Now, for a cottage to be pretentious is in bad taste. It need not be so humble as to nestle among the violets, but it can assert itself sufficiently without being decked with tawdry ornaments, or the vanity of cupola or towers.
On the other hand, it would be equally false for a large mansion which should have an air of dignity and magnificence to attempt to assume a simple, rustic appearance. Indeed, Southey informs us that the devil’s “favorite sin is the pride that apes humility.” Proportion—that is, the relation of parts to each other and to the whole, is the most important element of beauty in architecture. This has been the subject of much discussion and controversy. The parts of a building having a certain mathematical relation to each other, numerous attempts have been made to formulate this and establish reliable rules for the guidance of the designer. All the theories, however, are conflicting; notwithstanding that most of them are proved by their authors to apply directly to the Parthenon, which
“Earth proudly wears...
As the best gem in her zone.”
It seems that the sense of proportion, like an eye for color or an ear for music, is an innate quality possessed by some and lacked by others; and that it is as impossible to design a building as to make a musical composition by mathematical rules.
Beauty alone is not sufficient to constitute architectural excellence. Architecture is the art of building, and utility is the first consideration. If the architect be an artist, endowed with an appreciation of form and color, he will so combine the materials at his command that he will produce a building at once useful and beautiful. Exterior ornament should be sparingly used on cottages, and, if at all, should be so employed as to emphasize the design. But it seems more sensible in an economical dwelling to keep the exterior quite simple. While we should not inflict our neighbors with an ugly house, we will not be open to the charge of selfishness if we choose the extravagance of a daintily carved oak mantel in our sitting-room to that of ornamented brackets and posts on the veranda.
X.
In these designs for cottages it will be observed that there has been no attempt made to adhere to any historical style. And this, we believe, shows a greater appreciation of the beauties of architectural styles than if they had been misapplied and tortured into what once was known as “Rural Gothic” or “Italian.”