HOUSES AND GARDENS 



cheapened version of a more complex design is salvation to be found for 

 the small householder. 



That the principles of house planning thus briefly suggested, and which 

 are further developed and exemplified in the following pages, are something 

 more than impracticable dreams, may be partly shown by the evidence of 

 those who have built houses designed on these lines, many of which are 

 illustrated and described here. 



Since January 1895, when I first illustrated in the Studio a scheme for a 

 house, I have been flattered by many realisations of my plans for houses in 

 various parts of the world. While some have had the justice to realise that 

 an artist should be given the opportunity of developing his own conceptions, 

 others less scrupulous have consigned the matter to other hands, and the 

 plans have suffered much from unsympathetic treatment in this way. So 

 much depends on the careful working out of the details to meet each 

 particular case, so much in the choice of materials and in adaptations to 

 local conditions, that a plan realised in this way must necessarily differ 

 widely from the original conception ; and inasmuch as it is not the reputable 

 architect who is willing to appropriate the plans of his contemporaries, these 

 houses have been for the most part merely caricatures, which have done 

 much to bring undeserved discredit on the principles they profess to follow. 



So much has been ably written on the subject of the Garden, that I have 

 confined my remarks here chiefly to a few broad principles with a special 

 reference to the economic question. To those who wish to study the 

 subject I would recommend a careful perusal of Miss Jekyll's books 

 which may be taken as an infallible guide. 



In the chapter " on making the best of it," I have endeavoured to 

 show how a suburban house may be mitigated by judicious treatment. 

 The man who lives at St. Mildred's or The Pines might, after re-christen- 

 ing his house more appropriately as "The Crime," seek to reduce its 

 pernicious influences by some such means as I have endeavoured to describe. 



In the design of the modern flat I have tried to show how the same prin- 

 ciples advocated in the plan of the ordinary house are applicable. 



In the discussion of the terrace house it is shown, I think conclusively, 

 that the universal standard plan is based on irrational fallacies, rather 

 than on real requirements, and that the question of varying aspect alone 

 demands a corresponding variation in planning. 



In the consideration of cottages it is urged that their cheapness should 

 only be such as may be consistent with comeliness and comfort, and that the 

 plan should be the outcome of actual requirements based on the habits of 

 life of their occupants. 



Some types of holiday houses are illustrated, and it is suggested that in 

 such buildings a greater fancifulness is admissible than in houses for every 

 day occupation. 



It has always seemed to me impossible to consider the matter of furniture 

 and decoration apart from house building with which they are so intimately 

 related, and the architect who attempts to achieve a satisfactory interior 



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