The latter figure includes soft-wood finish throughout. Other sizes of this house have been built where the general construction aggregated $2,400.
CHAPTER XXIII.
ONE-STORY PLANS.—DESCRIPTION OF FLOOR PLANS.—BATH-ROOM NEXT TO KITCHEN FLUE.—KITCHEN, PORCH, AND PANTRY.—THE EXTERIOR.—ENLARGEMENTS ON THIS PLAN.—OTHER ONE-STORY HOUSES.
This house—Plan [No. 19]—has been built for $1,400. It is a one-story cottage, containing five rooms, a bath-room, and a pantry. Such a house is suited to young people of moderate means, or possibly to older ones, where there are no children, or where the housekeeper does her own work. It will be seen that it gives more of the conveniences of a larger house than are usually found in a cottage of this size.
From the porch we pass into a little vestibule, which might be made larger by throwing into it the closet which opens from the sitting-room. From the vestibule we go either into the parlor or the sitting-room. This parlor could be used as the living-room of the house, and the sitting-room as the dining-room, and still meet all the conditions of good housekeeping. Off from the sitting-room is a projection, which could be very comfortably arranged as a window-seat. It could be used as such during warm weather, and as a place for plants in winter. In the corner of this room is a closet, which may be connected with the kitchen by a slide. There are sliding doors between the sitting-room and the bedroom. In the front part of the bedroom is a large closet. It is possible that many would prefer to have a window at this point, and have a smaller closet elsewhere; say, in the corner next to the sliding-door partition. The placing of a closet next to the rear wall would leave no place for a bed as the rooms are now arranged. If the door from the parlor to the bedroom were omitted the head of the bed might be placed against the sliding-door partition, and the closet cut out from the rear bedroom, with an opening leading into the front bedroom.
From the sitting-room, or from the front bedroom, we pass into a little hall; and from the hall into the kitchen, the bathroom, or the rear bedroom. Over each of the five doors leading into this hall there should be a transom; thus it would be well lighted. The placing of the hall in this way makes all of the rooms surrounding it independently accessible. The rear bedroom has a place for a bed, a large closet, and a wall space for necessary furniture. The availability of a bedroom is not always dependent upon its size. A room may be large, and yet not contain wall space for the furniture. A large bedroom may have a small closet. This bedroom has a large one.