A Cozy Southern Farmhouse 



With the House Facing South, the Living-room and Bedrooms Will Have the Advantage of 



the Prevailing Summer Breezes 



y\FTER extensive sur\'cys in the South 

 /-\ to determine the hoiiseliold needs 

 of families with reterence to local 

 agriculture, climate, and domestic help, 

 the Ofifice of Public Roads and Rural 

 Engineering of the Department of Agri- 

 culture has developed a plan for a 

 southern farmhouse which meets all the 

 requirements of a small family. The 

 materials selected are those commonly 

 used in the South, and local dealers 

 should have no difficulty in carrying out 

 the plans. 



The aim primarily is to pro\-idc a cool 

 and convenient kitchen and dining-room 

 for the housewife; bedrooms and living 

 room with the best exposure; facilities 

 for outdoor sleeping, and an easily- 

 heated house, coo! in summer and yet 

 with sunny rooms in winter. 



With the house facing south, the living 

 room and bedrooms will ha\e the advan- 

 tage of the prevailing summer winds, 

 which, generally throughout the South, 

 are from the south or southwest. Where 

 the prevailing winds \ary from the usual 

 direction the plan can be reversed if 

 desired, or the house so placed that it 

 will have the proper relation to the 

 summer breezes. 



The arrangement of dining-room and 

 kitchen constitutes the chief feature of 

 the plan. The china closet, opening into 



both rooms, saves a great many steps 

 between the kitchen and the dining- 

 room. The clearing up after meals can 

 be accomplished with a very few steps, 

 dishes being passed through on the wide 

 counter shelf, washed at the sink, 

 drained, and returned to the china closet, 

 where they are available from either 

 side. 



The kitchen is small, well-lighted, 

 conveniently arranged, and cool, by 

 reason of the facts that the range is in 

 a separate room and the windows on 

 opposite sides permit a cross draft. The 

 distance "from the range to the other 

 fixtures is no greater than in most farm 

 kitchens; and, if it were, the extra step 

 or two would not offset the marked 

 advantage of coolness of the workroom 

 where the greater part of the kitchen 

 work is done. This is a matter of 

 considerable moment, since so many 

 farm wi\-cs in the South are now doing 

 their own housework. 



The cook-room ceiling has a large 

 opening which permits the heat and 

 cooking odors to escape through a 

 \entilalor in the gable. Near the stove, 

 to give light and air, is a double casement 

 window. A grated opening near the 

 floor, in the wall between the cook-room 

 and the kitchen closet, draws air from 

 below the floor and promotes circulation 



479 



