Den in the upper story of a house at Overbrook, Pa. Very suggestive of the medieval hall. 

 Wm. L. Price, architect 



CHAPTER IX 

 LIVING, AND OTHER ROOMS 



F THE evolutions of the various rooms of the modern country 

 house from the feudal "hall," which are numerous and vary 

 in different countries, it may be said that they arrived at the 

 same destination in the course of time only to be shuffled up 

 and misused by the modern American. The great trouble 

 with our traveller abroad is his tendency to copy blindly whole 

 plans, and whatever strikes his fancy in the details, without 

 understanding their use or meaning. Hence the entirely unsuitable houses in 

 which many otherwise rational folks are trying to live. Can anything be more 

 ridiculous than to copy the elevated and railed-in "royal bed" of the Queen of 

 France ? Knowing its true intention, one would hesitate to do this, no matter 

 how beautiful the thing might appear. To copy it would be to get laughed at 

 for one's pains by those who know more of the subject than we do. The re- 

 quirements and conditions of modern and ancient times are very dissimilar. 

 When we have begun to understand this we have learned something of vast 

 importance in the planning of the modern home. 



Under the head of living rooms come the drawing room, library, smoking room 

 or "den," morning room and reception room. Under gala rooms, the ballroom, 



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