HOUSES AND GARDENS 



when materials of an artificial character are imported to a district where the 

 buildings are of natural materials. Stone, for instance, may not look out of 

 place in a brick district, but it is not generally advisable to introduce a brick 

 house into a stone locality. 



It is desirable in country building to use materials which will colour 

 naturally. Whatever artists we may employ to decorate the interior of the 

 country house, it is well to invoke the aid of Nature in toning down its 

 exterior till it harmonises with its surroundings and its walls are clothed 

 with creepers. And so the materials for the exterior will be chosen with 

 this end in view, and its tiles and bricks will not be selected for the smoothness 

 of their surface. 



In the town, on the contrary, this natural colouring cannot be included 

 in the architect's scheme, and everything will tend to become black and dirty. 

 Whatever beauty its buildings possess must be of an entirely artificial character, 

 and the beauty of the whole must depend on some definite and conscious 

 conception which should include a colour scheme. There is little to cheer 

 the heart of man in the dingy buildings of stone or brick which comprise the 

 modern town. 



In the country or suburban house it may be noted that the more formal 

 its surroundings the more artificial the house may be. Its terraces and lawns, 

 like the frame of the picture, will help to isolate it from the surrounding , 

 country. In fact, instead of making the house harmonise with Nature in 

 this case, we make Nature harmonise with the house. It will still be wise, 

 however, to make concessions on both sides, so that house and Nature meet 

 each other half way. But for the small houses, at any rate, it has been shown 

 that the formal type of garden may not be altogether suitable, and the house 

 which springs directly from its natural surroundings must be more natural 

 and less artificial in its materials and their treatment. When, however, small 

 houses occupy restricted roadside sites, a degree of artificiality is necessarily intro- 

 duced which may suggest a more formal character for the house and its garden. 



The choice between artificial and natural beauty will depend largely on 

 the tastes of the individual. The first becomes reasonable wherever houses 

 are grouped into communities, and the latter is desirable when they are built 

 in the country, and the house will be judged not alone by its intrinsic qualities, 

 but by the extent to which it adapts itself to its surroundings. 



The position of the house on its site is a matter of primary importance, 

 and too often the fatal mistake is made at the outset in this matter, in which, 

 as in many others, the architect's advice may be duly considered, but is only 

 acted on when it agrees with the preconceived ideas of his employer. Too 

 much attention is usually given to the question of view, for houses nowadays 

 are commonly so designed that it is only possible to endure to live in their 

 apartments by resolutely and constantly looking out of the window. In most 

 cases the best view is the outlook on to the garden, and the plans illustrated 

 show how, in the placing of the garden in connection with the house, special 

 vista effects should be arranged opposite the principal windows. But in some 

 situations the question of a more extended prospect must be considered. Let 



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