Buildings and Yards. 



497 



the dining room in small houses where economy of space or cost of build- 

 ing often makes it wiser to curtail hall space and to open the dining room 

 directly from the living room. In this case it is well to have good gen- 

 erous doors or openings to give an air of hospitality that might otherwise 

 be lacking. 



Another thing that has much to do with the general comfort and the 

 artistic atmosphere of the house is the height of ceilings. A house with 

 comparatively low ceilings is much more easily heated in winter and is 

 much more easily furnished and made homelike than a house with very 

 high ceilings. Of course high ceilings and high windows give much better 

 light and air than low ceilings, and in southern climates the high ceiling 



Fig. 307. — The house shown in Fig. 306, improved by a porch, but the house is 



j imdamcntaUy erroneous. 



becomes, on that account, almost a necessity ; but here in the North the 

 low ceiling is the more expressive of comfort. 



In an attempt to analyze the house and its plan it will perhaps be best 

 to start at the principal entrance. This should be generous, dignified, and 

 inviting, without an excess of richness that will lead to disappointment 

 when the visitor passes through and sees the inside of the house. Whether 

 or not there should be a vestibule depends very largely upon the climate 

 and the exposure. With the rather severe cold and snow of New York 

 State winters, the vestibule with doors inside and out adds much to the 

 comfort of the house by giving a place in which one may shake off the 

 worst of a snowstorm instead of taking it into the house with him. 

 32 



