HOUSES AND GARDENS 



country especially, the eaves of the roof are sometimes brought down to 

 about the window sill level of the upper rooms, making the bedrooms partly 

 in the roof. This may be desirable in certain cases, but as a rule it is 

 better to keep the eaves at such a height that they are unbroken by the 

 windows, and thus secure a simple outline and a larger 

 attic space, which whether developed or not into rooms 

 is always useful as a possible means of extension. 



In departing from the rectangular form of plan, 

 the first step consists in making an L-shaped plan by 

 adding a projecting wing at one end, and this is often 

 a very suitable form for a small house, while a further 

 development of this is the T-shaped plan. If this form 

 is then made symmetrical by adding a similar wing to 

 the opposite end of the main roof and perhaps by also 

 adding a central projecting porch the form arrived at 

 would be as shown in Fig. 6, and this is often to be 

 found in old English manor-houses, while a further 

 extension of this form leads to a house built round a 

 court (Fig. 7). Another form of plan which is with- 

 out precedent in the past but yet has some special 

 advantages is that shown in Fig. 8, and which is 

 described fully later on. 



In all these forms it will be observed that the form 

 decided on for the ground plan involves at once the plan 

 of the roof, and these two factors of ground plan and 

 roof plan are the primary factors in designing a house. 



Next to them the most important consideration 

 is the height of the ceilings and the number of 

 storeys ; and in order to secure the horizontal pro- 

 portions which are generally desirable, it is important 

 that the ceilings should be as low as possible and the 

 house not more than two storeys in height. The 

 larger the house the less difficulty there is in this 

 matter, as the extension of the ground plan makes 

 the horizontal dimensions preponderate even with high 

 ceilings ; but in small houses, unless the ceilings are 

 kept low, it is best to give up the horizontal idea 

 and to accept verticality as the characteristic of 

 the design, although in the country especially this is an undesirable 

 alternative. 



Conditions of plan and the desire to achieve picturesque arrangements of 

 roofing will often lead to more complicated outlines in the form of the 

 house, though they will generally be traceable as developments of the types 

 I have sketched. The success of such schemes will mainly depend on the 

 balance of the roof plan and the satisfactory grouping of the masses of 

 house from all points of view. It will also depend on the extent to which 



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