146 



The Country House 



There should be no furniture on the stair landings. The tall clock is very 

 frequently placed here, but if it interferes with the traffic it should go. 



The hall is no place for stuffed furniture. Straight-backed chairs and settles 

 are to be preferred, those of the Elizabethan period being excellent. If by chance 

 you are tempted to put a rocker in your hall, hasten to cut it into firewood with an 

 axe; it is much better so than in the hall. This room is surely not the place 



for solid comfort and 

 lounging, and such 

 furniture as embel- 

 lishes it should im- 

 press this fact 

 strongly. 



If one has de- 

 signed a house in 

 which all the rooms 

 are in proper rela- 

 tion to each other, 

 one may feel quite 

 sure that such super- 

 human perfection of 

 accomplishment 

 cannot last. The 

 best that one can do 

 is not to lose con- 

 sciousness of that 

 ideal of harmony 

 and fitness w r hich, 

 practically, can be 



The Southern Colonial is ill that it has been painted, both J ' 



in song and story approached Only 



from afar. 



As the construction of the stair is more or less intricate, it is not generally at- 

 tempted by the ordinary carpenter, unless in very simple cases of straight runs. 

 This kind of work is done by a specialist the "stair-builder." The importance 

 of calculating for easy treads, landings and ample head room has already been 

 touched upon. There remains, however, a few hints on the various styles of stairs. 



The straight run of stairs are very w r ell if not used to span a high story. If 

 very long, they should have a landing in the middle to obviate the possibility of one's 

 falling the entire flight. In the case of steep stairs this precaution is very neces- 

 sary. When one gets started in this direction there is a fair chance of getting 

 a bump for every riser in the flight. 



Where stairs turn upon themselves they should always be constructed with 

 a well at least one step wide; a solid return makes an ugly job. Wherever it can be 

 avoided winders should not be used, as they are of necessity very steep near 

 their intersection with the post, about which point the stairs turn. If it be pos- 

 sible, it is better to put in the square landing, the only object in the winders 

 being to save room in reducing the run. 



An old staircase at Alexandria, Vi 



