Cottages; or, Hints on Economical Building

by Unknown

Light and air are, we know, essentials of life. Let us not forget it in planning our house. Dark passages and stairways should not be tolerated.

In our cities, where land is very expensive, and the houses which often cover nearly the entire building lot are crowded closely together, many expedients have to be adopted to render the inner rooms habitable. Light-shafts are used, and rooms often receive only borrowed light by means of glass doors or partitions. In country houses these methods are inexcusable. Fresh air and the light of day should have access to every nook and corner.

IV.

In our modern houses the hall is generally a mere narrow passage connecting the rooms, and only large enough to contain the staircase. Lately there has been a tendency to give the hall greater prominence; and, as many of the plans in this book show, it may be made a most desirable sitting-room, by adding a few feet to what before was almost waste space. It may have an open fire-place and some little nook arranged with a seat. The stairs may be partly or wholly screened, a treatment giving opportunities for a picturesque effect. Let us have plenty of light on our staircase, and plan it so that even at night one is not liable to stumble. “Winders,” that is to say, steps which radiate at the corners, are to be avoided as much as possible, for it is easy to slip on the narrow end. Do not try to have your stairs in a single run. Platforms, which should be square, form a convenient rest. For ordinary stairs the risers may be 7½ inches, and treads 10 inches. If the risers are less, the treads must be proportionally greater. The old rule of a 6 inch riser and 12 inch tread is almost too luxurious, and when the risers are less than 6 inches they become actually uncomfortable and tiresome. If newels are used, as they are in the better class of work, have the tops rounded, and let there be no sharp angles that would be disagreeable to the touch.

The dining-room should have an eastern or north-eastern exposure, so that it may receive the cheerful rays of the morning sun. A western outlook is undesirable, for at sunset the “western waves of ebbing day” will flood the apartment, making it necessary to close the shutters, excluding the air and leaving the room in darkness. 11 feet in width is sufficient to admit of chairs on both sides of the table, with space for a servant to pass around, but a larger room is desirable.

The kitchen should be near the dining-room. It may be in the basement, and if the house is on a side hill this is a good arrangement, as the kitchen may then be entirely above ground. In some of the Southern States it is the custom to separate the kitchen entirely from the house, thereby avoiding all the smell and heat of cooking. It is a good plan for summer cottages to have the kitchen in a wing by itself, even if not disconnected with the rest of the house. In a small house, where the dining-room and kitchen must be placed next to each other, a pantry with doors not opposite each other, between the rooms, will do much to intercept odors and noises.

A sitting-room or living-room should be bright and cheerful. Let it have the benefit of any good view that the situation of the house may command. Give it broad, generous windows, admitting plenty of light and sunshine. Sunshine may not be good for the carpets, but you are not building the house for them, and the health and cheerfulness of the inmates are the first consideration. If carpets will fade we may use matting, which is now obtainable in good designs and excellent colors. Or let us have good honest wood floors oiled or waxed, for they need not be very expensive. Then with a pretty rug, perhaps, in the middle of the room, we secure greater cleanliness than is possible with a carpet, and need not be afraid of the light of day, two points which should help to decrease our doctors’ bills. In providing for light it is better to have one large window than two small ones. A broad casement with a window-seat, or a three-sided or semi-circular bay, with room for a few flowers, or perhaps a small work-table and chairs, will be a delightful feature.

In the pride of our heart we may want a parlor, or drawing-room, as our English cousins would call it.

Well, let us have it if we must, for hospitality is a virtue to be cherished. But true hospitality consists in giving our friends what we deem to be our best. Now a parlor that is kept for state occasions and is such a prim, formal room, that everything in it is too awfully nice to touch, is not a place where true friendship is likely to flourish. If we need another apartment for our guests, let it merely be an extension of our sitting-room. The room we occupy most will be the pleasantest in the house, as we will naturally surround ourselves with the objects we love best. But the spirit of cheerfulness and cosiness should pervade the entire house, and the selection we make of books, pictures and ornaments, will do much towards giving a room a friendly or unfriendly aspect.

In a large country-house a separate room for a library is convenient, also a breakfast or morning-room, and a billiard-room, is a luxury to be enjoyed, if possible. If we can manage it, a nursery, where the children can make a noise and have a real good time without shocking anybody’s nerves, will be found a great comfort. Give the little ones space, where they can romp to their hearts’ content, a large, sunny room, with broad windows and a big fire-place, a room with nothing in it that will spoil by contact with little hands, and you will contribute much to their happiness.