Convenient Houses, With Fifty Plans for the Housekeeper

by Louis H. Gibson

“THIS BEAUTIFUL BOOK.”

—Standard Union.

BEAUTIFUL HOUSES.

By LOUIS H. GIBSON, Architect.

Author of “Convenient Houses.”

With over 250 Illustrations. 8vo. Cloth. $3.00.

Since the publication of his “Convenient Houses” Mr. Gibson has been abroad, where he made a careful study of the national architecture of many countries. Mr. Gibson is remarkable for the skill with which he manages to utilize ordinary waste spaces, to place every possible convenience in the housekeeper’s hands; in short, to apply common-sense in an uncommon manner. No one interested in building a new house, or altering over an old one, could fail to obtain valuable hints from his books. The volume is sumptuously illustrated, and will be a delight to all connoisseurs, both of architecture and of book-making.

Contents of the Book.

HOUSE-BUILDING AN ART. Ugly houses, uneducated architects, cost never measures the artistic, development of art in building, the primitive house, first principles, the Greek temple and the Indian hut, the old Roman and the Old Colonial, Romanesque architecture, Gothic architecture, decline of the Gothic, the Renaissance, modern architecture of Europe, characteristics of modern American architecture, etc.

THE WORLD’S HOMES. French domestic architecture, twelfth century building, floor plans of domestic structures, picturesque stair towers, half-timber architecture of the twelfth century, our use of French examples, Breton customs, furniture, French chateaux, English domestic architecture, domestic buildings of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, picturesque details, from the Gothic to the Renaissance, modern architecture of Germany, Swiss architecture, Old Colonial architecture, a classic development, characteristic New England architecture, luxurious character of the Old Colonial in the South, etc.

SOME HOUSE PLANS. Relation of the exterior to the location, the dormers, the inside finish, mantels, a centre-hall plan, frame building, a little room for cloaks and wraps, decorative forms, interior photographs, external details, Greek mouldings, a wide central hall open at each end, large rooms, a picturesque stairway, color schemes in decoration, description of floor plan, a fine location, a river front, picturesque stair-hall, a smoking-room under the balcony, etc.

MATERIALS AND DETAILS. Shingle-houses, the proper surroundings, the stains of time, artificial stain, examples, slate walls, fireplaces and mantels, character in mantels, tile facings, onyx and brick, doors, the defensive, hospitality, material, foreign examples, domestic doors, stairs, foreign examples, broad landings, Old Colonial stairways, iron railings, furniture, architects’ designs, sideboards, bookcases, seats, lounges, screens, grilles, walls and ceilings, etc.

THE ARCHITECT. The architect and the housewife, business and the arts, costs, proper understanding of the client’s wishes, plenty of time to make plans.

Press Notices.