The second story has been so arranged that all the rooms open into each other and also into the hallway. They are of low stud and contain dormer windows. The Colonial atmosphere has been carefully observed, so that new pieces which have been introduced fit in harmoniously with the old ones. Each room has a large, open fireplace with a crane, suggestive of good cheer.
The success of this house has been attained through the careful thought of the owners, and it is an example of a charmingly remodeled farmhouse of a type such as one seldom finds.
CHAPTER XIV
WILLOWDALE
Should you chance to run across an old farmhouse that shows good interior woodwork, do not carelessly pass it by, for such houses are not easy to discover. You must realize that when restored it will be much more attractive than one with a plain mopboard and narrow cornice.
Woodwork was not of the Colonial type in the earliest houses; it was used merely as a wall covering and was called wainscot, the same as it is to-day. This was because the paneling was originally made from wainscot oak which was well grained and without knots. Differing from that in nineteenth-century houses, it was put on the walls vertically, the boards being rough and wide. It must be remembered that in those days trees had not been felled to any extent, and the giants of the forest provided the best of lumber for this purpose. These boards were either lapped or put together with tongue-strips. Later on, we find interiors where they were laid horizontally, like those of a century or more ago, and instead of being plain boards, were well finished.
Wainscot is an inheritance from our early ancestors, for in the manor houses in the mother country there is wonderful woodwork, used not only for wainscot, but for other parts of the interior finish. White pine, which at that time grew abundantly in our native woods, was employed for interior as well as exterior purposes, this being more especially true in the northern and eastern parts of the country, where it was more plentiful. It has generally been conceded that this wood was the best on account of its wearing properties, and as it did not show figure in either the grain or markings. It was often called "cheese-like" and for this reason was preferred by wood-carvers and cabinetmakers for their art.
The wainscot was used until about the time of the Revolution and not until a later period were the walls plastered. It has never lost its popularity and is found in many twentieth-century houses. It is generally shown in paneled effects which came into vogue much later than the plain board period. This woodwork was generally in the lower story, where more time and thought were given to interior finish; very rarely is it found in the chambers and then only in the better class of houses. Wainscot is not the only interior woodwork used; we often find whole walls finished in paneled wood, and fireplaces with a simple frame in paneled effects. Many of these old fireplaces showed a wooden shelf only, while later on, in the early part of the nineteenth century, fine carvings were included. Occasionally we run across a mantel of this kind in an old farmhouse, but it is very rare.
It would be out of place for the house owner to introduce a mantel of this kind, no matter how attractive, in some types of old farmhouses. It would not be in keeping with the style and, while handsome and graceful in design, would be incongruous even in remodeled surroundings.