materials and traditional ways of build- 
 
 ing- 
 
 d. The owner's individuality and mode of life. 
 
 e. The architect's personality, training and pre- 
 
 dilections. 
 
 THE SITE OF THE HOUSE 
 
 The site unquestionably should have a very great 
 influence upon the plan of the house, as Professor 
 Osborne has most lucidly explained in the first chap- 
 ter of this book, but it seems to have far less influ- 
 ence on the choice of style than one would imagine. 
 Let us for a moment conceive the site as a broad 
 plain near a river. Some old Georgian Manor, 
 Groombridge Place, let us say, seems perfectly suited 
 to such a site. On the other hand, can we name 
 any style that our amateur might have in mind that 
 does not furnish admirable solutions of this very 
 problem .? Even so animated a style as that of the 
 early Renaissance in France gives us Josselyn, by 
 its rolling river, or Chenonceaux, spanning the quiet 
 waters of the Cher. Perhaps we might generalize 
 by saying that long level lines harmonize best with 
 such quiet stretches of landscape and that, therefore, 
 we should choose some style in which they predomi- 
 nate were it not that we are dumfounded by the 
 thought of Azay, with its strong verticals and its 
 
24 
 
 Choosing a Style for the House 
 
 SWAYLANDS, PENSHURST, KENT 
 
 *v*^#"^a*»* 
 
 GROOMBRIDGE PLACE, KENT. THE WEST BRIDGE 
 
Choosing a Style for the House 
 
 25 
 
 agitated roof lines, looking supremely beautiful in 
 broad meadows with the folds of the Indre wrapped 
 about its base. 
 
 It our house is to be set upon some steep hillside, 
 some cliffy place, surely we may find guidance in 
 such a spot. Obviously, your quiet Georgian thing 
 is out ot keeping here. Strong upright lines, well 
 marked parts, a vivacious sky line suggest themselves. 
 St. Pagan's near Llandaff, is quite as it should be. 
 Quite naturally one's mind runs off to Scotland with 
 its inimitable hillside gardens such as Barncluith 
 only to remember that the greatest charm ot those 
 places is the long level lines ot their terraces rising 
 one above another, and that Earlshall, a house that 
 corresponds w^ell with our imagined character, is 
 really set down in a pertectly level place. 
 
 Thus, in the first effort to find an answer, we reach 
 a result quite useless to our amateur. Let him get 
 but a clever enough worker in archaeological leger- 
 demain and his house shall look well (so it might 
 seem) in any style he is pleased to name, and on any 
 site that he is pleased to buy. Yet we know very 
 well that it will not, for we have seen the experiment 
 tried too otten. 
 
 NEIGHBORING BUILDINGS 
 
 That, in the choice of style, we owe a duty to our 
 neighbors is a fact too often ignored. If buildings 
 exist which, when our own is finished, will group with 
 it, we must not ignore them, for in such an instance 
 our building is but a part of the whole composition 
 and, unless we are utterly selfish, we must seek the 
 best result for the whole rather than for a part. In 
 Europe this thought obtains more acceptance than 
 among us, for in many cities, municipal regulations 
 are so framed and enforced as to secure a certain 
 uniformity of design, monotonous perhaps, but 
 decent, orderly and quiet. Here, and especially in 
 our suburban communities, so little harmony is seen 
 that it is clearly a case of each one for himself and the 
 devil take the hindermost. 
 
 LOCAL TRADITIONS AND MATERIALS 
 
 Had we definite local traditions in the art of build- 
 ing, we might make some steady advance, building 
 in the way of our fathers but better and more beau- 
 tifully. In the States of the Atlantic seaboard, there 
 were once such traditions, but we have broken with 
 them and the return to them must be made with con- 
 scious effort, an effort that results in our Colonial 
 revival. But, for the most part, throughout our land 
 there is no local way of building that rises above the 
 commonplace. This is partly due to the fact that 
 we are no longer compelled to use the materials that 
 the neighborhood of the building offers. Time was, 
 and that not a hundred years ago, when lacking 
 
 water transportation, such materials had to be used. 
 And so strongly marked is the influence of that use ot 
 local materials that to take an example from Great 
 Britain, one familiar with its cottages might, if 
 dropped down at random anywhere in the Island, 
 make from them alone a shrewd guess as to his 
 whereabouts. Thus, if he saw such a cottage as 
 that at Stanton, he would know that he was on that 
 band of limestone that extends from Somerset to the 
 dales of Yorkshire, and he might well pick out this 
 particular cottage as a good specimen ot the type that 
 prevails in the Cotswold District. If the house were 
 of a soft, warm sandstone, he might know that he had 
 fallen in Cheshire or Shropshire, or Hereford. Even 
 there, he might see half-timbered cottages of great 
 beauty but by the way in which the timber is used, he 
 would be very sure that he was not in Kent or Sussex, 
 where half-timber work equally abounds. And now 
 let us take as an example of the influence of material 
 upon construction, and therefore upon style, such a 
 Kentish cottage as that near Penshurst, and let us 
 summarize the description of the construction of such 
 a building given in Dawber's book on "The Cottages 
 of Kent and Sussex." 
 
 Upon a brick or stone base a heavy sill 
 piece was laid, and upon this upright storey posts, 
 eight or nine inches square, were fixed. These at 
 the angles were larger and formed of the butt of a 
 tree placed root upwards, with the top part curving 
 diagonally outwards to carry the angle post of the 
 upper storey. On these uprights rested another 
 larger timber, a sort of sill piece tor the second storey. 
 On this in turn rested the beams of the second floor, 
 their ends projecting some eighteen inches and carry- 
 ing the overhanging second storey wall, which was 
 constructed like that of the first. The divisions 
 between the uprights were filled with wattles or 
 laths and chopped straw and clay or sometimes 
 even with bricks, and the surface plastered flush 
 with the face of the timbers. 
 
 Such a method of construction, direct and truthful 
 and beautiful as it is, has defects in the shrinkage 
 of its timbers and consequent openness to the ele- 
 ments, so grave that houses thus built have, in 
 many cases, been protected at a later date by tile 
 hanging or sometimes by exterior plastering or by 
 weather-boarding. So that it often happens if we 
 hunt beneath such protection, we find the original 
 half-timber cottage intact. Such a method of con- 
 struction is obviously impossible for us to-day. 
 For were we willing to pay the cost incident to shaping 
 the timbers by hand, we would not tolerate a leaky 
 wall. Yet, more's the pity, we are forever making 
 the attempt to have the semblance without the reality. 
 We build an honest brick wall, nail strips of wood 
 against it and plaster the space between them. What 
 a preposterous imitation of a once reasonable con- 
 struction. 
 
26 
 
 Choosing a Style for the House 
 
 HOUSE AT FOX POINT, WISCONSIN 
 
 Elmer Geet, Architect 
 
 CHENONCEAUX 
 
Choosing a Style for the House 
 
 27 
 
 Thus, I say, where a traditional style of building 
 existed, it was modified, its evolution was assisted 
 by the limitations imposed by the use of local mate- 
 rials. But how is it with us who lack a local tradi- 
 tion and who are no longer bound to the use of mate- 
 rials at hand ? Modern facilities of transportation 
 have actually made it, in many cases, difficult and 
 expensive to employ the material at hand, so that 
 the place where the building is to be erected has 
 but little influence on the choice of materials and 
 consequent development of style. To-day it is 
 cheaper to build a house in Maine of wood from 
 Oregon than of granite quarried within a mile, 
 or to finish the rooms with cypress from the Gulf of 
 Mexico than with white pine from the Pine Tree 
 State. Such are the anomalies of the exhaustion of 
 natural resources, of the use of machinery, of high- 
 priced labor and of cheap transportation. 
 
 PREDILECTIONS OF THE ARCHITECT 
 
 The owner's personality and his mode of life 
 should, ot course, exercise an influence on the style of 
 his house. If he be a man of quiet tastes, tond of 
 home life, not given to lavish entertainments, those 
 qualities should be expressed by a restrained, a 
 modest domestic feeling in the treatment of the house, 
 that it is almost impossible to express in certain 
 well-marked historic styles. The minor English 
 buildings, the farm houses of Normandy, even our 
 own Colonial houses offer starting points for such 
 a case. But granted that the man be a millionaire, 
 with an established position in society, or even with 
 aspirations for it, his house must be a far different 
 affair, suitably planned for entertaining many people, 
 and expressed in some formal, well digested style 
 such as that of Louis XVI. Indeed the selection of 
 a style suitable for a million dollar "cottage" at New- 
 port is far less difficult than the finding of the right 
 expression for a suburban house of moderate size. 
 The owner's training, his inclinations, too, must not 
 be forgotten. A man with a well marked bias in 
 favor of all French things, would naturally choose 
 one of the French styles for his house. One so full 
 of enthusiasm for all things Italian as Mrs. Edith 
 Wharton, might well be pardoned for giving her 
 house a distinctly Italian form. 
 
 But these are exceptions. Not one in a thousand 
 of us has any intellectual bias so strongly marked as 
 to justify its expression in the style of his house. It 
 is obvious that the architect's training and predi- 
 lections for certain styles will, in the main, exercise 
 
 a far greater influence on the house than will those of 
 the owner. The men who achieve most by work- 
 ing in definite styles are those who entertain the most 
 positive convictions that the style of their choice is 
 without question the only right, the only logical style 
 for our times. It is Mr. Ralph Adams Cram's firm 
 conviction that the abandonment of the Gothic style 
 brought about the ruin of all that was noblest in the 
 art of architecture. It is his almost religious zeal 
 for a revivification of that style that gives to 
 his designs their absorbing interest. It is because 
 Thomas Hastings believes we will achieve no worthy 
 end unless we succeed in making our work an evolu- 
 tion from the French styles ot the eighteenth century 
 and it is because of his knowledge of and devotion 
 to those styles that his work reaches so high a plane of 
 urbanity and courtliness. It is because Mr. Charles 
 McKim has an ineradicable conviction that it is 
 from Italy, whether of the classical times or of the 
 Renaissance, that we should draw our inspiration that 
 he can clothe the needs of our own time in a garb that 
 tor dignity of manner and for perfection of proportion 
 and ot detail, sometimes equals the best of the exam- 
 ples tor which he shows such complete devotion. 
 
 In the face of obsessions such as these, how futile 
 it is tor the owner to talk ot choosing his own style. 
 It is only when he selects an architect devoid of 
 definite convictions that he will be confronted with 
 the troubles which the question put to the editor 
 presupposes. Yet in this connection another thing 
 needs saying, and that is that the power these men 
 have of producing work of great distinction comes 
 not alone from their definite convictions on the 
 subject of style, but also, and this is far more impor- 
 tant, from the fact that each is an artist of such rare 
 ability that even if he were set to work in an alien 
 style he would design buildings of far greater interest 
 than the work of most other men. 
 
 And now let me sum up my argument by a state- 
 ment of my own opinion upon the choice of style. 
 The only thought that comes to me is one that stands 
 for an ideal difficult of realization for men of this gen- 
 eration. It is precisely the one I put forth a while 
 ago, by saying that if the plan be a simple and direct 
 expression of the needs and life of the people who are 
 to live in the house, and if the elevations are a logical 
 outgrowth from and a reasonable expression of that 
 plan, and if the whole be made beautiful and vocal 
 of its time and place, then the building will have 
 style in the best sense and will need none of that 
 exotic or archaeological style that is the bane of so 
 much of our work to-day. 
 
28 
 
 Choosing a Style for the House 
 
 CHATEAU JOSSELYN. VIEW FROM THE RIVER ROAD 
 
 FARMHOUSE AT STANTON, GLOUCESTERSHIRE 
 
Choosing a Style for the House 
 
 29 
 
 COTTAGE ON LEHMANN STREET, GERMANTOWN, PHILADELPHIA 
 
 W'rr.so.v EviiK, Architect 
 
 ST. PAGAN S CASTLE, CARDIFF, FROM THE HIGHER POND 
 
A House on a Twenty-five foot Lot 
 
 Lawrence Visscher Boyd, Architect 
 
 THE house shown on this page is typical of the best class of Philadelphia work, 
 and illustrates also a type of house of which Mr. Boyd has designed many ex- 
 amples with similar success. The price noted here, forty-five hundred dollars, was 
 the actual cost of the house after the owner had paid all the bills. The difficulties pre- 
 sented m the designmg a house of this character arise from the con- 
 stricted width of the lot, iorcing the house to assume a long, narrow rectangle, with its 
 porch front on one end. This brings many windows to the side of the house 
 where they are overlooked by neighbors on either side. In this particular case 
 there are very few windows, and all these of minor importance, on the side nearest 
 the adjoining house. As this side also faces the north, a double object is accom- 
 plished. Scrutiny from the adjoining house is checked, and the north winds find little 
 opportunity in winter for intrusion. Towards the south, there is an abundance of 
 light, and as the adjoining lot is still unimproved, the owner, by a judicious use of 
 options, may hold this in its present condition, until he is ready to purchase. The 
 first story of such a house might be very well built of brick or stone. The second story 
 and all roofs can be covered with shingles. An agreeable color tone in grays and 
 whites would complete the picture. The roofs might very well be covered with green 
 shingles, and a setting of green lawn and gaily flowering plants and shrubs would 
 produce a very agreeable, domestic picture for the money expended. 
 
 First Floor Plan 
 
 Second Floor Plan 
 
 HOUSE ON A LOT TWENTY-FIVE FEET WIDE — COST $4,500 
 liAWBDNca VisscHBB BoYD, Architect 
 
 30 
 
"Sonnenschein," Westchester, N. Y. 
 
 JVilliam H. Beers, Architect 
 
 VIEW OF THE LIBRARY 
 
 OVERLOOKING the waters of Long Island Sound standstills 
 charmingly simple country home, which by its cheerful 
 aspect expresses the German name which its owner has given it. 
 By an angle in the plan, the vine-clad porch is given a generous view 
 to the west and south. Projecting unroofed beyond the library, the ' 
 view IS further extended from this outdoor space which is so 
 important a feature of our country houses; enabling us to unite 
 in one during the warm days and nights of summer the func- 
 tions of several rooms. Opening off the reception room is a 
 paneled vestibule, with shelves for palms and flowers, leading 
 
 to the library, which is a delightful living-room finished in tones 
 of dull reds and grays with a generous fireplace at one end, 
 with simple bays on either side. Liberal dormers, breaking the 
 expanse of the roof, light five large bedrooms, whose well 
 shuttered windows give ample winter protection toward the north. 
 Three servants' bedrooms in the attic are lighted by a large 
 dormer toward the east and rear. Sloping, the ground toward the 
 back gives an ample basement. The grounds are dotted with 
 shrubbery and flowers merging the grounds into the surrounding 
 countryside. 
 
 r^^^n 
 
 First Floor Plan 
 
 Second Floor Plan 
 
 31 
 
32 
 
 "Sonnenschein" 
 
Ill 
 
 Choosing Simple Materials 
 for the House 
 
 JVilliam L,. Price 
 
 Of Price & McLaiiahun, Architects 
 
 ' I ^HE advantages of the use ot common and rough 
 -*- local materials seem to me to be threefold. 
 First, they are cheap; second, they are easily 
 obtainable ; and third, they are beautiful. Burroughs 
 says somewhere that a house should be built of 
 materials picked up at hand, and in large degree he 
 seems to me to be right. Not only for sentimental 
 and practical reasons but because it tends to produce 
 types — tends towards a pleasing homogeneity in 
 local style that is altogether good. 
 
 If you walk through the counties of England, you 
 will find just such varied yet typical local color. Tile- 
 roofed timbered houses here, thatched whitewashed 
 houses there, stone and slate or brick houses in 
 another section; and these cottages, simple in them- 
 selves -and devoid of ornament in most part, make 
 together that world-charming Rural England that is 
 without peer. 
 
 We have boxed the compass architecturally, raking 
 over the world's scrap heap of styles and the supply 
 •man's scrap heap of materials and, as a consequence, 
 urban and rural districts alike are for the most part 
 marred not only by a total lack of local significance in 
 architecture, but by a lack of any homogeneity of 
 style, material, or color, and the result is an unrestful 
 hodgepodge, blatantly declaring its crudities, instead 
 of adding an air of brooding homeliness to Nature's 
 beauties. Our homes should nestle among the trees 
 and fields, not ramp upon the highways. 
 
 Now almost all localities offer in their stone, wood 
 or brick clays, sand and pebbles, some dominant note 
 of color or texture that, used intelligently, would give 
 us just the fitness that the bird nest has — just the 
 local color that would always harmonize. But some 
 one has seen and admired a boulder house in its fit 
 home among the boulders, and must import boulders 
 to sandy flat or rolling sward. 
 
 So it is with architecture. You cannot pluck up 
 your English or Italian or Colonial by the roots and 
 plant it here, there and everywhere and get results 
 that are worth while. Architecture to be fit, must fit 
 
 need and purpose and environment- 
 purpose, not the dead precedent. 
 Emerson says: 
 
 -fit the living 
 
 "I thought the sparrow's note from heaven, 
 Singing at dawn on the alder bough; 
 I brought him home, in his nest, at even; 
 He sings the song, but it pleases not now, 
 For I did not bring home the river and sky; — 
 He sang to my ear, — they sang to my eye. 
 The delicate shells lay on the shore; % 
 
 The bubbles of the latest wave 
 Fresh pearls to their enamel gave; 
 And the bellowing of the savage sea 
 Greeted their safe escape to me. 
 I wiped away the weeds and foam, 
 I fetched my sea-born treasures home; 
 But the poor unsightly, noisome things 
 Had left their beauty on the shore, 
 With the sun and the sand and the wild uproar." 
 
 Cheap ornament has been the bane of American 
 architecture, whether it has been the jig-sawed 
 atrocities of a day long happily past, or the painfully 
 correct historic ornament moulded or pressed or 
 even carved, from which we now suflFer. There must 
 be some reason for the use of ornament. There cer- 
 tainly was once. But even the best of classic orna- 
 ment seems to me to sink mto nonsignificance com- 
 pared with its simple prototype. How infinitely 
 more beautiful the hanging swags of fruit or of 
 wreaths, leaves and flowers, showing forth the joy- 
 ousness ot man's harvest time, than the frozen fruit 
 of his skill in ornate frieze and marble cap. Cer- 
 tainly when the artist, unable to control himself in 
 the joy of his art, carved or painted on the walls of 
 use, he glorified bufldmg. But how much of our 
 so-called decoration springs from the fountain of 
 unrestrainable art ? Do we not after all use decora- 
 tion for color and texture, rather than for the expres- 
 sion ot ideals ? Ornament should for its excuse 
 plead interest as well as beauty, but what interest 
 can there be in endless repetition even of a most 
 interesting model, or meaningless and inappropriate 
 
 33 
 
34 
 
 Choosing Simple Materials for the House 
 
Choosing Simple Materials for the House 
 
 35 
 
 A SIMPLE FIREPLACE 
 
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 CHESTNUT POST GUILTLESS OF OIL OR VARNISH 
 
 SIMPLICITY FOR THOSE WHO UNDERSTAND 
 
36 
 
 Choosing Simple Materials for the House 
 
Choosing Simple Materials for the House 
 
 37 
 
 historic ornament ? We carve and mould and paint 
 to get texture and color, when the very rough material 
 that we hide away in cellar walls and backing, would 
 give us better texture and better color than we can 
 obtain in veneered surface or ornamented frieze. 
 We are beginning to learn this in regard to brick, 
 demanding that the brick shall show the touch of 
 fire, and shall have some of the lovely texture of 
 rough clay. But then we destroy largely its value by 
 over ornamented wood or over cut stone. 
 
 It we would consider the structural sisnificance 
 ot all our material (and there is no architecture with- 
 out this), it we would treat wood as wood, stone as 
 stone, and brick and plaster for what they are, and 
 carry the work in them just to the point where utility 
 ends, we might realize an architectural significance 
 impossible in our abortive attempts to import style 
 and taste. Then it there were money left to pay for 
 it and artists to do it, we might add that touch of 
 elegance produced in symmetrical and forceful build- 
 ing, by ornament. It is not that this end is never 
 achieved,for it is, sporadically and often accidentally, 
 through the necessity of economy. What I am 
 asking you to consider is the desirability of the use ot 
 simple material through choice, not accident. 
 
 Very little of our more important work is at all 
 sketchable, and I think that much of the good old 
 work was not particularly picturesque or beautitul 
 until Time had chipped away its over nicety and 
 mellowed its ornament into color and texture. But 
 why should we have to wait for this mellowing of age 
 when Nature has been at work for untold ages round- 
 ing and staining materials ready to our hand ? 
 When she would turn our oak and chestnut to the 
 most inimitable violet greys if we would hold off" our 
 varnish and our paint .? The charming color of 
 stone and softly blended pointing on an old barn wall 
 is infinitely more attractive than the smug newness 
 of our carefully picked quarry stone with all color and 
 interest specified out of it, with which latter we can 
 only hve in the hope that the native iron in it will 
 some time rescue it from its barrenness. But why 
 wait, when field and hedgerow and quarry top are 
 brimming over with flint and boulder, or the mellow- 
 est of iron-stained stone ? 
 
 Get a stone-mason also indigenous to the soil, 
 and with some interest in his work, and you can 
 piece out your old barn walls or build new walls, that 
 will drop into place alike with the old work and the 
 landscape. There is a better day dawning. We are 
 going back to gardening, which goes to show that 
 Nature is being considered in its relation to archi- 
 tecture, and while our etFort at present seems mainly 
 to lie in the direction of torturing Nature into a shape 
 to match our houses, still we will grow, and eventually 
 architecture will be tamed to meet Nature at least 
 
 half way. We are building cut stone English gar- 
 dens which stand for generations of landlordism and 
 servitude. We are building marble Italian gardens 
 which stand for the exclusions of the palace. And 
 later on we will build American gardens which will 
 stand for democracy and homeliness. We already 
 show signs of reaching forward to the sweet sim- 
 plicity of our grandmothers' flower gardens that we 
 thought we had left behind us when we side-stepped 
 culture and the joy ot living in our eager search for 
 the means for life, which we mistook for the proper 
 end of life. But already some of us think that we 
 know that a whitewashed picket tence is a better 
 garden ornament than a marble wall, and a pebbled 
 pool than sculptured basin; that Nature nestles up to 
 rough-hewn post or wall or well-curb more lovingly 
 than to any clean-cut marble pergola; that sculptured 
 faun or satyr has no place in a cottage garden, unless 
 indeed it be one of those rare expressions of a master 
 soul that could make even a desert its fitting niche. 
 Real sculpture is no more an intrusion in garden or 
 house, than man's true music is an interruption of 
 Nature's melodies. It is the fulfillment, the crown- 
 ing touch of Nature's plan; but to be so, it must be 
 the joyous expression of a sentiment, not mere sound 
 or form. So, when you go a-gardening, do not plan 
 for the unknown singer or sculptor. If he comes, 
 the niche will be there, never fear. 
 
 Build your house and your garden (tor your house 
 is not a home without a garden, or your garden a 
 garden without a house), to fit the needs of yourself 
 and your friends — to express their life, to shelter 
 their intimacies, and to proclaim their joyousness. 
 Build it simply, tor we are at heart a simple people, 
 joying in the doing rather than in the having of 
 things. Build it of the materials next at hand, and 
 you will wake up some day to find that we have an 
 American architecture, as typical and expressive as 
 the world has known. 
 
 When the artist goes out to sketch, it is worth while 
 for the home builder to follow. If he does select 
 his subject trom the old or dilapidated, it is because 
 they give him the color and form he wants. A ruin, 
 except to the morbid, is not more interesting than a 
 new building because it is in ruins. Nature has 
 merely undone man's over work, and if we took our 
 cue from the artist and through him from the general 
 taste, we could build as paintable buildings as ever 
 existed, and with all that subtle human character 
 that lingers around the old. Of course Nature must 
 have a few seasons in which to creep up to the door 
 side and wipe out the scars of man's hasty building, 
 and after that each year should add something to the 
 intimacy. But simply and beautifully designed and 
 built, the house would never offend, and would in 
 itself be the prophecy of beauties to come. But you 
 must abandon much that is routine and easy of 
 
38 
 
 Choosing Simple Materials for the House 
 
 READY FOR THE GARDENER AND NATURE TO DO THEIR WORK 
 
 4^ 
 
 
 
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 \ KITCHEN PORCH 
 
 k ROUNDED PLASTER WINDOW JAMB. 
 
Choosing Simple Materials for the House 
 
 39 
 
 accomplishment in designing. Your problem is no 
 office problem of machine-cut limestone and mill- 
 made woodwork, fashioned after the bookmen's 
 rules. You must design in the open, with a mind 
 wide to seize upon any tiny suggestion of Nature or 
 of your client's will or whim. You must diagnose 
 the case, not as a doctrinaire with a well laid out 
 scheme of design, and a series of fixed styles in mind, 
 into one of which your client and his site are to be 
 moulded, but as an artist, taking note of harmonies 
 of line and color, of Nature's proffered materials and 
 suggestions in rock or sand or clay. She will surely 
 have some dominant note to which you must bow, 
 and with which other materials must be made to 
 blend. It may be the color of the stone at hand. It 
 may be its roughness, or smoothness, or its cleavage, 
 that shall set the pace. It may be even the color of 
 the local creek sand that, running through dashed 
 wall or pointed stone, gives that bond that is neces- 
 sary to tie your house and garden to the busy earth. 
 No artificial pigment can supply the lack of this kind 
 of color. No hewn stone can give the native touch 
 of texture. No ornament can take the place of either. 
 The delicate grey of chestnut fence-post and rail, or 
 silvery sheen on shingle or unpainted siding, cannot 
 be matched by any stain. If you have not time 
 to wait, build in a suburb. You have no place in 
 Nature's heart. Not that you may not bring Nature 
 into the suburb, or even the city; but if you will you 
 must stand your neighbor's finger of scorn, though 
 afterwards possibly his envy. He will look on your 
 simple backing stone walls, your rough plaster, and 
 your weather-stained wood, as evidences of poverty 
 and meanness. And beware of the wise and prudent 
 in yourself that sees in the practical, only dollars and 
 cents and physical comfort, leaving out of count the 
 equally practical esthetic and spiritual side of life — 
 that inner consciousness of our better self to which 
 the larger things are evident. Rank sentiment .? 
 Yes, but so is all beauty that is not born of pride and 
 ostentation. Be practical to the uttermost. Make 
 your plan fit the smallest as well as the greatest 
 physical need. Sacrifice symmetry, style, precedent, 
 anything, to it, but don't forget that the soul must be 
 fed as well as the body. Don't forget that the home 
 is to be the cradle of the ideal of the next generation, 
 and the new truth that is to make the practical possi- 
 ble. Don't forget that modern steam power was the 
 child of the tea-kettle, born at the fireside, and that 
 art is the mother of all unborn mysteries, for it is 
 through her we grow. 
 
 Take time to think about your house and garden, 
 so that it may be your home, not your lodging, as fit 
 for another as for you. But don't think when you 
 have taken time and thought as to the plan, that the 
 work is done. You will have to give the mason, the 
 joiner, and the plasterer a chance, and by giving him 
 a chance I don't mean signing a contract with him. 
 
 If he cannot add some touch of individuality to his 
 work, you have planned m vain. You must coax his 
 interests into your walls. You must make him a 
 mason, not merely a fulfiller of specifications. You 
 cannot specify the unknown individuality that must 
 be built stone by stone into your wall. You say that 
 you cannot find such skilful and artistic masons ? 
 Have you tried ? He is hid away in the bosom of 
 most men. The art instinct is primeval. It drives 
 the humblest of savages to express himself in the 
 work of his hands. But we have made him very shy, 
 and with our exact specifications, our deadly detail 
 and superior knowledge, we have well-nigh crushed 
 him out. But give me the many-jobbed mason of 
 the countryside, the backing stone you hide in cellar 
 walls, a little time, and I'll show you walls that sun- 
 beams and creepers will cling to to your heart's 
 content; garden seats and pergolas that will be no 
 intrusion; not a house, but a home, that will woo you 
 away from smug structures of cut stone and painted 
 wood, back to good fellow Nature's side, who stands 
 tapping at your garden gate, who when you will not 
 have her for year-round fellow, still draws you away 
 to mountain shack or pebbly beach in summer 
 breathing time; and this feast of simplicity to which 
 I ask you is no unattainable mecca of the rich. It 
 does not lie in palace land, but is here, holding out its 
 hands to rich and poor alike, in every countryside, 
 when we shall have sense enough to hear its call. 
 Accept Morris's comprehensive summing up: "Have 
 nothing in your house that you do not know to be use- 
 ful, and believe to be beautiful." And remember 
 that beauty is only fitness, and that while there is a 
 beauty of gold and mahogany, there is also a beauty 
 of iron and hemlock, of cypress and of chestnut. 
 There is a beauty of marble balusters and carved 
 stairways, but when Whistler painted the lovely 
 portrait of his mother, the chosen background was 
 the soft grey of a {plastered wall. 
 
 I am not merely making the claim that simpHcity 
 is cheap and cleanly, but that it is more beautiful 
 than elaboration as a background to the best of our 
 lives. Did you ever stop to think that the average 
 stairway has from fifty to a hundred balusters, each j 
 one of which cost money to put in, every twist and 
 turning of which means dirt and work in cleaning .? 
 And every bead and fillet in every moulding in your 
 house means more dirt and more cleaning. And .' 
 what do you buy with this care and worry ? Cer- 
 tainly not always or even often, beauty, or at least 
 not the only beauty. 
 
 The Japanese have taught us, among some other 
 things, the beauty of the grain of even the commonest 
 woods. Most of their exquisitely toned work is in 
 soft spruce-like woods. The use of perfectly plain 
 casings with a little care in selection and treatment, 
 would give our houses a distinction not otherwise 
 obtainable in work of moderate cost. 
 
40 
 
 Choosing Simple Materials for the House 
 
 Maak^ 
 
 '-^M 
 
 HOW NATURE HELPS 
 
 A STUCCO HOUSE AT ROSE VALLEY 
 
Choosing Simple Materials for the House 
 
 41 
 
 The Japanese not only know the beauty of simple 
 backgrounds tor their priceless treasures, but they 
 also know that the value of this beauty is enormously 
 enhanced by the fact that the treasures they show 
 have no competitors. These are locked away in 
 cupboards for the joy of another day. When they 
 adorn with flowers, it is with no mere overpowering 
 mass, but exquisite arrangements of line and color 
 of which vase or bowl, leaf, branch, blossom and grey 
 or dull gold silk or paper background, form one 
 simple and harmonious whole. How we "civilized" 
 people envy them, and how little we emulate their 
 methods! It is not necessar)' or wise that we should 
 copy them. Flower arrangements and delicate 
 
 bronze or porcelain may not be our forte. But the 
 law of contrasts is eternal, and simplicity is ever the 
 best setting, either for modest utility or most exquisite 
 work of art, and human life is our masterpiece, 
 deserving the best of our thought for its setting. 
 
 The photographs accompanying this article are in 
 a large part from the house and studios built for 
 Charles H. and Alice Barber Stephens at Rose 
 Valley. The studios are in an old stone barn the 
 large doors of which now form the north windows and 
 skylights of the studios, and the house has been built 
 at one end of the old barn. It has been the efi^ort in 
 this and the other work shown to get just such'a local 
 character as the article is intended to advocate. 
 
 -■•'■• SS'' 
 
 WHEN NATURE HAS COMPLETED THE WORK 
 
A Summer Home on a Farm 
 
 An Architect's ^Dream 
 
 Sketches by Elmer Gray 
 
 I HIS house was designed to serve a very interesting double 
 -*- purpose. During eight months of the year, including the 
 winter season, it is the residence of a gentleman farmer of moderate 
 means and his family. During the summer months it is intended 
 to accommodate m addition, a house party. In order that these 
 two uses may be kept quite distinct, and the house reduced to a 
 reasonable size for winter use, the guest rooms occupy a one-story 
 extension enclosing the upper end of the garden. The building 
 occupies a wooded knoll overlooking the winding portions of a 
 river that is lined with overhanging willows and white birches, and 
 is flanked by meadows and rolling fields. The living-room and its 
 veranda is so placed that this charming view may be enjoyed to its 
 fullest extent. The building is designed on the simplest lines, 
 and is built of inexpensive materials. The result has been in 
 every way successful, and affords a most appealing hint for all 
 other home builders so fortunately situated. 
 
 THE LIVING-ROOM 
 
 .i' Ran «.*«■». ? . 
 
 
 
 THE RIVER FRONT 
 
 
 
 
 42 
 
A Summer Home on a Farm 
 
 43 
 
 
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 THE LANDWARD FRONT 
 
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 PLAN OF THE PROPERTY 
 
 THE GARDEN FRONT 
 
A Suburban House in Chicago 
 
 Hdiidy ^ Cady, Architects 
 
 
 'v-^- 
 
 Plan of the House and Grounds 
 
 THIS design has been selected for illustration here 
 chiefly on account of the interest attached to the 
 plan and its position upon the lot. It is typical of a large 
 number of suburban houses ot moderate cost, and 
 aflFords a very interesting study. 
 
 The house and lot are perhaps unusual in their relation 
 to each other, in that the lot is shallow with respect to its 
 street frontage, and it is the long side of the house which 
 faces the street, rather than the shorter end. The house 
 is built of brick with white wooden veranda, and the 
 general treatment is generally Colonial in feeling. The 
 plan is a good one, except that one would suggest chang- 
 ing places with respect to the dining-room and the recep- 
 tion-room. A dining-room whose only entrance is 
 immediately at the front door is distinctly an annoyance. 
 
 This change, however, would depend somewhat upon the point of the compass, of which no indication is offered by the drawing. In fact, 
 if circumstances permitted, it would be well to reverse the plan of the house, after making the change already suggested. 
 
 A great deal can be done in the way of planting and flower gardening in a lot of this size, and flower lovers would feel perhaps that 
 their favorites were inadequately represented upon this plan. There is, perhaps, a tendency to spottiness which would prove dis- 
 agreeable in execution. While therefore, the exterior and interior of the house are very agreeable, the plan in its details and the 
 planting of the lot, might possibly be changed to advantage. The general character of the house is illustrated in the cuts shown at 
 the bottom of the page and its cost might be very well controlled to come within the limit set for houses in this volume. 
 
 The house and its relation to the lot have been referred to as unusual. As has been noted elsewhere in an article on the choice of site, the 
 typical suburban lot is one having a narrow frontage on the principal street. This necessitates a house plan which is a long, narrow rec- 
 tangle, with the principal rooms on or near the narrow end. This, of course, is a much more difficult problem in house planning than the 
 one here shown, and solutions of this phase of the problem are shown on several pages of this book. In the present case, all the principal 
 rooms in the house have an agreeable outlook, and all of the family bedrooms would have an equally fortunate situation. Perhaps an 
 unnecessary amount of space is shown in this plan for the rear staircase, and where less space for this feature is available, it will serve 
 its purpose reasonably well if it is carried only up to the first landing of the main stairs. This shields all traffic of the kitchen depart- 
 ment and the upper stories of the house from the principal entrance and living-rooms on the ground floor, although, of course, it is better 
 where space can be had to carry the rear stairs complete to the second floor, if not to the third. Taken as a whole, the house is one which 
 is well worth the attention of our readers, as it is quite 
 possible to adjust it to meet most individual needs. 
 
 ■••-1 
 
 THE LIVING-ROOM 
 
 A DETAIL OF THE FRONT ENTRANCE 
 
 44 
 
A Suburban House at Germantown, Pa. 
 
 Alfred Cookindii Cass, Architect 
 
 THIS house is built upon a lot fifty-six feet wide, but is exceptionally 
 fortunate in enjoying a very agreeable outlook over a large adjoining 
 property. The house is fully illustrated on the following pages, and it is only 
 necessary to add that the first story is built of varying shades of dark red 
 brick laid in English bond in a yellow gray mortar. The joints are wide and 
 match the color of the rough plaster which covers the walls above the second 
 story. The sash and window trims are painted white, and the outside shut- 
 ters are painted to match the shingles, which are the roughest and heaviest 
 split cypress shingles from the Florida swamps, stained dark red brown. 
 Inside the house, simple detail and quiet color are the prevailing elements. 
 The walls throughout are tinted a pale yellow on a sand finish plaster, and 
 the trimming is nearly white, while the dark brown Georgia pine floors are 
 repeated in several of the rooms with still darker oak beams. Most of the 
 joinery has been mortised and pinned together in the old-fashioned way and 
 that meaningless multiplication of mouldings which is the mark of all common- 
 place design has been frankly avoided. 
 
 THE STAIR HALL 
 
 THE LIVING-ROOM 
 
 45 
 
46 
 
 A Suburban House at Germantown, Pa. 
 
 PLANS OF THE HOUSE AND LOT 
 
A Suburban House at Germantown, Pa., 
 
 47 
 
48 
 
 A Suburban House at Germantown, Pa. 
 
 THE STREET FRONT 
 
 THE DINING-ROOM 
 
IV 
 
 Fireproofing the House 
 
 Emile G. Perrot 
 
 Of Btillinger & Perrot, Architects 
 
 'T^HE adage, "A burnt child dreads the fire," 
 -*- while applying to the individual, does not 
 seem to apply with as much force when referred to 
 man in general. This is significant when taken in 
 connection with the subject of this paper. Notwith- 
 standing the dangers and hazard associated with 
 non-fireproof dwelling-houses and the loss of life 
 and property incidental thereto, it is astonishing 
 what little advance has been made in the construction 
 of fireproof dwelling-houses. This state of affairs is 
 all the more surprising when we consider the progress 
 that has been made in fireproof construction, espec- 
 ially in types applicable to house construction. 
 
 The risk of life in dwellings from fire is considerable 
 and causes much anxiety to householders with 
 antipathy to fire due to former experience or an 
 intimate knowledge of the sufferings and loss from 
 this cause by friends and acquaintances. The 
 danger is all the greater in dwellings on account of 
 the fact that the modern dwelling is a tinder-box, 
 and little time elapses from the incipient flame to the 
 fully developed fire. 
 
 Again, the plea for fireproof dwellings is strength- 
 ened by the fact that for many hours at a time 
 dwellings are left unwatched and uncared for, either 
 because of the absence of the occupants, or their 
 retirement for the night. Thus it is that a fire in 
 this character of building frequently gains such head- 
 way as to render the saving of life or property very 
 difficult, and in many cases impossible. Even 
 where there is no loss of life, the loss of personal 
 property, and reverenced heirlooms, to which clings 
 the association of several generations, is most unfor- 
 tunate and irreparable, as they can never be replaced. 
 This fact should be sufficient to impress upon the 
 thinking class of people the desirability of providing 
 against destruction in their homes by fire. 
 
 While it is true that the causes of fires in dwellings 
 are few, in comparison with those in the many other 
 buildings not used for domestic purposes, they are 
 sufficient in number and so difficult to guard against 
 as readily to warrant the erection of a structure as 
 little liable to ignition and destruction by fire as 
 possible. 
 
 Among some of the readily traceable sources of 
 fire in dweUings are lightning, crossed electric wires. 
 
 defective fixtures, imperfectly constructed heating 
 apparatus, mice nibbling matches or insulation, 
 spontaneous combustion and carelessness of servants. 
 A potent fact operating to miUtate against a better 
 class of construction is that when urban and sub- 
 urban houses are built, their construction is left 
 largely to the operative builder and land speculator 
 or promoter. The standard set by these builders 
 has always been such as would make a quick return 
 of money ior a minimum expenditure. Further, 
 the lack of employment of expert scientific skill tends 
 to mediocrity. Even where trained architects have 
 been called in to assist in the development of a project, 
 precedent and the desire to meet competition have 
 kept the construction in the narrow grooves laid 
 down by custom. 
 
 It will be my endeavor in what follows to bring 
 before my readers what has been done in the fire- 
 proofing of houses of medium cost, and to lay before 
 them the various types of fireproofing applicable to 
 house construction. 
 
 Under a general classification, the methods of fire- 
 proofing used to-day may be grouped into two main 
 divisions, namely, "semi-fireproof" and "fireproof." 
 
 Under the first division come such types of con- 
 struction as, while not intended to possess all the 
 fire-resisting qualities necessary to class them in 
 the latter division, nevertheless greatly reduce the 
 danger of the destruction of the building in the 
 event of fire. In this class wood is employed in some 
 form or other as a supporting material. 
 
 In the fireproof division are included such types of 
 construction as aim to eliminate from the supporting 
 parts all combustible materials, thus rendering 
 impossible the destruction of the building in the 
 event of the occurrence of a fire. A further improve- 
 ment consists in making not only the structural 
 parts fireproof but the finished features as well, such 
 as the interior and exterior trim. 
 
 It may be well to mention at this stage that the pop- 
 ular criticism, so often expressed, questioning the fire- 
 proof quality of so-called fireproof buildings, is 
 largely due to the misrepresentation of the press con- 
 cerning fireproof structures. What is advertised 
 as a fireproof building is frequently far from being 
 fireproof in the professional meaning of the word. 
 
 49 
 
50 
 
 Fireproofing the House 
 
 A CONCRETE CHAPEL 
 
 ONE TYPE OF FIREPROOF BUILDING 
 
Fireproofing the House 
 
 51 
 
 Notwithstanding steel, iron and terra-cotta or con- 
 crete may be used in the structure, it requires more 
 than the mere use of these or other non-combustible 
 materials to constitute a fireproof building. It 
 requires scientific placing of the materials and the 
 thorough covering of the steel or iron, together with 
 a successful test of the construction in an actual fire 
 under supervision of experts before any construction 
 can be declared fireproof. 
 
 There are numerous types of fireproof construc- 
 tion which comply with the above requirements and 
 which are being successfully used in buildings of all 
 classes, the description of which will be taken up 
 later. 
 
 The structural elements of a house requiring con- 
 sideration from the fireproof standpoint are the walls, 
 floors, partitions and roof. Of course, the walls 
 should be built of some non-combustible material, 
 and this element of the house in the better grade is 
 usually so constructed; the remaining elements are 
 the ones usually neglected, hence, we will discuss 
 these in detail. 
 
 Floors. — The floor consists of girders, beams, and 
 the covering over the beams. The last mentioned 
 element of construction when of wood may consist of 
 the "under flooring" and "top" or finished flooring, 
 while if fireproof the general name of "slab" or 
 "plate" is applicable; (the under flooring in wood 
 construction corresponding to the slab or plate in 
 fireproof construction.) 
 
 Among the most generally accepted types of semi- 
 fireproof construction is one suitable tor floors when a 
 beam ceiling effect is desired; the heavy beams are 
 spaced so as to give the desired effect in the finished 
 room; the fireproof floor plate or slab is laid directly on 
 top of the beams and reinforced with steel rods or metal 
 webbing to give it sufficient strength as a beam and 
 to prevent cracking of the concrete under tempera- 
 ture changes. The finished floor can be of wood, 
 tile or mosaic; if of wood, sleepers must be laid on the 
 slab with a concrete filling between to hold them in 
 place, and the flooring boards nailed to these sleepers. 
 If mosaic is desired, this is laid directly on the slab, 
 having the necessary concrete base under it. In 
 former times it was customary to lay the tile floors 
 over wooden planking supported by the heavy beams. 
 It is interesting to note the advance made in mediae- 
 val times in a semi-fireproof form of floor construc- 
 tion. 
 
 Viewing the work of these old but successful con- 
 structors it seems pertinent that we should, right here, 
 make a plea for honest construction on the part of our 
 architects and builders. Modern house construc- 
 tion seems to have fallen from the lofty position it 
 should assume, and the tendency has been to use 
 false beams, ceilings, etc., when, if we investigate the 
 
 prototypes of such styles, we shall find that their 
 designers were very conscientious in having the con- 
 struction appear in the finished design; tor, after all, 
 true architecture is nothing more than "ornamented 
 construction." Deprive architecture of its con- 
 structive elements and we rob it of its very soul and 
 life. There is no good reason why show beams in a 
 house of to-day should not support the weight of the 
 floor above instead of being a mere sham. 
 
 There is another type of semi-fireproof con- 
 struction. This consists of wooden joists spanning 
 from wall to wall, or if the span is great, having an 
 intermediate support on a partition or girder; 
 the beams have bolted on their side steel angle 
 bars bent to a radius, and made to support a 
 fireproof filling, which acts as a firestop between 
 floors and at the same time tends considerably to 
 stiffen the beams. 
 
 Under the head of fireproof construction come 
 those types of construction which not only eliminate 
 wood from the supporting members of a building 
 but also afford protection from fire for the steel or 
 iron which may be used in the structural parts. 
 This latter feature is an indispensable requirement 
 for a fireproof structure. 
 
 Speaking in broad terms, we may subdivide fire- 
 proof construction into two divisions; one embrac- 
 ing those types which use rolled steel shapes as 
 supporting members fireproofed with terra-cotta or 
 other non-combustible materials; and the other 
 types which use concrete throughout, reinforced by a 
 metal fabric or bars of steel or iron, known as "rein- 
 forced concrete." 
 
 For dwelling-house construction both divisions 
 contain types eminently fitted for this class of 
 building. 
 
 There is another type of construction in which 
 steel beams are used to support the weight of the 
 floor and the terra-cotta acts only as a filling. In 
 lieu of the terra-cotta arch sometimes a concrete arch 
 is used either with a metal centre or without. This 
 type of fireproofing has a flat ceiling formed of metal 
 lath and plaster. 
 
 There are numerous systems in which either terra- 
 cotta or concrete is used between steel beams for 
 fireproofing, but the types shown serve to illustrate 
 the principles upon which these systems are based. 
 These systems, while being thoroughly practical 
 for house construction, are somewhat more costly 
 than the types which follow. 
 
 Another type of construction thoroughly ap- 
 plicable to dwelling houses, while at the same time 
 not so expensive as the former types has 
 steel beams to support the tiles, and the 
 floor is made self-supporting by introducing 
 tee bars between each row of tile, so that 
 the terra-cotta tiles are made to span long distances 
 
52 
 
 Fireproofing the House 
 
 A COTTAGE AT GERMANTOWN 
 
 Gboegb SrsNCBR MoEEis, Arcbiteet 
 
 A FIREPROOF VERANDA 
 
 ANOTHER VIEW OF THE GERMANTOWN COTTAGE 
 
Fireproofing the House 
 
 53 
 
 without the aid of intermediate steel beams; this 
 reduces the cost of the floor a considerable amount. 
 The photograph, page 50, shows a finished house 
 erected near Philadelphia in which this construction 
 was used tor floors. The partitions were formed 
 of hollow terra-cotta blocks and the roof of tile 
 supported upon tee bars. See page 54. 
 
 There are several modifications of this style of 
 floor construction, all depending on terra-cotta to 
 resist the compression which occurs at the top of the 
 beam or floor and depending on steel or iron rolled 
 shapes or metal webbing placed near the bottom of 
 the floor to resist the tensile stresses which occur in 
 that part of the beam. 
 
 Under the sub-division of reinforced concrete, 
 we have a type of construction which has been very 
 little used in this country for dwelling-house con- 
 struction, but has been used for larger and heavier 
 types of building. However, a start has been made 
 in the use of this type of construction for dwellings 
 and for buildings of similar light nature. 
 
 The principle of reinforced concrete, as used for 
 supporting members of a building, such as girders, 
 beams, lintels, is based on the theory that every 
 simple beam, loaded either uniformly over its entire 
 length or with the weight concentrated at any point 
 thereof, is in compression at the top and in tension 
 at the bottom: that is, the tendency is for the beam 
 to crush at the top, and to pull apart at the bottom. 
 By using steel bars of the proper area and at the 
 proper location to resist the tension in the beam and 
 arranging the concrete so as to resist the compres- 
 sion, the stresses in the beam will be in equilibrium; 
 or, in other words, the beam will sustain the load for 
 which it is designed. 
 
 Furthermore, in reinforced concrete, the con- 
 struction assumes the character of a monolith, and 
 by reason of this fact the beam is fixed at the ends 
 and a reversal of the strains is produced in the beam 
 adjacent to the supports, so that the tensile forces are 
 not on the bottom of the beam for its entire length, 
 but near the supports, shift to the top of the beam: 
 hence, it is necessary to reinforce this top part with 
 steel to prevent the top of the beam from cracking. 
 In addition to this, other stresses (called shear) are 
 produced within the beam, which have to be resisted, 
 hence, the adoption of stirrups running from the 
 bottom to the top of the beam. 
 
 If a flat ceiling is desired, a combination construc- 
 tion is used in which terra-cotta tile or plaster of Paris 
 centres are used to fill in the space between the beams, 
 which are set much closer together and need not 
 be so deep, thus saving head room. 
 
 There are several other long span systems of rein- 
 forced concrete, spanning from wall to wall, giving 
 a'flat ceiling in the rooms that employ only a concrete 
 
 slab reinforced on the bottomTwith a webbing of 
 metal strengthened with wire cables or other method 
 ot reinforcement. 
 
 Walls. — The use of concrete for walls is becoming 
 more common; in fact, entire buildings are now 
 being erected of this material with astonishing results, 
 which promises a departure in the style of decoration, 
 so that what has hitherto been regarded as the stand- 
 ard of excellence in design for dwelling houses and 
 like buildmgs will but little influence this work. 
 
 I do not refer to the hideous and lifeless decoration 
 which we see flaunting us at every turn where con- 
 crete blocks are used. I deprecate the advancement 
 of this form of construction as much as the present 
 tin or cast iron fronts; but I speak for the construc- 
 tion which makes of the walls a monolith with the 
 decoration incorporated with the construction. Where 
 richness is desired the introduction of colored 
 mosaic or tiles in the decoration will be found to lend 
 to the design a beauty and fullness that rivals any 
 other method of decoration. A number of build- 
 ings have been built of this construction, notably the 
 Blenheim Hotel, Atlantic City. 
 
 A very successful fireproof house was built 
 at Allentown, Pa., in which the walls and ornamen- 
 tation are made of concrete. Part of the interior 
 of the house is also fireproof construction, consisting 
 of concrete slabs reinforced with expanded metal 
 supported upon steel beams. 
 
 Page 50 shows a concrete chapel in the 
 Spanish Mission style, ornamented with marble 
 mosaic. This building has been erected at Auries- 
 ville, N. Y., and the ornamentation was borrowed 
 from Indian patterns. The Spanish Mission style 
 lends itself particularly to this system of construction 
 and numerous examples of the style abound in this 
 country. 
 
 Partitions. — Partitions are either^built of hollow 
 terra-cotta or plaster blocks and plastered or made 
 of solid plaster stiffened with metal lath braced with 
 iron channels or angles. 
 
 Roofs. — The usual method of constructing a fire- 
 proof roof where structural steel is used is to make 
 the roof of tee bars supported upon steel beams and 
 fill in between the bars with terra-cotta book tile 
 about 3 inches thick, as shown on page 54; on top of 
 this a concrete filling can be placed in which are 
 embedded wood sleepers to secure the tile or slate. 
 Sometimes the tile or slate is nailed directly to the 
 book tile, if the latter are made porous. 
 
 Where lightness and cheapness are desired, a 
 special form of tile is used which is made to set 
 directly on angle or tee bars without any filling of 
 terra-cotta. This is especially adapted to house con- 
 struction. 
 
54 
 
 Fireproofing the House 
 
 A FIREPROOF ROOF 
 
 A FIREPROOF GARAGE 
 
Fireproofing the House 
 
 55 
 
 Page 54 shows a garage, the walls of which are 
 built of terra-cotta block. The floor of the loft is 
 the long span terra-cotta type. The roof is of tile 
 supported upon tee bars. This little house is a very 
 good example of fireproofing. The exterior is 
 plastered and pebble-dashed. 
 
 Reinforced concrete roofs are constructed similar 
 to reinforced concrete floors, but of lighter construc- 
 tion. 
 
 Stairs. — Fireproof stairs are constructed with steel 
 horses, cast iron treads and risers, or marble, slate, 
 or other similar material, secured to iron supports. 
 The steel horses, if desired, can be fireproofed with 
 terra-cotta blocks or concrete, also soffits of stairs 
 can be likewise fireproofed. This method, however, 
 makes the stairs bulky, and, for domestic work, 
 would be too expensive. 
 
 They can also be made of reinforced concrete 
 throughout, having a finished coat of cement for 
 treads and risers, or covered with wood. Another 
 method of finishing the treads and risers consists 
 of coating the concrete with ^ inch thickness of 
 magnesialith patent flooring or similar material. 
 This makes a very good finish, and can be obtain- 
 ed in different colors. 
 
 In building reinforced concrete stairs, it is not 
 necessary to use horses, the whole flight being con- 
 sidered as an inclined beam, and reinforced with rods 
 or metal fabric in the soffit. The soffit and outside 
 string of the stairs can be plastered or ornamented as 
 desired. 
 
 Cost. — By comparison of the cost of fireproof 
 construction versus wood construction for dwelling- 
 houses, it is found the additional cost for the former 
 is not as great as has been imagined, and, in fact, 
 is so little in excess of the non-fireproof type as to 
 make the use of fireproof construction a possibility 
 for all intending to build. 
 
 In several instances, the writer has obtained bids 
 on buildings designed in wood construction, and also 
 in reinforced concrete fireproof construction. The 
 
 actual difference in the cost of the fireproof over the 
 wood construction of a cottage forming one of a 
 group of buildings of an institution, costing in the 
 neighborhood of ^16,000, was only 14 per cent. 
 This, however, did not include a fireproof roof, 
 although the interior partitions and ceiling under the 
 roof were fireproofed. 
 
 In another instance, a building costing |l20,ooo, 
 in which every part was fireproofed, including the 
 ceihng, partitions, roofs and stairs, cost only about 
 22 per cent more than the same building of the 
 usual construction. This is a very small amount 
 compared with the actual gain in durability, pro- 
 tection from fire, etc. 
 
 Further, a building of fireproof construction is 
 immune to disfiguring cracks in the plastering so 
 prevalent from the shrinking in wood construction. 
 This advantage is of considerable moment if the 
 decorations in a house are of any permanent character, 
 for they would be seriously damaged by the cracking 
 of the plaster. 
 
 It would seem, therefore, taking all things into 
 consideration, that, for medium-priced houses, not 
 to mention the more expensive ones, the extra ex- 
 pense involved in making the construction fireproof 
 would more than pay for itself in advantages gained. 
 
 Another small building near Philadelphia, in 
 connection with an institution, was made fireproof 
 by using reinforced concrete in the floors and solid 
 plaster partitions; the roof, however, is of the usual 
 wood construction, covered with slate. In this case, 
 the building is used for an infirmary and it was 
 deemed that the protection aflPorded from fire more 
 than outweighed the additional expense, which, as 
 before stated, was 14 per cent more than the wood 
 construction. 
 
 From present indications, it would appear that the 
 time is not far distant when wood will be eliminated 
 from the construction and finish of our better grade 
 of houses, and methods of construction and finish 
 employed which will make the buildings not; only 
 fireproof, but much more solid, and hygienic in every 
 respect. 
 
A California Bungalow 
 
 IF ill is 'Polk, Architect 
 
 THIS characteristic and charming example of a California home 
 has been built in Santa Clara County. Like so much that is 
 good in modern California work, it is modeled after the old missions. 
 The house faces east and lies about 300 feet above the valley bottom. 
 Mount Hamilton and the Lick Observatory are in full view. Live 
 oaks, orange trees, ivy and orchards form the setting. It will be 
 
 seen from the views that the house presents large, unbroken surfaces 
 without fussy detail. The walls are covered with a nearly white 
 stucco, and the roofs are covered with bright red Mexican terra- 
 cotta tile. Lilies and lotus plants thrive in the water garden, and the 
 whole scene is one of blooming verdure, from which the red roofs 
 of the house appear against a deep blue sky. 
 
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 '; Lfj.'? <lij1o.c, .Sfinta Clara Co. 
 
 PLAN OF THE HOUSE 
 
 THE FRONT OF THE HOUSE 
 
 56 
 
A California Bunofalow 
 
 57 
 
 f'^^-'tjBpi^tsfrA.'VSi.ou ^itjkj 
 
 THE OPEN CORRIDOR 
 
 VIEW FROM THE TERRACE 
 
58 
 
 A California Bungalow 
 
 AN OUTDOOR LIVING-ROOM 
 
 THE REAR OF THE HOUSE 
 
A Cottage Built of Stucco 
 
 THE ENTRANCE FRONT 
 
 Plan of the First Floor 
 
 Plan of the Second Floor 
 
 59 
 
60 
 
 A Cottage Built of Stucco 
 
 ALTHOUGH this house was built to accommodate an artist's 
 studio, and had to be built with the utmost economy, it is 
 very well adapted to the more ordinary claims of domestic life, 
 restricted by a similar condition. The house is a frame after the 
 usual manner of wooden houses. This was covered with galvanized 
 woven wire netting, to which were applied two coats of Portland 
 cement mixed with equal parts ot stone and fine gravel. This gives 
 the house the appearance of bemg an ordmary stucco house, and has 
 proved impervious to heat and cold, and all other vicissitudes of 
 weather. The plans ot the house were arranged to meet the hunger- 
 ing of the city dweller for abundance of light and fresh air. The 
 eaves of the house project l8" beyond the walls, the under surface 
 being ceiled with North Carolma pme varnished. The roofs are 
 covered with shingles and are stained a weathered brown, which 
 combined with the stone gray of the stucco and a light yellow gray 
 of the second floor window trim forms the color scheme. Rails and 
 posts of the veranda are stained to match the roof. The dining-room 
 fireplace is built of a soft gray yellow Roman brick. The opening 
 is faced with blocks of gray sandstone, and above the mantel shelf is 
 a plaster panel on which a pastoral scene is painted. The wood 
 work of the living-room is cypress, stained a soft gray green, produced 
 by an inexpensive mixture of coal tar and turpentine to which a 
 little blue was added, applied with a brush and wiped off. This 
 gives an extremely soft effect, ranging from a delicate green tone to 
 an orange where the grain of the woodwork showed through. The 
 walls are tinted a light warm yellow gray, and the ceiling between the 
 wooden beams the same color, but still lighter in tone. 
 
 The floor was stained with a gray brown tar preparation, mixed 
 with hard oil and toned with umber, on which is spread a large 
 cashmere rug with tones of dull yellow, dark red and deep purple. 
 Smaller rugs of the same tones were scattered about elsewhere. 
 The andirons, fire set and screen, the lamps and gas fixtures were 
 old brass. These were made to order by a small manufacturing 
 company at an expense no greater than for ordinary fixtures of stock 
 patterns. With this color scheme as a background, straight backed 
 
 and arm chairs of dead black, tables of old mahogany, a Chinese TVfV MATW STATPWAY 
 
 lantern of teak, Russian copper and dull brass urns, and vases of 
 
 mellow satsuma, hangings in soft yellow, old gold and purple completed the coloring. In the dining-room the woodwork is stained 
 a weather oak brown with a dead finish. To the height of the plate rail the plaster is tinted a maroon to harmonize with the dark 
 fireplace. The rough cast plaster in the intermediate panels is light terra-cotta, and the narrow panels in the frieze show a pale, 
 warm yellow. 
 
 The dining-room window was reproduced from a sketch made by the owner in Chester. It is eight feet long and four and a half 
 feet high. The upper sash was stationary; the lower was hinged to open out. All of the woodwork in the hallway is treated to 
 match that in the living-room. The plaster in the second floor rooms was given a smooth finish and covered with calcimine for 
 the first year, after which suitable papers will be put on. The house is heated by steam. 
 
 AN ENTRANCE GATE 
 
A Cottage Built of Stucco 
 
 61 
 
62 
 
 A Cottage Built of Stucco 
 
A Cottage Built of Stucco 
 
 63 
 
 THE DINING-ROOM FIREPLACE 
 
 A HOUSE TERRACE 
 
A 
 
 Dutch 
 
 Colonial 
 
 House 
 
 Walter P. Crabtree, 
 Architect 
 
 Plan of the Ground Floor 
 
 Plan of the Second Floor 
 
 THE HALL 
 
 THE LIVING-ROOM 
 
 64 
 
Two Small Houses 
 
 Plan of the First Floor 
 
 Plan of the First Floor 
 
 
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 Plan of the Second Hoor 
 
 Plan of the Second Floor 
 
 A COMFORTABLE HOUSE 
 
 SiatMOUB 13. Locke, Architect 
 
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 A NEW HOUSE ON OLD LINES 
 
 C'HAiiLES E. Patch, Archiloct 
 
 65 
 
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 66 
 
V 
 The Interior Finish and Furnishing of 
 
 the Small House 
 
 By Margaret Greenleaf 
 
 Editor of House and Garden 
 
 TO-DAY the small house is more seriously 
 considered than ever before. In the suburbs 
 of our great cities and many of the smaller towns this 
 fact is illustrated forcibly by the style of house which, 
 during the last decade, has been gradually superse- 
 ding the cottage of earlier times. In the young cities 
 of the middle and far West this is especially notice- 
 able, each locality showing, even in its small houses, 
 some distinctive characteristic in its architecture. 
 In Southern California the bungalow has sprung up 
 almost like a mushroom in a night; the spreading 
 eaves, the wide shadowed veranda, the convenient 
 and concentrated arrangement of the one floor, is 
 well suited to the needs of that climate and country. 
 
 The family man of small means, who, until recent- 
 ly, had no thought or ambition other than to secure 
 the most desirable location and a cottage in the best 
 repair for his ;^20 a month, has now realized that for 
 a like monthly payment the property may become 
 his own. With this realization has awakened the 
 ambition to make of his house, however small, a 
 real home, — this explains the change in the archi- 
 tecture of the small house in recent years. When 
 an architect plans for the individual the result is, or 
 should be, characteristic, and therefore much more 
 interesting than where one design serves for dozens 
 of houses. 
 
 The wise man in building for himself a home, con- 
 siders site, environment, and the proposed floor plan 
 relatively, and designs his interior decoration and 
 even furnishing, with these various points well in 
 mind. Fortunately, with the passing of jig-saw work 
 and grills from the wood trim of the interior, the brass 
 and onyx table, the plush covered rocker, with all 
 that these stand for in furniture, is fast disappearing. 
 
 Suitability, dignity and simplicity of line and treat- 
 ment, well handled masses of color, with values care- 
 fully considered, are the points that make for success 
 in the interior finish, decoration, and furnishing of a 
 small house. However inexpensive the wood chosen 
 for the standing woodwork, it is now possible to 
 obtain beautiful eflfects by its treatment with stains 
 and dull varnishes. Built-in seats, ingle-nooks, 
 bookcases, buffets, etc., go far toward furnishing the 
 
 rooms, and at small additional expense when con- 
 sidered in the original plan of the house. Windows 
 also may be made most decorative. 
 
 The architectural detail of the interior of a resi- 
 dence should be in complete harmony with the 
 exterior. This is, of course, the responsibility of the 
 architect. The wall covering, drapery, and furni- 
 ture, however, are not always so well selected, yet 
 in these details harmony is quite as important. 
 
 The fan-shaped transom and leaded side lights 
 which frame the ivory panels of a Colonial front door 
 should light a hallway where the standing woodwork 
 is of ivory enamel, accentuated by mahogany doors, 
 with the hand-rail and newel post of the stairs also 
 of mahogany. So far the architect's hand is shown. 
 But to complete this hall a paper of Colonial design 
 with furniture to match should be selected. This 
 consideration of exterior, interior and furnishing 
 together, is applicable to the small house as well as 
 to the mansion. 
 
 In deciding the color scheme for the interior of a 
 house the woodwork is frequently made the key-note 
 for the whole. A stain of some soft nut-brown shade 
 — seemingly Nature's own coloring — is given the 
 dull finish that serves best to bring out the full beauty 
 of the grain. Where rooms open well together the 
 tone dominating the principal room should be re- 
 peated in the adjoining apartments. 
 
 Many householders are possessed of certain 
 furnishings which, for reasons of economy, or from 
 association must be retained. When this is so these 
 should be carefully looked over and mentally ad- 
 justed to the new rooms. By having them well in 
 mind that scheme of finish and decoration can be 
 determined upon which will prove the best setting 
 for them. 
 
 There is no call, and indeed, no place for period 
 furnishing in the small and inexpensive house. If 
 one be the fortunate possessor of some old pieces of 
 mahogany, suggestive of Colonial days, it is well in 
 making new purchases to select something built 
 on Chippendale, Heppelwhite Colonial, or Georgian 
 lines. There is an excellent chair called "Windsor" 
 fashioned after those used by the Pilgrim fathers, and 
 
 67- 
 
68 
 
The Interior Finish and Furnishing of the Small House 
 
 69 
 
 brought by them overseas. These are made in 
 mahogany and birch, and sell for six and eight dollars 
 each, and may be given any finish desired; not only 
 are the hnes of these chairs good, but they are also 
 most comfortable. 
 
 In the furnishing of a house where the interior 
 architectural detail shows the simple lines of the one 
 here described, there is no furniture more fitting than 
 that of the so-called Mission or Arts and Crafts. It 
 is not, however, impossible to use a piece or two of 
 this style furniture where other chairs and tables are 
 of mahogany, provided the latter are not Oriental 
 or French in style. 
 
 The house of which this article treats was well 
 planned and well built, and in the planning the needs 
 of its occupants were carefully considered and met. 
 
 The low-studded front door was of Dutch design, 
 the upper section filled with leaded bull's-eye glass, 
 against which hung a dull green curtain of raw silk. 
 This wide door opened hospitably into a living-hall, 
 in dimensions I2xi8 feet; the standing woodwork, 
 including wainscot and beams, was entirely simple 
 in form and treatment. The wainscot showed flat 
 panels with unmoulded stiles and rails. The wood 
 was selected ash, the beautiful grain well brought out 
 by the greenish-brown stain known as bog oak, — 
 this was given a perfectly flat finish. The three feet 
 of wall above the wainscot to the heavy molding at the 
 ceiling line was covered in tapestry paper showing 
 the soft greens of foliage, picked out with some, yellow 
 and the dull brown of tree boles melting into a smoky 
 blue background. This paper cost but sixty cents 
 a roll of eight yards, and made a most acceptable 
 wall covering used above the brown green of the 
 wainscot. The yellow tones shown in some of the 
 foHage was repeated in the ceiling tints. This 
 room opened into the dining-room. The wide fire- 
 place here was flanked on either side by built-in seats 
 or ingle-nooks, above which shelves were set. The 
 woodwork in this room was more decidedly brown, 
 showing no green, but harmonized perfectly with 
 that of the hall. 
 
 The dining-room furniture had been purchased in 
 an unfinished state, was also of ash, and stained and 
 finished to match the brown woodwork. The rough 
 plaster between the beams of the ceiling and showing 
 above the wainscot, was stained a deep pumpkin- 
 yellow, — a color which was a stronger shade of that 
 used on the ceiling in the hall. The casement win- 
 dows showed small square panes. At the western 
 end of the room these were set high above the wain- 
 scot. The wide shelf which formed the sill, held a 
 row of blue and white pots, in which symmetrical 
 dwarf pine trees were planted. Run on slender 
 brass rods, placed close against the glass, were yellow 
 soft linen curtains, — these had been made from old 
 linen sheets, dyed to exactly match the tint of the 
 plaster. 
 
 When the room was completed it was discovered 
 that the Milwaukee brick, of which the fireplace and 
 mantel were made, showed an irregularity of color 
 that in some places was not in harmony with the color 
 of side walls and curtains; it was therefore deter- 
 mined to stain these. The mortar was carefully 
 scraped out and the brick given a coat of Pollard 
 oak wood tint; this brought them to a more even 
 tone, and showed a tint of brown harmonizing with, 
 though much lighter than, the color of the woodwork. 
 The mortar was stained in mixing and showed al- 
 most black when the bricks were repointed. The 
 fixtures and hardware in this room were of wrought 
 iron, simple almost to crudeness in design and make. 
 Over the centre of the dining-table, suspended from 
 the beam above by iron chains, was a spreading 
 shade of porcelain; over this was placed a flounce 
 of fluted silk, in a much deeper, browner shade of 
 yellow than that used on the plaster; this was trim- 
 med about with heavy silk fringe in the same color. 
 The eflFect was extremely decorative and rich in 
 appearance, the cost, however, was but little. Clus- 
 tered under this porcelain shade was a group of 
 electric light bulbs. 
 
 Much blue and white china was used in this din- 
 ing-room. Some especially good pieces selected for 
 decorative use were set upon the plate rail, which 
 finished the wainscot, where they showed well against 
 the yellow background. On a small teak-wood 
 stand on the dining-table was a wide-lipped brass 
 basin. From the centre of this, apparently unsup- 
 ported, sprung straight stalks of blue flags, the sword 
 like leaves and conventional blossoms making a most 
 decorative efi^ect. This brass bowl had been picked 
 up in Chinatown and was a barber's bowl. The 
 joined sections of metal set in the bottom of it were 
 also Chinese in construction and was known as a 
 turtle, the stems of the flowers were introduced into 
 each section and thus held firmly in place, the bowl 
 being half filled with water. 
 
 A blue, white and gray Japanese rug was used 
 under the table, the floor of maple having been 
 treated to a coat of golden-yellow stain was finished 
 with a soft polish. The same stain and finish were 
 used on the floors throughout the house, all those on 
 the first floor being of maple. 
 
 The living-hall, which, perhaps, by right of pre- 
 cedence, should have been described first, had 
 curtains in its doorway of a domestic tapestry which 
 repeated the color and design of the tapestry paper 
 used above the wainscot, — this tapestry is fifty inches 
 in width and sells for $2.75 a yard. On the dining- 
 room side of the door a dull blue cotton velvet 
 was used as the hning. These curtains were 
 made, as were all door curtains throughout the house, 
 without interlining, and the edges closely stitched 
 in several rows as a finish. No cord or gimp was 
 introduced, they were run by a loose casing at the 
 
70 
 
The Interior Finish and Furnishing of the Small House 71 
 
 top on the curtain pole. The first hanging of these 
 curtains had been from rings; these, however, were 
 soon discarded for the other arrangement, as the 
 folds under this treatment were more accurate, and 
 there was no sagging. 
 
 Dull green raw silk, almost in pastel shade, 
 was used for the curtains at the casement windows, 
 these were run on a rod set close to the glass, and 
 finished with a three inch hem. The window seats, 
 of which there were two, were upholstered in the 
 tapestry, as was one large winged chair, which was 
 invitingly placed near the reading-table. 
 
 Carefully chosen and beautiful Oriental rugs 
 were used on the floor, — these had been picked up 
 at various auctions, and, save in time expended in 
 seeking them, had been moderate in price. A 
 Khiva Bokhara, showing the beautiful mulberry red 
 one finds in them, mingled slightly with dull blues, 
 greens and black, was the chef-d' oeuvre among them. 
 The fixtures in this room, as well as the hardware, 
 were of brush brass, simple in design. The built- 
 in book-shelves were well filled and much care was 
 taken in the placing of books to make an attractive 
 color arrangement of their bindings. No smallest 
 detail of color effect was missed in the furnishing of 
 this room. The table, Morris chair, several straight 
 chairs, and the desk were all of Arts and Crafts 
 design and of black oak. The mulberry red of the 
 Khiva rug was repeated in the crinkled sheepskin 
 with which the cushions of the Morris chair were 
 covered. A tall green vase of Chinese ware had been 
 converted into a lamp which wore a shade of pierced 
 metal, lined with green silk. Few pictures were 
 used. Some pieces of copper and brass in quaint 
 shapes were placed decoratively; against the wain- 
 scot a fragment of plaster frieze was hung, stained 
 brownish yellow and given a wax finish. Except 
 the rugs in this room there was nothing which was 
 really costly in its furnishing. The chairs and 
 heavy table had been purchased from the same firm 
 who made the dining-room set. This furniture can 
 be had in all of the simple designs suggestive of the 
 Artsjand Crafts which are now so favored. They 
 are well made and strong but simple in construction 
 so that their cost is nominal. Opening from this 
 living-hall on the north side was a small room fitted 
 as a smoking-room and den. Here the walls were 
 covered with two-toned dull blue fibre paper, the 
 woodwork was stained black. The ceiling to the 
 picture rail, which was set at the tops of doors and 
 windows, was tinted in a shade of cafe au lait that 
 was repeated in straight pongee curtains which 
 hung at the windows, these were decorated across 
 the lower end with a conventionalized stencil design 
 in blue, dull old red and black. 
 
 The mistress of the house had not only done this 
 work but made and designed the stencil. These 
 curtains were very beautiful and Oriental in ap- 
 
 pearance. Some rich bits of Oriental embroidery 
 had been converted into pillow covers and were 
 used on a long deep window seat, which served as a 
 lounging place in this inviting room. The mattress 
 pad which covered this seat was upholstered in dull 
 blue velveteen, and beside the embroidered pillows 
 referred to, there were others covered in raw silk 
 in shades of dull green, blue and old red. Hongkong 
 wicker chairs were used here, and they also were 
 furnished with soft loose cushions. A collection 
 of interesting foreign photographs framed in narrow 
 flat black frames were well grouped on the walls, 
 the blue paper making an excellent background. 
 Tabourets and low stands of teak-wood and black 
 stained oak were conveniently placed. The stands 
 held brass and copper jardinieres with growing 
 plants. 
 
 The rug was a Wilton of small Persian pattern, 
 reproducing all of the various colors used in the 
 room. 
 
 The kitchen, which was only divided from the 
 dining-room by a butler's pantry of narrow confines, 
 was not the least attractive feature. The standing 
 woodwork here was of yellow pine, and had been 
 treated with three coats of shipoleum, a tough 
 varnish which well withstands heat and moisture, 
 and has so high a gloss as to render it sanitary and 
 readily cleansed. Above the four-foot wainscot, 
 (ceiled, tongued and grooved) the walls were 
 covered with a washable paper, of blue and white 
 tile design. At the windows were hung curtains 
 of blue and white linen crash. There were wide 
 sills to these casement windows, and on these were 
 set red flower pots in which grew geraniums. The 
 cooking utensils had been selected with much care, 
 and had decorative qualites as well as utility 
 to recommend them. The blue and white enamel 
 ware, the long-handled copper saucepans and big- 
 bodied brass boilers, added greatly to the attractive- 
 ness of this unusual kitchen. The floor was covered 
 with blue and white linoleum, and above the range 
 the chimney-breast was painted a strong brick 
 red in oils. Above the artistic qualities one felt 
 in looking at this room the thoroughly sanitary 
 and washable possibilities of everything. Floor, 
 wall covering, curtains, chimney, all were capable 
 of being thoroughly cleansed with soap and water. 
 A row of potted flowers added to the quaint effect. 
 
 In the small house, the lower floor of which 
 was described above, the wide stair-way leading 
 to the upper room was broken midway by a small 
 landing; a deep casement window was set here 
 with built-in seat below; this seat was upholstered 
 with dull green velvet and bore pillows covered 
 with raw silk in pastel tones. The treads of the 
 stairway were uncovered, stained like the floor 
 below, and finished with two coats of florsatin. 
 
72 
 
The Interior Finish and Furnishing of the Small House 73 
 
 The same stain and finish was used on the standing 
 woodwork as that in the room from which the stairs 
 ascended. 
 
 The walls of the small upper hall were covered in 
 a goldenrod shade of grass-cloth which agreed per- 
 fectly with the various colors shown in the rooms 
 opening from it. The standing woodwork of this 
 hall had been treated with ivory eggshell-white 
 enamel. The ceiling was tinted in exactly the same 
 shade. A small settle and table were here, the latter 
 holding a plant; these were of birch stained a brown 
 mahogany. The restrained dignity of treatment 
 felt in the lower rooms of this house pervaded its 
 upper chambers, though in a lesser degree. The 
 standing woodwork in all of the rooms is of white 
 wood which had been treated with the various 
 enamels best harmonizing with the color scheme of 
 the room. 
 
 The portion of the front bedroom, — which is also 
 the largest, — extending over the veranda below, is 
 shown in the picture. A well-wrought-out color 
 scheme was used here. The minutest particular 
 ot every detail has been treated with the same care- 
 ful consideration as was given to the selection of 
 furniture and wall covering. The latter in this 
 room is of two-toned, almost invisible stripe, in dull 
 shades of green flock paper (the room faces south); 
 the upper third of the wall covered in a glazed Eng- 
 lish paper of dainty and exquisite coloring, — pale 
 spring blossoms, a mingling of crocus and pink 
 spiraea, with foliage in green pastel shades, which 
 harmonized perfectly with the deeper shades of the 
 same color in the lower wall. The standing woodwork 
 had been treated with ivory eggshell-white enamel, 
 like that used in the hall; the picture rail set at the 
 joining of the lower wall-paper with the figured upper, 
 and also the mold at the ceihng line were treated 
 with the same enamel. The mantel was an attrac- 
 tive feature of this room, the fireplace being wide 
 and deep, holding brass andirons of simple design; 
 the mantel itself was suggestive of Colonial, the wide 
 mirror extended almost its length above the narrow 
 shelf; the frame of this was dull and entirely with- 
 out ornamentation. The tile used about the fire- 
 place and hearth was in the shade of jade green, 
 slightly deeper in tone than the side walls, and of 
 unglazed surface. 
 
 The window treatment was especially good; 
 glazed English chintz, repeating exactly the color and 
 design of the upper wall, was used as a valance twelve 
 inches deep, and for the straight hanging curtains 
 outlining the windows reaching to the sill. Next 
 the glass were draperies of sheer white muslin with 
 tiny embroidered dots; these curtains were made 
 with 2j inch ruffles up the front and were caught 
 back on either side and held in place by bands of 
 the muslin tied in crisp smart bows; these curtains 
 were run by a casing at the top, on slender brass 
 
 extension rods, and set close to the window. The 
 glazed chintz curtains were laid in scant folds, the 
 stiffness of the material necessitating and calling 
 tor this treatment. The lower edge of the valance, 
 as well as the lower edge and sides of the long cur- 
 tains were finished by an inch wide cotton fringe 
 which showed white and green. The seat below 
 was a dress box, the top being lightly but comfort- 
 ably padded and upholstered with the chintz; a 
 flounce of which, laid in shallow pleats, completed 
 it. The pillows were covered in Parma satin, a 
 glossy cotton fabric which launders well. This 
 material comes in beautiful tones, those selected 
 here being pastel green, soft light yellow and dull 
 old rose. The furniture in this room had all been 
 treated with the ivory enamel in precisely the same 
 tones as the woodwork. The seats of the chair were 
 covered with the glazed chintz, as was also the 
 winged chair. The large Wilton rug which held 
 the centre of the floor was in two tones of mossy 
 green, much darker in color but entirely in harmony 
 with the wall covering. 
 
 A bed of simple cottage design was kept all in 
 white. A large black fur rug was effectively used 
 before the fireplace. This strong mass of black 
 accentuated and brought out the color scheme of 
 the room very beautifully; a touch of black appeared 
 again in the frames of the pictures on the wall. 
 
 Upon the pretty dressing-table, crystal candle- 
 sticks were used with little fluted shades of pink silk. 
 The same color and material was in larger form on 
 the crystal lamp which held the centre of the small 
 table, placed attractively near the inviting winged 
 chair. A book cover made from a bit of dull green 
 Venetian brocade and trimmed about with gold 
 galloon, lay on the table. Even the small work-box 
 played its part in the scheme of the room, it being 
 of pale green, faint yellow and pink straw. 
 
 The woman who was responsible for the beauty 
 of this house, admitted that this small basket box 
 was really accountable for the color scheme of the 
 room. "A Christmas box of bonbons it was," she 
 said, "and as I was then planning my house, the 
 attractive and rather unusual mingling of these 
 colors in these particular tones appealed to me. I 
 decided to use this for my spools and skeins, and 
 from it built up my room. I determined to find a 
 wall-paper showing these colors. Imagine my 
 pleasure one day in the early spring, to discover dis- 
 played in the window of one of the leading shops 
 this very paper, with the glazed chintz draped be- 
 side it. They insisted in the shop that the entire 
 wall covering should be of this figured paper, with 
 window draperies and furniture covering of the 
 chintz, when, armed with my little basket, I went in 
 to try the colors. They harmonized perfectly. My 
 own decision, however, was quickly taken, — it would 
 be impossible for me to live in a room with walls 
 
I 
 
 . : I ■ ■ 
 
 n ' ■ 
 
 M 
 
 74 
 
The Interior Finish and Furnishing of the Small House 75 
 
 covered completely with the figured paper, the de- 
 sign repeated in the draperies, — and I found, after 
 much search, the two-toned stripe in exactly the 
 proper shades of green; it is the white light in the 
 green that makes this so restful. The curtains, you 
 see, are brought only against the plain wall, and to 
 my mind the effect is much more attractive. Every 
 bit of pink and green and yellow used in this room, 
 has been carefully matched and tried out with the 
 coloring of the wall paper and chintz, even the Fra 
 Angelica angels in the round gold frame above my 
 mantel showing the same colors in deeper tones. 
 When my room was completed, I felt it needed some 
 strong accentuating note, and decided upon the 
 purchase of the black fur rug. I searched vainly 
 for a rug ot the size and quality I wished which 
 came within my price; finally I bought two of the 
 Japanese goat skms, selecting them from dozens 
 that were shown me. These skins show a good 
 lustre, and when carefully joined, as they have been, 
 the effect, I think, is rather good, and particularly 
 satisfactory since they cost me but ^6.00 each." 
 
 The electric fixtures in the room were simple in 
 design and of brush brass, the only elaboration being 
 the candelabra effect on either side of the mantel. 
 These candelabra were found in a second-hand shop 
 and cost $5.50 for the pair; they were carefully 
 cleaned and finished to suit the other fixtures in the 
 room, and wired and fitted with electric candles. 
 
 The room over the den, adjoining this apartment, 
 one realized at once was intended for a man's room. 
 The walls were covered in pewter gray grass-cloth; 
 the ceiling of ivory white extended to the picture 
 rail. The furniture was of perfectly simple lines 
 and comprised a single bed, a chiffonier, some book- 
 shelves, an easy chair, a writing table, and some 
 smaller chairs — all of comfortable design. The case- 
 ment windows were hung with straight curtains next 
 the glass, of sheer white organdy, made with three- 
 inch hems; over these were placed straight draperies 
 of raw silk. The upholstery of the chairs and cover- 
 ing of the window seat was of cut green velvet, rich 
 and dark in tone; the door curtain was also of this 
 material. The furniture was stained, as was the 
 woodwork, with black-oak wood tint and given a 
 flat dull finish. 
 
 On the writing table much red morocco was used; 
 pad, letter-box and ink-well holder, showed a bril- 
 liant scarlet. Hunting prints of pink-coated horse- 
 men repeated this color on the walls. A rug of 
 two-toned Brussels in shades of very dark green cov- 
 ered the centre of the floor. All hardware and 
 fixtures were of wrought iron. The bold bits of 
 brilliant scarlet introduced in this room saved it 
 from sombreness. The handling of the plain masses 
 of color was extremely well done, the effect being 
 strong and characteristic. 
 
 The guest chamber, nursery and bath-rooms |re- 
 
 main to be described in this very perfect house. The 
 bath-room had tiled wainscot to the height of seven 
 feet, the tiling being of jade green with flecks of 
 white; the upper surface of the sanded wall, and also 
 the ceiling, had been painted in pure white, in oil. 
 All standing woodwork had been treated with three 
 coats of flat lead, followed by two coats of No. 10 
 enamel which gave a hard surface with a fine gloss. 
 All fixtures were of nickel plate and glass; wherever 
 possible glass was used, the rod for towels and the 
 shelves for bottles were all of it. The rug of green 
 and white was washable, as in fact, was everything 
 in this hygienic bath-room. The high diamond-pane 
 window was curtained with green and white mus- 
 lin. 
 
 The nursery showed the same study of detail as 
 the other rooms of the house. The rough plaster 
 walls were painted in oil, the last coat being flatted 
 by turpentine. From the picture rail to the ceiling 
 line, the upper third of the room was covered with 
 an attractive nursery paper of English make, known 
 as the "Goose Girl Pattern." The design showed 
 smiling little maids in sabots, the white of their 
 caps repeated again in waddling fat geese which 
 followed them in endless procession around the room. 
 The ceiling was white, as was also the woodwork. 
 The diminutive furniture of this room made it emi- 
 nently the realm of the baby. Hangings of yellow 
 linen some shades lighter than the side walls draped 
 the windows over white organdy curtains next 
 the glass. One side of the room was given up to 
 what appeared to be low bookcases with doors. 
 Books, however, filled only a portion of these, the re- 
 mainder being utilized as a general storeroom for 
 toys; the doors opened easily and were within reach 
 of the little hands. The maple floor was left in the 
 natural color and finished with florsatin. A two- 
 toned rag rug in shades of blue covered the centre and 
 the chair cushions wore slips of blue and white linen 
 toweling; these could be readily removed and laun- 
 dered. 
 
 The guest-room was of northern exposure; the 
 side walls were covered with an English paper of 
 soft pinkish cream background, against which, 
 apparently thrown with lavish hand, were great 
 clusters of American Beauty roses. Extending to the 
 picture rail, the ceiling was tinted the shade of the 
 background. All woodwork, including the picture 
 rail, in this room was finished with leaf green enam- 
 elacq, a shade exactly repeating the soft whitish 
 green color of the foliage of the roses. The casement 
 windows were hung with embroidered muslin in pink 
 and white, with straight hanging over-draperies of 
 thin rose silk, matching the color of the American 
 Beauty roses. The bed of brass was dressed simply 
 with a white Marseilles spread, and hem-stitched 
 linen pillow slips, a treatment that was evidently in 
 favor with the mistress of this house, as it was used 
 
76 The Interior Finish and Furnishing of the Small House 
 
 throughout. A rug of rich, soft crimson Wilton with 
 a two-toned border, held the centre of the floor. The 
 furniture was oi willow, comprising a small round 
 table, two easy chairs and a rocker; these chairs were 
 upholstered with square pad cushions covered in 
 Marlborough velvet in the shade of red of the cur- 
 tains. The cushions were caught in with buttons 
 and fastened to the backs and seats of the chairs. A 
 window-seat was upholstered in the same and made 
 an inviting lounging-place with book-shelves built 
 in above, within easy reach. A screen, a writing 
 table, and a desk chair were of mahogany and com- 
 pleted the actual furniture used in this pretty room. 
 The book-shelves held a small but choice collection 
 of books, varied enough to please all tastes. The 
 writing table was well stocked with stationery and 
 stamps, and all paraphernalia, including tablets 
 and letter-box. The latter were covered in attrac- 
 tive brocade which harmonized well with the color- 
 ing of the room. The inkstand was of silver. The 
 dressing table was complete with all the toilet neces- 
 sities. The mahogany candle stand near the bed, 
 held, beside the silver candlestick, snuffer and tray. 
 
 a glass pitcher of quaint design, and a small biscuit 
 jar of glass. 
 
 While the amount of money expended — in making 
 this really beautiful home complete — was modest, 
 the time spent in careful study of effects, the thought 
 and the artistic ability which stood for the harmony 
 and comfort of the whole was great. Each room 
 had its story of origin and growth, — the living-room 
 was evolved from the wall-paper and the tapestry 
 which was found to match it. The next purchase 
 was the large table; this cost ^30, but was made of 
 ash and put together by hand; in durability it prom- 
 ised to last through successive generations; the same 
 could be believed of the winged chair, which cost 
 ^45, well padded and cushioned. These two pieces 
 established the precedent in quality for the room. 
 
 A bit of the wall-paper, fabric, and woodwork was 
 carried from shop to shop and tried with all selec- 
 tions made; this included curtains, rugs, and the 
 pillow covers and lamp-shades. No smallest pur- 
 chase was ventured without due consideration, and 
 to this fact the success of the color effects could be 
 attributed. 
 
 A COLONIAL STAIR HALL 
 
Seacoast Bungalows 
 
 ' I ^HE bungalows illustrated here are built on the seashore in Essex county, Mass. Number One is built of wood, covered with 
 JL clapboards and pamted white. The roof is of shingles and the chimneys are of field stone. There is no inside sheathing, the 
 frame timbers of the house being exposed; as may be seen in the view of the living-room. The inside wood trim is of cypress, the 
 shellacked floors of polished hard wood, with rugs. There is an open fireplace and abundant shelving is fitted in between the 
 timbers of the frame. Bungalow Number Three is built of rough field stone for the lower story, and wood above. Bungalow Number 
 Two has stucco walls, green shutters and heavily thatched roof The living-room and dining-room in this house have an open fireplace. 
 The second story bedrooms are reached by a hanging gallery, shown in the interior view. All the fittings are suggestive of sea 
 life and most ot them were made by ship carpenters. Reference has already been made elsewhere to the adaptability of the bungalow 
 type to the various needs of house owners of moderate purse, and for a week-end house at the seashore or a summer cottage, nothing 
 can approach it for the satisfaction it gives. 
 
 Plan of Bungalow Number One 
 
 
 
 
 
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 SEAWARD VIEW OF BUNGALOW NUMBER ONE 
 
 77 
 
78 
 
 Seacoast Bungalows 
 
 TWO PACIFIC COAST INTERIORS 
 
Seacoast Bungalows 
 
 79 
 
 LANDWARD VIEW OF BUNGALOW NUMBER ONE 
 
 LIVING-ROOM IN BUNGALOW NUMBER ONE 
 
80 
 
 Seacoast Bungalows 
 
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"Aubrey," Whitemarsh, Pa. 
 
 Cope &f Stewardson, Architects 
 
 THE FRONT 
 
 NEIGHBORHOOD traditions have governed the style of the 
 house. In the midst of Revolutionary battle-fields, the 
 portico of lofty columns is altogether appropriate. Although not 
 much more than ten years old, the observer vyould be puzzled to 
 name its date. Its rough stone walls, thickly coated v^ith white- 
 wash, harmonizes well with the rudely shaded irregular flagging 
 of the portico floor and the brick walks. One might well be dis- 
 posed to believe that it had occupied its present site when the 
 soldiers of the Continental army were marching past the foot of 
 the hill. 
 
 This house is characteristic of Philadelphia, which contains 
 not a few similar forgeries. A house on a hilltop with its 
 several rooms exposed to northern winter storms should 
 
 have an urgent reason. Such is the present house, and 
 not to have been on the hilltop, and not to have set 
 facing northward, would have meant the loss of the greatest charm 
 of its site, for the outlook shows the beautiful stretches of " the 
 Whitemarsh Valley. 
 
 To the southward, in which direction there is no view, the 
 house is shaded by a dense grove of trees, and being intended 
 for use in summer time only, the shade is of more importance to 
 those who live in it than its openness to winter storms. There has 
 been no serious attempt at gardening, and while nature has been 
 allowed to creep closely up to it on all sides, save the front, so as 
 to give it a partly neglected air, it is not without its beautifu 1 
 charm. 
 
 First Floor Plan 
 
 Second Floor Plan 
 
 81 
 
82 
 
 "Aubrey" 
 
 THE REAR WALK 
 
 A CORNER OF THE GARDEN 
 
 THE ENTRANCE 
 
 ALONG THE FRONT 
 
"Redcrest Cottage," Guilford, England 
 
 Illustrations by Wetherill P. Trout 
 
 •.'.?;■ 
 
 VIEW FROM THE ROAD 
 
 THE views on this and the following page show a type of house which has had a very marked influence on American domestic 
 architecture. " Redcrest Cottage " is a small house recently erected near Guilford, England, and takes its name from the color 
 of the house itself. It is built of red brick irregularly laid with wide white joints on the first story. The upper story and roof are 
 covered with bright red tiles, producing a texture and color absolutely unattainable either with slate or shingles. The generous chim- 
 neys are typical of England, and indicate large open fireplaces within. The plan is a very delightful one for a small country home, 
 and would lend itself to a number of minor modifications. The garden paths are all bordered with box about six inches high. The 
 paths are all of pebbles, and the planting of the shrubbery gives the needed privacy to the first story, which, as may be seen, is set 
 rather close to the roadway. The southern exposure of the house gives ample access for the summer breezes and the winter sunshine. 
 The broad east window of the dining-room affords a beautiful view across the charming valley with cottages dotting the distant hill- 
 side. The porch is paved with red tiles, and taken altogether, the house behind its picket fence, embowered in masses of green, and 
 softened by the climbing roses presents as charming a picture of domestic life on a moderate scale as one is likely to see in a long 
 day's journey. ; 
 
 8a 
 
84 
 
 "Redcrest Cottage" 
 
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 PLAN OF THE HOUSE AND GARDEN 
 
 
 ■*<asLjLi^ 
 
 
 'Ml ■ VA 
 
 
 HIhe Hast Hnd 
 
 SIDE ELEVATION 
 
Cottages at Roland Park, 
 Baltimore, Md. 
 
 T^ OLAND PARK was one of the earliest residential park schemes to be carried to a successful issue in this country. It is situated on 
 -'-^ the outskirts of the city of Baltimore in a beautiful rolling country, and commands fine views of the surrounding district. It is 
 intended for those who prefer the country to the city, yet with all the city conveniences. It is within twenty minutes' ride of the heart of 
 the business district, and has a completely appointed club house, golf links, stables, garage, and all the other appurtenances of com- 
 fortable living; yet the promoters of Roland Park have from the first very successfully included in their scheme home builders 
 of moderate means. So far from making any attempt to exclude these they have been most careful of their interests, and through their very 
 competent official architect, Mr. Edward W. Palmer, Jr. are now prepared to co-operate with intending house builders on any desired 
 scale of expenditure. Many of the most successful houses in the Park have been built by the Company itself, and sold or leased to resi- 
 dents. Those shown in the accompanying pages illustrate the Roland Park type, although there are others on a much larger and more 
 elaborate scale. The Company has already once enlarged its original tract, and is preparing to take again a similar step immediately. 
 The property is beautifully wooded in parts, and is in all respects an ideal residence section. 
 
 MRS. ELEANOR BRANNAN'S HOUSE 
 
 Wtatt & NoLTiNQ, Architects 
 
 85 
 
Cottages at Roland Park 
 
Cottages at Roland Park 
 
 87 
 
 MR. R. ROBINSON'S HOUSE 
 
 Wtatt & NoLTiNG, Architects 
 
 3CHCME NP4. ROLAND PAR|-k CO 
 
 SCHEME N-'jV ROUATSD PARK CO 
 
 Plan of the Ground Floor 
 
 Plan of the Second Floor 
 
88 
 
 Cottages at Roland Park 
 
 MR. McSHERRY'S HOUSE 
 
 Wyatt & NoLTiNQ, Architects 
 
 Plan of the Ground Floor 
 
 Plan of the Second Floor 
 
Cottages at Roland Park 
 
 89 
 
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 Cottages at Roland Park 
 
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Cottages at Roland Park 
 
 MR. S. C. TOWNSEND'S HOUSE 
 
 Ellicott & Emmaet, Architects 
 
 91 
 
 MR. C. WHYTE'S HOUSE 
 
 Wyatt & NoLTiNGj Architects 
 
 MR. H. R. STUBBS' HOUSE 
 
 Ellicott & Emmaet, Architects 
 
VI 
 
 Planting About the Home 
 
 IV. C. Egan 
 
 /^NE has not always built himself a home when 
 ^-^ his house is finished. He has iound the 
 pearl and must furnish the setting. He has en- 
 deavored to have his house artistic and homelike, 
 but it will stand bleak and desolate unless its environ- 
 ments are pleasing. Lawn, shrub, tree and vine are, 
 in the main, the pigments that may be blended 
 into a coloring that, while enhancing the beauty 
 of the house, will add the mystic charm of a home 
 feeling. What to plant is a matter of personal selec- 
 tion restricted only by want of space and climat^ic con- 
 ditions. How to plant is a question to be consid- 
 ered. My experience is that the average man build- 
 ing himself a house, does not know many of the sim- 
 lest requirements of plant life, and they are all sim- 
 ple. 
 
 The lawn is the most important feature, as on it 
 depends mainly the dignity and repose so essential. 
 The condition of the soil is a paramount question 
 here as elsewhere. The main part of it may be 
 in a suitable condition for seeding, but that part of 
 it (except, perhaps, the top foot) taken out in ex- 
 cavating for the cellar, is seldom fit for immediate 
 use. Unless desired for filling in deep depressions, 
 or for forming the base of a terrace, where a foot of 
 good soil may be placed over it, it is better to pile it 
 away in some corner where a few winters' frosts may 
 mellow it and prepare the, now inert, plant food it 
 contains. Composted with fresh manure hastens 
 its cure and, of course, enriches it. If the main body 
 of the soil is hard and unfit for immediate seeding it 
 should be spaded up, or plowed deeply, harrowed 
 and leveled before seeding. 
 
 A good plan to pursue, where one has a lot he does 
 not intend to build on for a year or so, is to have it 
 manured and plowed at once, and planted to corn or 
 potatoes or any crop easily hoed. This will put the 
 soil in prime condition for a lawn. Cultivate 
 even where the house is to stand, as in this instance 
 the top eighteen inches is available for leveling or 
 tree holes. Do not allow the weeds to mature and 
 seed or you will have a weedy lawn at the start. Do 
 not plow nearer any tree intended to remain than the 
 spread of its branches as the feeding roots extend out 
 that far. The space within this circle may be care- 
 fully dug up with a spade or garden fork. The 
 edges of walks or roadways and any limited area 
 
 near the house had better be sodded. In planting, 
 keep your lawn open in the center, confining it to the 
 border walks and drives, retaining pleasant vistas 
 and shutting out unpleasant views. If you desire 
 formal plantings, keep them near the house. The 
 house is formal and its immediate surroundings may 
 be so. 
 
 The matter of landscape gardening is a too volu- 
 minous one to be included in this article, and unless 
 one feels capable and desirous of making his home 
 and its surroundings reflect his individuality he 
 had better engage the services of a competent land- 
 scape gardener. A good carpenter may not be a 
 good architect, and a good florist or gardener may 
 not know how to lay out a place, therefore be careful 
 in your selection. The first laying out is the foun- 
 dation and if wrong, all is wrong and correcting a 
 foundation error is expensive work. A great many 
 people engage a competent person to lay out and 
 plant their grounds. He does so with an eye to the 
 future. He anticipates the size the material will 
 reach in time and make the picture he is striving for. 
 He has left open stretches of lawns to give breadth 
 and dignity and effect. He is justly proud of his 
 work and is willing that it may be pointed out as an 
 example of his handicraft if the owner will only let it 
 alone. Here is where many owners err, they don't 
 let it alone. They see a tree or shrub they do not 
 seem to have and get it. They naturally seek an 
 open space, and down it goes, destroying the har- 
 mony and effect originally intended. This is often 
 repeated until the open spaces are cluttered up and a 
 thing of beauty becomes a tangled wilderness. Do 
 not over-plant. In small yards one tree is often 
 enough. One good specimen standing alone, mon- 
 arch of all it surveys, exhibits its individuality and is 
 imposing in its grandeur. In your drives along the 
 country roads you have often admired some stately 
 tree, and if you look back a moment you will remem- 
 ber that it stood alone with all its glories outlined 
 against the sky. On large grounds, crowding may be 
 admissible where a background of foliage or a wind- 
 break is wanted. 
 
 I am going to mention only a few desirable plants, 
 all of which are hardy in our climate. If a deciduous 
 hedge not higher than five feet is desired, there is 
 nothing finer, hardier, or more satisfactory than the 
 
 92 
 
Planting About the Home 
 
 93 
 
 LOOKING THROUGH THE ROSE ARCHES 
 
 AN EDGE OF THE LAWN 
 
94 
 
 Planting About the Home 
 
 Japanese Berheris Thunbergii. It is saying a good 
 deal when I state that I consider it, all told, the finest 
 shrub introduced within the past fifty years. It is 
 one of the earliest to put forth its leaves in the spring, 
 a pleasing green all summer. Its flowers are 
 inconspicuous and not considered in its attractive- 
 ness. In the fall its foliage assumes most bril- 
 liant tones of red, and as it gradually falls, discloses 
 numerous bright coral berries in pendent rows all 
 along the under side of the slightly archmg branches. 
 These remain all winter, furnishing a welcome feast 
 for the early spring birds. It forms a compact, 
 spreading hedge that never should be clipped, for 
 then it loses its beauty both in form and berry. I 
 have seen many mistakes in planting it on account 
 of ignorance of its eventual width. 
 
 Most people plant too near the walk or roadway. 
 In time, if happy, it will obtain a width of six to 
 eight feet and should therefore be planted fully 
 three and a half to four feet away from the walk. 
 It is not fastidious as to soil and situation, but does 
 not like wet feet in winter. Dry situations suit it 
 best and I have seen it used on terraces with effect. 
 If one fancies a hedge of roses, the Japanese 
 Rosa riigosa, if cut back quite severely each spring, in 
 order to keep the foliage close to the ground will be 
 acceptable. They come in two colors, one pink and 
 one white and should be mixed indiscriminately, and 
 may be planted two and a half feet from the walk. 
 The large cherry-like heps in generous clusters are 
 prominent features in the late summer and fall 
 months. 
 
 For porch vines, the Clematis paniculata, and a 
 somewhat smiliar, but earlier blooming Clematis 
 Flammula, are indispensable, and with them, if one 
 is willing to run the chance of disappointment, the 
 large flowered hybrids may be used. Clematis 
 Jackmani (blue) and its white form, with the white 
 Henryi are probably the most reliable. A little 
 understood disease attacks them, causing a sudden 
 dying back of a seemingly healthy vine. Once in a 
 while one escapes and then you have a treasure. 
 All of them should be cut back in the fall to within a 
 foot or so of the ground. 
 
 Where a permanent woody twiner is favored the 
 Akehia quinata is excellent. It is a dainty vine with 
 five-fingered leaflets that when silhouetted against a 
 moonlit sky is exceedingly attractive. Its dark 
 purple, small, quaint looking, but spicy scented 
 flowers are not very conspicuous, while its habit of 
 retaining its leafage until almost Christmas makes it 
 a favorite. Some vines are subject to the visits of 
 intruding worms and caterpillars, whose gymnastic 
 feats, when disturbed, often shoot them down one's 
 neck, but the Akehia has no charms for them and is 
 free from their visits. 
 
 The bitter-sweet of our woods, Celastrus scandens, 
 makes a pretty winter picture when trained up a 
 
 three-inch iron pipe, having at its top a four-spoked 
 iron wheel about twenty inches in diameter for the 
 vine to run up into and droop over. Make a good 
 deep hole for the vine and fill with rich soil, then dig 
 out, in the center, enough soil to allow the insertion 
 of a topless and bottomless box, eighteen inches 
 square and as high. Set it so that the top is some 
 six inches below the level of the surrounding soil, 
 set the pipe in the center a foot below the bottom of 
 the box, and then fill the box with cement. The 
 pipe will then be three feet below the surface and on 
 account of the cement block will never be tipped over 
 by storms. Plant the vine close to the box, which 
 will decay in time, and help it along whenever its 
 top is inchned to wander from its support. 
 
 My vine is a glorious sight in winter where we 
 are sure to see it three times a day, for it is in full 
 view from our dining-room window. Mine is 
 eighteen feet high, the vine drooping freely from 
 the wheel at the top. 
 
 While the best landscape gardeners decry the 
 use of colored foliage in shrubs and trees and it is 
 true the use alone of the varied tones of green 
 afforded by the planting of normal forms, produce 
 the most quieting and peaceful effect, some use may 
 be made of those having a transitory flame of color, 
 which disappears or is much modified as the foliage 
 matures. 
 
 The flow and ebb of the season's growth is marked 
 by brilliant colorings. In the spring the unfolding 
 buds of the oaks and many others are brilHant in their 
 colorings, and in the fall, color runs riot among the 
 maples and sumachs. Between these periods the 
 colors are normal. 
 
 I have a bit of fleeting color to be seen from my 
 windows and porch in the spring. At the extreme 
 left is a young specimen of Rivers' purple beech, the 
 only one in the group holding its color all the season. 
 Next to it is a Camperdown weeping elm, always 
 green, and above it a scarlet maple, conspicuous in 
 its bright fruit in late spring. To the right of the elm 
 and close to the bordering ravine trees is a Schwedler 
 maple whose fohage unfolds a dark red, gradually 
 assuming a bronze tone and eventually becoming a 
 dark green. Next to it and much smaller is a Wor- 
 leei maple, a light yellow at first gradually fading to a 
 slightly yellowish green. Next, but nearer, is a 
 young specimen of the European, weeping beech, 
 that has not yet attained that age when its fohage 
 hangs in weeping folds enabling it to be compared 
 to a tumbling cascade. 
 
 Sometimes one has situations too damp for many 
 ornamental forms that like a dry, well-drained soil, 
 such as the flowering cherries, plums, etc. Here 
 the Japanese Cercidiphyllum or the laurel-leaved 
 willow will be at home. 
 
 A glance at the trees in the illustrations will dis- 
 close one fact; namely that the foliage of all is 
 
Planting About the Home 
 
 95 
 
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96 
 
 Planting About the Home 
 
 carried down to the ground, enhancing their beauty. 
 Street trees or those Hning wallcs should have their 
 lower branches taken oft, but lawn trees, never. 
 To have them thus branched one must plant small 
 thrifty stock. One nurseryman will quote you cer- 
 tain trees, five, six, or perhaps eight feet high, while 
 another quotes but three feet, and all at the same 
 price. The chances are that the latter are the best, 
 the taller ones having been longer in the nursery 
 rows are apt to have been crowded and the lower 
 branches dead. 
 
 Trees in good soil grow fast enough. Those lining 
 the avenues of Washington, D. C, were raised from 
 seed sown by the present Curator of the Botanical 
 Gardens when he was well advanced in years. 
 
 One word about the "home" of the tree or shrub. 
 You are to transplant them from congenial soil and 
 conditions. You want them to thrive and become a 
 joy forever. So they will if you treat them well. 
 The act of transplanting destroys the feeding roots. 
 New and tender ones must be formed to penetrate 
 the surrounding soil in search of food and moisture. 
 The tree, in its enfeebled condition, suffering from 
 amputation, cannot succeed unless the surrounding 
 soil is loose and friable and contains a fair amount of 
 plant food. If your ground has been plowed fairly 
 deep and cultivated as suggested, but little further 
 work is needed, although care must be taken to have 
 that part that comes in contact with the roots friable 
 
 and easily worked. If not plowed or loosened up, 
 holes six or more feet in diameter and two deep, 
 filled with good soil, should be provided. Shrub and 
 vine holes may be four feet in diameter. Never place 
 wet, lumpy soil near the roots. Work the soil well 
 among, and under the roots, and when they are 
 covered, tamp hard, or flush in with a hose. In 
 dry weather soak thoroughly once in a while. 
 
 In moving into one's new home why not celebrate 
 the event by planting a tree ? Or why not celebrate 
 the birthday of the baby of the family in this way .? 
 That the event occurs at an improper season need 
 not deter you, if time is taken by the forelock. If 
 the event occurs in the winter, prepare the hole in 
 the fall, filling it in with good soil and dump over 
 it a load or two of fresh manure to keep free from 
 frost. Get your tree, also in the fall, and plant it 
 in a bushel basket, which may be kept in a bam or 
 cellar or any place not warm enough to incite growth. 
 When the day arrives, remove the manure, plant 
 basket and all and cover well with part of the manure. 
 The method for summer is on the same principle, only 
 no manure is needed and the tree, obtained in the 
 spring, is planted with its basket in some spare space 
 until wanted, when basket and all is moved. 
 
 A proper metal tag, containing a record, should 
 be attached to a limb by a copper ring, say six inches 
 in diameter, that may be removed from time to time 
 to prevent it growing into the wood. 
 
 A TOPIARY HEDGE OF CALIFORNIA PRIVET 
 
A Long Island Garden and Cottage 
 
 Grosvenor Atterbiiry, Architect 
 
 A BIRD'S-EYE VIEW OF THE HOUSE AND GARDEN 
 
 THE HOUSE AS EXECUTED 
 
 97 
 
A Suburban Home 
 
 Wilson Eyre, Architect, 
 
 VIEW FROM THE STREET 
 
 '' I ^HE house shown on this and the two following pages deserves careful attention. 
 ■*- It is typical of Mr. Eyre's work in two respects. First, the picturesque 
 simplicity of the exterior, and wonderfully homelike domestic air of the interior. 
 Built on the outskirts of a large city, the angular plan gives it at once an air of dis- 
 tinction among its neighbors. Rough brick is the material on the first story, the 
 side walls above being framework covered with rough-cast. The outside window 
 sashes are painted white, but all other exterior woodwork brown. The living-room 
 is finished in quartered white oak; elsewhere the interior finish is cypress and white 
 oak stained or painted. It will be noticed that one of the outside verandas can be 
 enclosed with glass in winter. 
 The lot measures seventy-six feet 
 along the street, and is one hun- 
 dred and ten feet deep, the house 
 being placed well toward one 
 corner of the lot in order that 
 the principal living-rooms may 
 have an open outlook. One 
 enters directly into the stair hall, 
 whose most striking feature is 
 the stairway itself, boldly expres- 
 sive of its construction and ma- 
 terial. This and the living- 
 room are typical of Mr. Eyre's 
 treatment of domestic interiors. 
 
 98 
 
A Suburban Home 
 
 99 
 
 VIEW FROM THE LIVING-ROOM 
 
 THE LIVING-ROOM FIREPLACE 
 
100 
 
 A Suburban Home 
 
VII 
 
 The Small Garden 
 
 John IF. Hall 
 
 l^'OTHINGcan produce a more bountiful source 
 i ^ of quiet pleasure to the suburban dweller 
 than a little garden. The suburban home is 
 usually built upon a plot ranging in size from one- 
 half to an acre. In either instance there is ample 
 space for a home garden where practically all the 
 lighter vegetables can be grown in sufficient quan- 
 tities tor the use of a family of ordinary size. Be- 
 sides supplying the table with absolutely fresh vege- 
 tables, gathered while crisp with the morning dew, 
 an hour, in the late afternoon, spent among the 
 plants by the business or professional man is more 
 conducive to health and real enjoyment than most 
 any other diversion. 
 
 Supposing that there is available for garden pur- 
 poses on the suburban home lot the quarter or the 
 half of an acre, the question of primary importance, 
 how best to prepare and make it on an economical 
 and practical basis, is presented. 
 
 The size and place of the garden having been 
 determined, it should be enclosed with a fence made 
 of wire netting and of sufficient height to prevent 
 depredation by chickens or otherwise. 
 
 HOW TO PREPARE THE GROUND •: ' 
 
 The soil should be broken fine as deep as the 
 plant roots may be expected to grow. This is from 
 fifteen to twenty inches, and more effective results 
 are obtained by spading than by plowing on a 
 limited area. The earth is left fine, loose, and 
 mellow far down, so the tender roots may grow 
 through it freely. It then holds moisture and lies 
 close to the roots, so as to supply them readily with 
 food. 
 
 After the ground is thoroughly broken it 
 should be fertilized and harrowed or rolled. Where 
 the harrow or roller is not at hand, good work can 
 be ^'done with a heavy rake. Let the soil be well 
 prepared before planting; neglect of this will be felt 
 all through the season. After the plants are growing 
 it is too late to attempt to work the ground beneath 
 them. It is also of the greatest importance that in 
 preparing the soil it should be in proper condition 
 to be worked. What the proper condition is can be 
 easily determined by squeezing a little of the soil in 
 the hand. If it makes a ball, and sticks to the hand, 
 it is too wet; if it breaks hard, it is too dry. To work 
 
 well it should crumble easily and finely, and leave 
 very little dirt on the hands. 
 
 Too much care cannot be given to the supply of 
 the necessary plant food, of which the chief essentials 
 are nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash. Any 
 fertilizer used to supply these elements should be 
 thoroughly distributed through all the soil to be 
 reached by the roots ot the plants, and this distribu- 
 tion must be made before planting. Turning and 
 re-turning the ground, and harrowing or raking, are 
 useful for this purpose. There is no rule by which 
 a wise selection of fertilizer can be made. It is often 
 found that a sandy soil is deficient in the essentials 
 ot plant food; that a clayey soil contains them in 
 abundance, and a limestone soil is likely to contain 
 a considerable proportion of phosphoric acid. There- 
 tore, what is a good fertilizer on a given soil for one 
 crop may be very unsatisfactory for another; the 
 matter ot fertilization must after all be very largely 
 a matter of experience from observing results. 
 
 As a general rule lime may be applied to a soil with 
 good results. It corrects acidity, makes clay soil 
 more friable and holds sand closer together. Nor is 
 it possible to go far wrong in the application of 
 humus, a name applied to any thoroughly rotted 
 vegetable or animal matter. Humus forms the 
 richness of nearly all good land, and rarely is there 
 too much ot it. In close-grained, sticky soils, which 
 have a tendency to bake, the humus produces a 
 looser texture and a better balance in the reten- 
 tion \oi moisture. On a loose and leachy soil it 
 brings the grains closer together and promotes 
 chemical activity and at the same time supplies 
 plant food. 
 
 Leaves, garden refuse, and barnyard manure 
 made into a compost and allowed to decay make 
 good humus. Wood ashes are a common and ready 
 source of potash, and in addition improve the mechan- 
 ical condition of most soils. The lime in them tends 
 to correct sourness and to promote the important 
 chemical process of nitrification. Ashes are usually 
 found to render light, sandy soils more moist. 
 Cotton-hull ashes are also very useful, furnishing 
 potash and phosphoric acid. In the use of com- 
 mercial fertilizers care must be taken that a wrong 
 use is not made of them. Chemical fertilizers may 
 be applied much nearer the time at which they are 
 to be used by the plant. A French authority says 
 
 101 
 
102 
 
 The Small Garden 
 
 for deep rooted plants, fertilizers should be put on 
 before breaking the ground; for shallow rooted 
 plants, after breaking. 
 
 SEED AND TIME OF PLANTING 
 
 The ground prepared and fertilized, then comes 
 the selection ot seed and planting. 
 
 It is usually considered enough to buy seed of 
 some reputable dealer and depend upon him for 
 quality. But it is so important to have good seed, 
 and mistakes are so easy, that careful examination 
 of the seed some time before planting is advisable. 
 Large, heavy seeds produce stronger plants than 
 do small, light seed. It is a mistake to plant old 
 seed. 
 
 The time for planting in any locality is only known 
 by experience, if early vegetables in the open air are 
 sought. The blooming of the peach is assigned as a 
 time for seeds that will germinate in a cold soil and 
 resist a slight frost. Among these are peas, spinach, 
 and onion. When the oak leaf breaks from the 
 bud is suggested for beets, turnips, corn and tomato. 
 Seeds that thrive only in warmer soil, as beans, 
 cucumber, cantaloupe, watermelon, squash, and 
 okra, may be planted when the blackberry is in 
 bloom. The planting must be made, of course, 
 with due consideration of the date when the vege- 
 table is expected to be ready for use, and if a continu- 
 ous supply is desired through the season, several 
 plantings at different dates must be made. || These 
 are known as successional plantings. 
 
 MAKING THE ROWS 
 
 Wheel tools will be found of great advantage in 
 cultivation and for this reason the rows should be 
 long and continuous. If enough of one kind of 
 vegetable to make a row across the garden is 
 not wanted, several kinds may be put in the same 
 row. 
 
 Let the rows run east and west when practicable, 
 so as to obtain the best sun effects. A line should 
 be used to keep the rows straight and parallel to each 
 other. But little extra time will be consumed in 
 using the line and the better results, aside from the 
 appearance, will more than repay the additional 
 trouble. 
 
 CONDITION OF THE SOIL 
 
 The soil should be moist when the seeds are put in. 
 The earth should be firmed above the seed by patting 
 it lightly with a hoe. This is to make sure that the 
 soil is brought close against the seed. Small, weak 
 seeds must not be put in ground that is not thor- 
 oughly prepared. It is well to sow some large seed 
 of vigorous growth, such as radish or turnip, with 
 
 celery and other small, weak seeds. The added 
 seed come up, breaking any crust which may have 
 formed. The radish or turnips must be pulled 
 out as soon as the other plants appear. Sow the 
 seed much thicker than the plants can be success- 
 fully grown and when the first true leaves appear, 
 thin to the proper distance and avoid loosening the 
 roots of plants that are left. 
 
 DEPTH OF PLANTING 
 
 The depth of cover depends upon the size and 
 strength of the seed, its habits of germination and 
 early growth, the soil, and the season of planting. 
 Planting too deep is frequently a cause of failure to 
 come up. Warmth, air and moisture are necessary 
 to germination. In the early spring moisture is 
 usually abundant, while warmth is lacking. The 
 soil is warmest near the surface, hence the cover 
 should be shallower than in summer, when warmth 
 is abundant and moisture is lacking in the surface 
 soil. Weak seeds should have less cover than 
 vigorous seeds. As a general rule the depth of 
 planting is indicated on the original package by the 
 seedsman, and it is safe to follow his directions in 
 that respect. 
 
 TRANSPLANTING 
 
 Plants from the hotbed or cold frame should be 
 transplanted soon after the formation of the first 
 true leaves. The ground into which the plants are 
 to be set should be in the best of condition and the 
 weather cloudy. The earth should be pressed 
 closely about the roots of the plants in their new 
 place. In removing plants from place to place 
 preserve as near unbroken as possible the mass of 
 dirt about the roots. If the leaves of the young 
 plants are clipped off about half-way back from the 
 tips, the evaporation from them will be lessened 
 that much and the roots will have an opportunity 
 to establish connection with the soil and secure ample 
 moisture before the full demand from the leaves is 
 renewed. By this process the plants' chances for 
 living will be materially increased. 
 
 CULTIVATION 
 
 The chief purposes of cultivation are to keep down 
 the weeds and to maintain in the soil a supply of 
 air and moisture favorable to plant growth. The 
 moisture in the soil about a vigorous plant is rapidly 
 carried away by evaporation from the leaves. As 
 long as the ground contains an ordinary water 
 supply for several feet below the surface a steady 
 flow of moisture goes upward through the minute 
 spaces between the soil grains. The upper layers 
 of soil are kept from becoming dry by this flow. 
 
The Small Garden 
 
 103 
 
 But when the rainfall is scant the moisture in the 
 lower soil also becomes exhausted and the plant 
 curls up and dwindles. The gardener must provide 
 against the occurrence of this condition. It is not 
 enough to remedy it; he must prevent it. One of 
 the most efficient means is a mulch, which is most 
 conveniently made of the surface soil. 
 
 TIME FOR THE SOIL MULCH 
 
 Usually as soon as a rain is over the atmosphere 
 is free ot moisture, and evaporation from the soil 
 sets in. The water that has just soaked in comes 
 up through the little pores between the soil grains 
 and passes off from the surface of the soil into the 
 air. 
 
 The gardener's aim with the mulch is to save 
 this moisture and send it through his plants. If the 
 little pipes or tubes formed by the pores of the soil 
 are broken, the flow through them is checked and 
 evaporation from the ground is much lessened. It is 
 only necessary then in order to save the moisture 
 for the plants, to break up the surface of the soil 
 with a rake or other implement. 
 
 It is a serious mistake to suppose that so long as 
 the surface remains moist the soil below is well 
 supplied with water. A damp surface may mean 
 only that moisture is rapidly evaporating into the 
 air. As often as the surface becomes solid it should 
 be stirred with a rake or hoe. As a rain or even a 
 shower compacts the soil at the surface, the common 
 notion that it renders raking or shallow plowing less 
 necessary is precisely contrary to the fact. It is then 
 especially that the surface should be broken. The 
 same is true after irrigation. The raking or plowing 
 should be done as soon as the soil will not cake 
 when squeezed in the hand. 
 
 IRRIGATION 
 
 ^Frequently dry weather continues so long that it 
 is impossible to preserve sufficient moisture by tillage 
 
 or any sort of mulching. It then becomes necessary 
 to water the garden. Where there is connection 
 with city water works the supply is ample and easily 
 reached. In other locations various forms of 
 cisterns and reservoirs are employed. 
 
 In watering, the earth should be thoroughly wet, 
 so that the moisture will get to the lower and outer 
 roots of the plants. In order to check evaporation 
 after sprinkling, the surface should be broken as 
 soon as dry enough to work. The watering should 
 be repeated when it is evident, upon careful watching, 
 that more moisture is necessary. It must be remem- 
 bered that the small, active roots, which take up 
 moisture and plant food, are most numerous at the 
 extremities of the large roots and at a distance from 
 the stem. 
 
 The water must be so given as to reach these 
 small roots. Water at any time when the plants 
 need it, and water thoroughly. It may be well 
 to keep in mind, however, that in the spring 
 the best results are obtained by watering in the 
 middle of the day, because the mornings and even- 
 ings are cool; in the summer, at evening because the 
 days are hot and a great part of the water given 
 would be evaporated immediately. 
 
 CONCLUSION 
 
 There doesn't appear to be any reason why the 
 suburban dweller should not have a home garden 
 affording at once both healthful exercise and profit. 
 An instance is in mind where a quarter acre garden 
 in a suburb of Washington City was made to supply 
 a family of six persons with fresh vegetables all 
 through the season, in addition to which there 
 were sold to neighbors, at current market prices, vege- 
 tables to the approximate amount of sixty dollars. 
 The amount received from the sales alone was 
 more than twice as much as 'the cost [of the labor, 
 the fertilizers, and the seeds used in making the 
 garden. 
 
VIII 
 
 What Six Thousand Dollars Will Do 
 
 tf^. P. R. P ember, Architect 
 
 TN a dwelling of this class the difficulties of the 
 -*- problem are doubled by the fact that light can be 
 relied on only from the front and rear, as rooms 
 lighted from the sides with neighbors but a few feet 
 away are at best in a sort of semi-darkness and cer- 
 tainly lack every element of privacy. It is the object 
 of this article to show that a house can be built 
 economically on a lot 60 feet wide and 150 feet deep, 
 taking the maximum advantage of both front and 
 rear light and securmg airiness, convenience and 
 privacy to the occupant. In brief, to accomplish 
 this end a house has been designed that gives to all 
 the living-rooms of the house either a back or a front 
 exposure and does not allow the kitchen, pantry and 
 sheds to monopolize all the rear light, often the best 
 attainable in the house. There are no important 
 windows in either side in any of the larger rooms. 
 
 The house is located well back from the street and 
 about centrally between the side lines of the lot. A 
 straight path leads from the sidewalk to the entrance 
 porch in the corner between the main house and the 
 kitchen wing and from it one steps into a commodi- 
 ous vestibule. On the left is a passage leading to the 
 kitchen, also to a toilet and to the cellar stairs. This 
 passage allows the maid to answer the door directly 
 without passing through any other room. 
 
 From the vestibule also opens the hall. To the 
 left is the staircase, to the right the living-room and 
 ahead is a glimpse across the veranda and right down 
 the garden. 
 
 The living-room is large and comfortable, with 
 windows on the sides affording cross ventilation and 
 coolness in summer. A generous fireplace is opposite 
 the entrance, flanked on either side by built-in book- 
 cases. Towards the street is a convenient window 
 seat, while on the garden side a French window opens 
 from the room out to the veranda. 
 
 Across from the living-room is the dining-room, 
 also large and airy, with bay windows for flowers at 
 one end and a French window opening onto the 
 veranda. On one side of the fireplace is a built-in 
 china closet, on the other a door leads through the 
 pantry to the kitchen. The range, sink and table 
 are all compactly arranged; while a nook of the 
 kitchen with a casement window opening towards 
 the street affords cross ventilation and a pleasant 
 sitting place for the maid — a place seldom found in 
 
 houses where there is no servants' room down-stairs. 
 Connected with the kitchen is a rear hall containing 
 space for a refrigerator and leading to a lattice en- 
 closed rear porch. On the opposite side access is 
 also gained to the stairs, thus avoiding the expense of 
 second stair. 
 
 Up-stairs are four bedrooms, bath and dressing- 
 room, all with ample closets and two of the rooms 
 with fireplaces, On the third floor are two servants' 
 rooms and ample storage. 
 
 The veranda is an intimate part of the house, con- 
 necting for summer use dining-room, hall, and living- 
 room and forming an outdoor sitting and dining- 
 room foi" summer; the table may be set here and 
 meals served through the dining-room. 
 
 From the veranda stretches the garden joined to 
 the house by a low terrace. This garden is designed 
 to make the rear portion of the lot appear at its very 
 largest. The central feature is a long simple panel of 
 turf centering on the veranda and entirely surrounded 
 by a panel walk. To right and left of the panel are 
 generous flower borders for annuals and perennials, 
 while at the end is a simple pergola with plastered 
 posts and hewn beams supporting a trellis for grapes, 
 clematis, wistaria, etc. This pergola is semicircular 
 in plan and surrounds a simple little pool for aquatica. 
 Backing up the flower borders and the pergola is a 
 border of hardy shrubs, massed to give pleasing 
 effects in bloom and foliage and interspersed with a 
 row of BoUeana poplars or Norway maples, which 
 form a background to the garden and cut off the 
 unpleasant features of neighboring backyards with- 
 out giving undue shade. Space is arranged at the 
 side for a bed for cut flowers and a laundry yard, and 
 at the extreme rear for vegetables and cold 
 frames. 
 
 The house is designed to be executed in a warm 
 gray plaster with all trim painted white, the roof of 
 shingles stained a dark moss green, all chimneys 
 plastered on the brick, blinds painted a dark olive 
 green. 
 
 In the interior all finish is very simple: of white 
 wood painted, the floors of No. i maple, stairs of 
 oak with cherry rail, simple brick and tile fireplaces 
 and hearths. 
 
 The actual cost of the house including the garden, 
 walks, pool and pergola is $6082.40. 
 
 104 
 
 S^ 
 
What Six Thousand Dollars Will Do 
 
 -^ ■ rrr- "-=• ai ■_ "^'?=- Vt-.t*',^^-^ 
 
 REAR VIEW 
 
 PLOT PLAN 
 
 First Floor Plan 
 
 Second Floor Plan 
 
A Dutch Colonial House 
 
 E. G. W. Dietrich, Architect 
 
 ARTISTIC success always results from a process 
 of elimination. The scheme suggested in any first 
 sketch IS always much more elaborate than the perfected 
 design. As one looks at the house shown on this page, it is 
 evident that the value of simplicity has been fully recognized, 
 and severe restraint exercised by the architect to produce 
 the desired effect. There has been no effort either on the 
 exterior or interior of the house for elaborate effects. The 
 first story is laid up with a gray sandstone laid as coursed 
 ashlar, while the gables and second story and roof are 
 shingled and stained. The second story rooms are 
 not materially smaller, as additional space has been 
 gained by building out over the porch. Natural wood fin- 
 ishes are used throughout, producing beautiful tones of 
 color in harmony with the simple color scheme of the walls 
 and furnishings. Each piece of furniture has been very 
 carefully selected for the particular place it occupies in the 
 house. There is a freshness of tone in the rugs and hang- 
 ings, and the wall surfaces are treated broadly as best suited 
 for the display of pictures. Two servants' rooms and 
 storage are available in the attic. The setting of the house 
 with reference to the street and lawns and trees is very satis- 
 factory. The telegraph pole in the foreground is an object 
 lesson of the characteristic American indifference to gratui- 
 tous ugliness. (Blot it out with a strip of white paper and 
 note the difference.) 
 
 THE STREET FRONT 
 
 First Floor Plan 
 
 Second Floor Plan 
 
 106 
 
IX 
 
 Some Hints on Wall Decoration 
 
 Leila Mechlin 
 
 TF one is furnishing as well as decorating, the 
 -»- problem is comparatively simple, for then a 
 scheme of color can be determined upon and 
 carried out with consistency, but in the other event 
 it is sometmies necessary to call a compromise. 
 There are certain hard and fast rules, however, 
 which will be found applicable to all conditions, 
 chief among which is the axiom of simplicity — the 
 common use of plain, low-toned colors. For north 
 rooms with little or no sunshine warm tints should 
 be employed, the varying shades of pink and 
 red, of buff and yellow; whereas, in south rooms, 
 flooded with light, cool colors, such as blues, greens 
 and grays, are best suited. These must be selected 
 with reference to the woodwork. It is as incon- 
 gruous to combine red wall covering with cherry 
 or mahogany doors and window frames, as to trim 
 a crimson gown with terra-cotta velvet; and yet this 
 is something which few decorators seem to compre- 
 hend, though one, who was reasoned with once, was 
 known to declare that he himself did prefer '"armony 
 to contrast." 
 
 As to the kinds of wall covering there is an endless 
 variety, from silk tapestry down to fifteen cent paper. 
 Japanese grass-cloth, decorative linen crash and 
 burlap are being much used to-day and in many cases 
 with excellent effect, and common calcimine, or 
 water-color wash, is not to be despised. These, 
 unless the ceilings are high, can be put on without a 
 border, being finished by a moulding like the stand- 
 ing woodwork, the ceiling tint being carried to this 
 mould. Cartridge paper of course is good, and some 
 excellent effects can be produced with two-toned 
 papers. Figured patterns are not bad for bedrooms, 
 but great care should be exercised in the choice of 
 these; spotted devices should be eschewed and con- 
 ventional rather than naturalistic arrangements 
 chosen. A very awful effect in wall covering is a 
 paper simulating a bright colored tapestry, hanging 
 in folds. It was a clever imitation and the result is, 
 that upon inspection the entire room takes on an 
 undulating motion which in time proves very dis- 
 concerting. Small bedrooms papered with large 
 flaring peony, chrysanthemum and rose designs 
 are also apt to prove extremely annoying. These 
 sometimes in combination with plain papers, used as 
 
 a deep border, have been made effective in rooms 
 remittently occupied; such, for example, as a guest's 
 chamber, but even they conflict with the use of 
 pictures or other decorations. 
 
 An interesting effect is produced by the use of a 
 plain paper with a cut-out, figured border. A charm- 
 ing bedroom, for instance, was made by placing as a 
 finish to pearl gray walls a festooned border, a foot 
 in width, of roses and green-gray garlands cut out 
 along the lower margin. A dining-room in another 
 tasteful home gave equally pleasing effect in green 
 walls with a fohage border treated after the same 
 manner. 
 
 Rooms with little furniture, or for use on gala 
 occasions, will stand more elaborate decoration than 
 living-rooms, commonly well filled; and likewise the 
 choice and arrangement of pictures should be made 
 with a view to their environment-making qualities. 
 
 But very different pictures are suitable for different 
 rooms. One excellent arrangement that I call to 
 mind was in a home where high-keyed, decorative 
 water-colors were placed in the drawing-room; etch- 
 ings in the music-room; and rich, colorful oils in 
 library and living-room. If pictures are hung at 
 all in a hallway, they should be of a much more 
 formal order than those in other parts of the house — 
 architectural compositions, decorative schemes and 
 the like. 
 
 A wall should never be over-crowded with pictures. 
 Each should be given a fair space and as good a 
 light as possible. This matter of space is often 
 most vexing as nothing is more awkward than an 
 unbalanced arrangement — a heavy picture in a small 
 space. There was a time when everything came in 
 pairs; when the mantel had a vase at each end; an 
 identical frame on either side. That was overdoing 
 the balance principle, but at present the pendulum 
 has swung too far the other way, and many walls 
 and mantels look as though the pictures and orna- 
 ments had been thrown at them indiscriminately. 
 
 The framing of pictures is another all-important 
 question, and one too often overlooked, Gilt is 
 good, but it should be of a subdued tone rather than 
 freshly shining. Wood for etchings and engravings 
 is very suitable and more durable than gilt. 
 
 107 
 
A New Jersey Cottage 
 
 George T. Pearson, Architect 
 
 [km 
 
 THE FRONT ELEVATION 
 
 THIS plan has been arranged to secure within the limits of a small rectangle the appearance of a large house with the utilization 
 of every square foot of space. As may be seen, theprmcipal vistas on the first story are carefully arranged with this end in viev?. 
 The outside walls are plainly finished with header bricks for the first story, with a second story of frame covered with white pebble 
 dashing between the timbering. The roof is of shingles, and there is a cellar under the entire area of the house. The main hall has 
 chestnut wood finish with silver gray stain, and the remaining rooms are painted wood finish. Details of the mantels, stairway, arch 
 to hall alcove and china closets are simple. The floors throughout are of narrow boards and oil finished. The house is very substantially 
 constructed, and the plumbing, heating and cooking apparatus and appliances are of the best class. The house was built for ^5,700, 
 in a southern New Jersey village, far enough away in the country not to be dominated by city prices. 
 
 c-hen. '^... P — I I 
 
 I; Hall. 
 
 'mm 
 
 Plan of the First Story 
 
 Plan of the Second Story 
 
 108 
 
Some English Suburban Houses 
 
 H. T. Buck/and &" H. Farmer, Architects 
 
 PVBUC froAH 
 
 moysE»GAPbmfiTKmLwoRTH:Bvci<LANbmmamm 
 
 A HOUSE AT KENILWORTH 
 
 The South Front and Garden 
 
 THE KENILWORTH PROPERTY 
 
 THE NORTH FRONT 
 
 109 
 
no 
 
 Some English Suburban Houses 
 
 THE DINING-ROOM OF THE KENILWORTH HOUSE 
 
 THE STUDY OF THE KENILWORTH HOUSE 
 
Some English Suburban Houses 
 
 111 
 
 A HOUSE AT EDGBASTON 
 
 THE DRAWING-ROOM OF THE EDGBASTON HOUSE 
 
112 
 
 Some English Suburban Houses 
 
 PLAN OF THE EDGBASTON PROPERTY 
 
 A HOUSE AT LYNDEN END 
 
The Old Red Rose Inn of 
 "Stoke Pogis" 
 
 Villa Nova, Pa. 
 
 ' I ^HERE are so many charming suggestions for a private house in this dehghtful old Pennsylvania Inn, which has been most carefully 
 A conserved as nearly as possible m its original condition, that no apology is needed for its inclusion in the pages of this book. It 
 IS so thoroughly domestic m its character, and so appealing in the texture and form of the composition, that one feels quite ready to 
 duplicate it for a private residence. Some of the work shown is, of course, obviously modern; but only modern in the sense that it is 
 new, and there is no incongruity felt in any view of the house. The illustrations speak for themselves, and need no description. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
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 THE INN FROM THE HILLSIDE 
 
 113 
 
114 
 
 The Red Rose Inn 
 
 THE VERANDA 
 
 THE VISITORS' ENTRANCE 
 
 THE PATH TO THE TERRACE 
 
The Red Rose Inn 
 
 115 
 
 ONE CORNER OF THE HOUSE 
 
 A PORTION OF THE PERGOLA ENCLOSING THE QUADRANGLE 
 
116 
 
 The Red Rose Inn 
 
 THE KITCHEN WING 
 
 THE SMOKE HOUSE 
 
 Plan of the Property 
 
The Red Rose Inn 
 
 117 
 
 THE WALK FROM THE PERGOLA TO THE HOUSE 
 
 THE SPRING house: 
 
118 
 
 The Red Rose Inn 
 
Ornamental Hedges 
 
 Photographs by J. Franklin Meehan 
 
 BOX HEDGES IN AN OLD MARYLAND GARDEN 
 
 ABOUT seven-tenths of the material used for defensive hedges or geometrical gardens is either Box Hedging (Buxus sempervirens) 
 or California Privet {Ltgustrum ovaUfolium); the former for the reason that it has always been associated with old garden work and, 
 owing to its dwarfed size or habit of slow growth, requires little cutting to keep it to the proper height. California Privet, owing to its 
 vigorous growth and ability to withstand severe pruning is probably the most universally used of the hedge plants, as it holds its leaves during 
 the greater part of the winter, and its value is greatly enhanced where a thick hedge is required and evergreen would not succeed. So 
 readily does it admit of pruning that there are instances where privet hedges from twelve to fifteen years of age have been kept in perfect 
 condition at a height of fifteen or eighteen inches. 
 
 Too much cannot be said in favor of Azalea amana for garden work ; being naturally of a dwarfed habit, it is especially adapted for use 
 in low hedges. It is usually classed with the evergreens, as the foliage remains on the plant all winter. Its main crop of rose colored 
 flowers is borne in the spring, but a lighter bloom is frequently found during the entire summer. It will thrive in almost any location, but 
 in its natural state is usually found in light sandy soils. 
 
 Where a dwarf evergreen hedge is required Juntperus aurea stands at the head of the list. Naturally of small size, it is readily retained 
 at a proper height. Frequent shearing makes the wood compact, and improves the color, since the golden foliage appears on the tips of the 
 young growth. 
 
 Thorough preparation of the ground is absolutely necessary to the success of any hedge, and more particularly so in connection with the 
 setting of hedges in garden work. The trench in which the plants are to be placed should be at least two feet wide and eighteen inches deep. 
 In heavy clay soils, six inches added to these dimensions will prove beneficial. Well rotted manure should be placed in the trench to the 
 depth of six inches and a light covering of earth scattered over it before planting of the stock is begun. 
 
 Possibly the most important question in hedge cultivation is concerned with the selection of the plants. The young feeding roots 
 are the life of the plant. The requirements of a perfect hedge are perfect form and perfect foliage; these only follow from perfect 
 health, and perfect health is dependent upon the feeding roots. It is therefore necessary to so handle the plant that a good supply of 
 fibrous roots may be for-ned. Thi; can be done by frequent transplanting. The stock should be at least two or three years old, and 
 have been transplanted for at least o le year and be from twelve to twenty inches high, according to the variety. 
 
 Finely pulverized dry soil should be used, well placed among the roots, and thoroughly settled before the remaining soil is added. A 
 thorough mulching of the entire surface is important. 
 
 No pruning of the evergreen hedge should be done after the first shearing except during a period when the growth of the wood is about 
 three-quarters formed. Neglect to observe this practice is the cause of nine-tenths of all failures in evergreen hedges. 
 
 The fundamental principle to be observed in the care of all hedges may be summed up in a few words. Keep the plants in a healthy 
 growing condition; prune at the proper time, and with as much care and consideration as would be given to a delicate piece of machinery. 
 
 119 
 
120 
 
 Ornamental Hedges 
 
 THE SPRING FLOWERING OF AZALEA AMCENA 
 
 A GARDEN ENCLOSED BY PRIVET