The Livable House 



worth its weight in gold," but this scarcity of materials is some- 

 thing which must be anticipated and the house designed to grow 

 up out of the hillside, without the need of a wide platform to give 

 it the look of stability. 



A good general rule to follow in determining the width of 

 terraces is to make them equal to the distance from ground line 

 to eaves, with a minimum width of twelve feet. The picture 

 of the Walker house illustrates an ample terrace and the efifect 

 which it gives the house of spacious dignity. An architectual 

 treatment of a terrace such as this (or one in a simpler style), if 

 it is well done, is apt to be rather more satisfactory than a terrace 

 ending in a grassy slope. In other words, a retaining wall for 

 portions of the grounds near the house or those connected with 

 the garden is more desirable than a turf bank. A grass terrace 

 is always somewhat indefinite as to ending and somewhat difficult 

 to stop. For naturalistic work, where the terrace may be treated 

 in an irregular manner and allowed to fade away into the sur- 

 rounding lawn, it is satisfactory enough, but where it is used 

 architecturallv and made to conform to a regular outline it is 

 both stupid and awkward to handle. Further than this, grass on 

 a slope, if it be at all steep, is difficult to maintain and liable to 

 burn out in midsummer. 



A wall, on the contrary, ofifers no unpleasant obstacles to main- 

 tenance; it gains additional space for the garden and ofifers no 

 end of opportunities for interesting treatment. Unlike the vague 

 terminus which the grass slope forms, it provides a definite point 

 at which to stop the terrace and an opportunity to treat its top with 



