Few people who are planning to spend the summer months in a new house realize how much their comfort depends upon light and space. It would be foolish for you to buy an old farmhouse and make the rooms small and cramped in size. You would lose a great part of the advantage of coming to the country to live, the pleasure of being as nearly out of doors as possible. Most of the old houses were cut up into small rooms, for, owing to the limited heating facilities in olden days, large rooms would have been freezing in winter; accordingly one or two bedrooms were invariably crowded into the first floor to receive the warmth from the kitchen. But it is almost always possible to tear out the partitions between some of the rooms and make them into one large apartment which can be used for living purposes. This can usually be done without weakening the structure; the floor above will be found to rest upon a great beam, or a new girder can be put across.
If the stud is low, do not change it, or you will spoil the whole atmosphere of the place. A low stud and large rooms are good developments, so try to achieve them when you are making over the house. Have plenty of windows; in the old days, many windows meant a cold house in the winter, but if the farmhouse is to be used only as a summer home, the cooler the better. If for a winter residence also, modern systems of heating will counteract the difficulty. Windows of the long French type are especially desirable; they are more adapted to the requirements of country life, as they admit abundant light and air and are entirely in keeping with the style of the farmhouse.
The house should represent a unit; the porch should be planned so that it leads into the living-room, and by throwing open the windows, will seem to become part of a large airy room. The dining-room should either be part of the living-room or open conveniently near. The service quarters must immediately adjoin the dining-room. If there is other space on the floor which cannot be used to increase the comfort of the two main rooms, well and good; it may then be devoted to whatever purpose you desire. But when the removal of partitions will make a place more pleasant to live in, it is always wise to make such a change.
We know that there are few of these old houses that have not been cut up and divided; but the conditions which made that necessary in the earlier days have been changed, and for a simple country house one large living and dining-room is far better than divisions which shut out light and air. Many people look at these propositions from a limited view-point and do not stop to consider the complete idea. We all learn from houses that we visit what is right and what is wrong to do. If we look deeper into the subject and go farther afield, we find it pays to carefully develop the plan before commencing to rebuild. The requirements of elaborate modes of life, liveried servants and much entertaining, demand, of course, many apartments; reception-room and drawing-room, library and den seem essential in the house plan, but for those who come to the country to simplify existence, these are not needed. In remodeling your house, let three things be uppermost in your mind: convenience, comfort, and light; if you follow these, you will not go far astray.
Even a very small house need not be devoid of these qualities. It may be very tiny and yet most attractive and complete in every detail. With careful thought and a broad conception of the whole, it is quite possible to make a place where it is a pleasure to visit and where even the casual guest realizes the application of small and interesting details in making a harmonious whole.
Do not let your mind wander from the fact that the interior is of as much importance, and even more, than the exterior, for it is there that we live much of the time during the season, and it should therefore be harmonious and in good taste. The development of one room for common family use, and the elimination of the shut-up parlor for company, have brought about an atmosphere of simplicity that goes to make a perfect and livable house.
The Robert Spencer House on Cape Cod
This one-room idea has been charmingly carried out in a small house that has been remodeled for a summer home by Mr. Robert Spencer of New York and South Yarmouth. It is most attractively situated, standing far back from the road, with a background of pine trees that give a picturesque touch to the little cottage. Originally it stood on the opposite side of the bay, on the shores of Cape Cod at South Dennis, Massachusetts. Its possibilities seemed to the present owner worth developing, and he had it "flecked" and brought over the water to its present site. This was not a hard task to accomplish, as the timbers were stanch and in a good state of preservation.