DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE OF TO-DAY. 



eighteenth centuries, and of earlier periods ; \vc have made full play with building materials, concrete, 

 stone, tiles, pebbles, rough-cast, in all sorts of skilful or playful combinations of colour, form and texture ; 

 we have used all motifs, from adzed beams and rough stone to gilded and painted ceilings and marble 

 floors ; we have even tried our hands at the Art Nouveau : though it has not taken so much hold of England 

 as of the Continent. Doubtless it has its place in the general development of things, and, in fact, the 

 work of some of its ablest exponents has a certain directness, reticence and refinement which gives it a 

 character of its own that is not unattractive. But in the hands of the wilder spirits it seems to me simply 

 a bizarre sort of nightmare, defying every law of construction and natural form, and even decency. 



As we review this half-century of house-building there are, perhaps, four points especially noticeable. 

 In the first place, it is the day ot the smallish house. The Nash of our time would find the &quot; country 

 seats &quot; and &quot; noblemen s mansions &quot; no longer being built. And this smallness of the house has resulted 

 in a peculiarly intimate touch. Perhaps the most marked leature of our modern domestic architecture 

 is its indi\idual character. Every part of a building from start to finish is minutely designed. The 

 projection, depth and contour of each moulding is carefully drawn ; the colour and texture of walling and 

 roofing materials, and the manner in which they shall be used, are carefully considered and made to 



contribute to the 

 gen e v a 1 e I fee i ; 

 mantel - pieces, grates 

 and panelling, door 

 handle s and hinges, 

 even nails, are all 

 drawn and made to 

 our liking. The in 

 evitable drawback to 

 this intense! y 

 personal practice oi 

 architecture is that, 

 while it develop-; the 

 art of design, it does 

 little or nothing for 

 the craft of building. 

 The architect ha&amp;gt;. 

 so far as he can, 

 trathered up the lin,&amp;gt; 

 of traditional build- 

 i n g . a n d c o 11 - 

 scientiously o r 

 capriciously lollo\\&amp;gt; 

 one or the other 

 just as his fancy for 

 the moment dictates. 

 The builder of the 

 ready-made house is 

 totally unmoved by 

 this intensive archi 

 tectural culture ; 

 and while the con 

 scientious architect is striving after perfection, the speculating builder gaily devastates whole districts, 

 his only ideal being the greatest apparent accommodation for the lea* actual cost. It is all a little 

 bewildering, and it is difficult and not very profitable to attempt to forecast the future. 



In the second place, this re\ival of domestic architecture has been accompanied by a parallel 

 revival in the arts subservient to house design by what is known as the &quot; arts and crafts &quot; movement. 

 Those who can remember the pre-Morris days know to what depths the arts of house furnishing and 

 decoration had fallen wall-papers of a ghastly green, with gold fleur-de-lys dabbed on at regular intervals ; 

 the &quot; suite &quot; upholstered in crimson or sky blue repp ; the distressing carpets and amber-dyed sheepskin 

 mats. Morris changed all this and gave us fine colour and pattern. It is impossible to over-estimate 

 his influence, both direct and indirect. He created a standard both in design and workmanship, and 

 although, of course, his views and dogmas were not universally accepted, he opened people s eyes to possi 

 bilities of which they had not even dreamed. Those who had been vaguely oppressed by their surroundings 

 became conscious of the cause of their discomfort, and demanded something better, even if they were 

 not prepared for a complete reversal of their former views. This demand created a supply. Makers 



3. AN ARCHITECT 



