December, 19 13 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



417 



The Swiss chalet of late years has furnished American architects with many suggestions which they have successfully adapted to the requirements 



of domestic architecture in this country 



A Well Planned California Chalet 



By Charles Alma Byers 



F new interpretations of the old styles of 

 architecture there seems no end. Architects 

 are constantly materializing new possibili- 

 ties, and some of the older styles have under- 

 gone so many changes that the originals 

 have long ago been lost entirely. As when 

 considering the progress in the field of invention, we are 

 often made to wonder if the architects have not nearly 

 reached the limit of home-designing possibilities; but, like 

 the inventors also, they shall probably go on unhaltingly 

 producing new, or partly new, creations, until the end of 

 time. The inter-national interchange of styles and ideas does 

 much to prevent stagnation, and an adoption of foreign 

 styles of architecture has given the architects of America 

 prototypes from which many artistic interpretations have 

 been produced. Possibly they have misused some of their 

 opportunities, but in the majority of instances the process of 

 adaptation through which the borrowed styles have passed 

 has no doubt very greatly bettered, so far as America is 

 concerned, nearly all of such borrowings. 



The chalet of Switzerland has been giving, during the 

 past few years, the architects of America a suggestion upon 

 which to display their ingeniousness, and already numerous 

 interpretations of various kinds have been produced — some 

 excellent and some indifferent. The one illustrated by the 



accompanying photographs is particularly good for a level 

 city lot — and since the real Swiss chalet is supposed to pos- 

 sess mountainous environs this particular representation of 

 the style deserves more than mere passing attention. 



It is two stories in height, as will be observed, and pos- 

 sesses ten rooms, besides bathroom, closets, storages, 

 porches and so forth. It is located in Los Angeles, Cali- 

 fornia, and was designed and built by Messrs. A. S. Barnes 

 and E. B. Rust of that city. It represents an expenditure 

 of about five thousand dollars, and the builders claim that 

 it should be readily duplicated in any locality for approxi- 

 mately that amount. 



It is only in the house's exterior structural lines that the 

 Swiss chalet is suggested. It possesses the broadly project- 

 ing eaves, the comparatively flat roof, the perpendicularly 

 boarded gables, the casement windows, and lastly, the in- 

 dispensable and oddly-designed balcony. The front porch, 

 occupying a corner, is 11x22 feet in dimensions, and over 

 this porch is located the balcony, a 9^x11 foot loggia, an 

 appreciable feature, and a large closet. In the rear there is 

 a pergola, 9^2x21 feet in size, and another porch, besides 

 the customary screened porch. 



The foundation of the house, as well as the walls and 

 flooring of the basement and the flooring of the porches 

 and pergola, is of concrete, and the chimneys and walls to 



