FINDON 



THIS house was designed for a client who had no delusions about pictur- 

 esque roof-lines and quaint arrangements of gables, but who recognised 

 the merits of simplicity both from an artistic as well as an economic point 

 of view. The house is a simple rectangle, roofed in one span with a plain 

 hipped roof, thus avoiding the expense of lead gutters, and the unbroken 

 eaves-line runs round the whole building. 



Half-timber work was adopted for the wall framing because it seemed 

 peculiarly adapted to the district where its cost was no greater than a nine- 

 inch brick wall. It is framed of solid timbers which in some cases show 

 inside the house, and the same framing is carried out in internal partitions. 



The site, which is practically level, is laid out as shown in the garden 

 plan illustrated. The house is placed in the centre of the ground, and the 

 space is divided into definite compartments of lawn, forecourt, rose garden, 

 orchard, &c., as shown, which are connected with straight paths giving some 

 good vista effects. 



From the inner door at the side of the wide and low porch one enters a 

 recessed portion of the dining-hall under the overhanging gallery above. 

 This recess may be divided by a curtain from the dining-hall itself, and thus 

 the drawing-room, study and kitchen premises can be reached without passing 

 through the dining-hall itself the whole of the traffic of the house being 

 confined to this recess. The principal room ot the house, which constitutes 

 the focus of the plan, is the dining-hall, which is about fourteen feet high, 

 and is boarded round with wide planks to the height of its doors, above 

 which are broad spaces of whitewashed plaster, and a ceiling of rough 

 woodwork also whitewashed. As the house was designed for a lady, the 

 drawing-room is rather large in proportion to the other rooms. It is low 

 and homely, and from it to the south are casement doors which open on to 

 the terrace. 



On the south-west corner is a small study, in which the walls are chiefly 

 lined with bookcases. A fixed seat is placed near the fireplace, with a little 

 window above it. The writing-desk is placed in a corner of the room where 

 it enjoys a left light. This disposition of the furniture shows how a small 

 room may be arranged to make the most of a limited floor space. In the 

 other sitting-rooms the principal pieces of furniture are shown on the plan 

 the grand piano in the drawing-room, with its special window, and the couch 

 at the. side of the fireplace. In the dining-hall the central circular gate-table, 

 which can easily be moved to one side when required, stands in the centre of 

 the room. The sideboard is placed under the overhanging gallery, and a 

 long and wide seat occupies the bay-window, from which one looks on to the 

 terrace and the central vista of the rose garden beyond. 



A feature in connection with the dining-hall which must be noted is the 

 serving-cupboard which has already been described. The fire is placed on a 

 wide hearth of stone under a brick arch. The kitchen premises are com- 

 pletely isolated, but conveniently placed for service, and are all floored with 

 red tiles. In the kitchen itself the window to the east, which overlooks the 

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