September, 1905 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



173 



Helps to Home Building 



Living in the House 



F COURSE, that is what the house is for! 

 Very true; but does every one get the most 

 out of the house he lives in? Does every 

 one value the house as a house? Is the 

 house itself a part of one's life, to be en- 

 joyed as one might enjoy a rich carpet or 

 a cherished vase? These are pertinent questions, because 

 until they can be answered in the affirmative the house and 

 its equipment must fail in having real and genuine interest 

 even to those who have spent of their money in its building 

 and their time and energy in its equipment. Without this 

 interest — a living, broadening, permanent interest — the 

 building of houses will be an exotic art, quite apart from the 

 realities of life. 



Yet houses are built to live in, and no element in civiliza- 

 tion is more helpful on the one hand, or, in some instances, 

 more detrimental on the other. No argument is needed for 

 the cause of good houses. One need not, unfortunately, be 

 a good man because one lives in a good house ; but the better 

 life is spent in the better surroundings. The greatest dangers 

 to our social fabric do not come from our good houses, bui: 

 from the hovels and tenements, which still too often deface 

 our civilization and our humanity. 



A good house, therefore, is a good thing. It is not only 

 good in itself, but it is capable of helping its occupants by the 

 interest they may take in it. And this is the key to progress 

 in household art. One should be interested in houses, and 

 especially in one's own house, exactly as one is interested in 

 other objects, animate and inanimate, with which one is sur- 

 rounded. History hardly points the time when man did 

 without dwellings constructed by himself and fot his own 

 use. Like the poor, they are always with us, and seem 

 destined to be always with us. They are absolutely indis- 

 pensable. They cost large sums of money. They help, and 

 very materially help, in adding to the joys of living. Yet 

 there is little real interest in houses as houses. 



In the last few years a very astonishing interest has been 

 developed in the subject of automobiling. This interest is 

 not only phenomenal, but very great and very general. It 

 exists among people who can never hope to own one, and 

 who, perhaps, may never take a ride in one. It is an interest 

 well-nigh universal. And it has been created in a few years. 

 It is a subject so new that we can not yet begin to see its 

 probable influence on the weighty subject of transportation. 



The contrast between the interest in houses and the in- 

 terest in automobiling is very pronounced. On the one hand 

 we have an indispensable subject, a subject that, in an off- 

 hand, general, indifferent way, it is admitted has an im- 

 portant bearing on human life and the spread of civilization. 

 On the other we have a luxurious sport, actually open only 

 to the very rich, in which every one, rich and poor alike, is 

 interested. It is a strange and singular phenomenon. 



No doubt many causes tend to produce this indifference 

 toward houses; but certainly one of the most potent causes 

 is that people generally do not understand how to get the 

 most out of a house. They look upon a house as a place to 

 live in, not as a positive influence in their lives. 



A first step forward is to view the house as a social ele- 

 ment. Many things help in this. A pleasant looking house 

 pleasantly situated has obvious advantages over an un- 

 pleasant house unpleasantly situated. This is a basic condi- 

 tion now very generally recognized in suburban develop- 

 ment, and it is not the less marked because not a few of the 



efforts in this direction are altogether helpless and hopeless. 

 But the value of such things is so generally admitted that it 

 is evident some progress has been made. 



The external aspect of the house is regarded as the first 

 factor in its appreciation. And this is so near the truth that 

 the sale of an ugly house is almost impossible, and its oc- 

 cupancy a matter of constant regret to its unfortunate 

 occupants. But the value of good looks in a house is very 

 far from being properly understood. That the house should 

 be good looking is very generally admitted; but the standard 

 of good looks in a house ! It simply does not exist. Even 

 on this very obvious point, therefore, there is much mis- 

 sionary work to be done. 



But does the outward aspect of the house affect the per- 

 sonality of the inmates? Assuredly. It is not fair to judge 

 the inmates by the exterior, especially in houses of moderate 

 cost, for it is impossible to draw general conclusions as to 

 why a particular house was chosen. Very likely it was not 

 built by the occupant; it may have been the only house avail- 

 able in its location ; it may have been the only house that 

 could be had for the sum at command. But, apart from 

 these considerations, the exterior of the house has an influence 

 on the inmates by stimulating pride in it. Even if one knows 

 nothing of the absolute value of good looks in houses one 

 naturally takes more pride in a dwelling that seems, to the 

 happy occupant, to be better looking than those of his neigh- 

 bors. A healthy rivalry in exterior aspects is thus created 

 which, while it may not stimulate the inmates to better seem- 

 ing homes, will tend to raise the standard of the whole 

 community. 



The interior of the house has a much more individual value 

 and character. One may not be willing to assume the entire 

 responsibility for the outside of one's house; but one can not 

 avoid doing so for the interior. The color of the walls, the 

 style and character of the furniture, the form of floor cover- 

 ing, the pictures, ornaments, bed coverings and dishes — all 

 these are the signs, and the incontrovertible signs, of the 

 inmates' personal tastes, inclination and knowledge. 



If the outside of the house should be attractive it is vastly 

 more important that the inside should be as charming and 

 as delightful as it is possible to make it. And this charm- 

 giving quality is never finally established, even in the most 

 fascinating of houses. No interior of a rightly appreciated 

 home is ever complete. The charm may, indeed, be definite 

 and thoroughly established, but the effort to add to it, to 

 make it more charming, should never cease. 



And the more one does to a house the more one becomes 

 interested in it. This is the real secret, if it be a secret, of 

 getting the best out of the house, and of realizing to the full 

 its livable qualities. 



The house should be enjoyed in its parts. If the rooms are 

 pleasant in themselves — bare and unfurnished — thev must 

 be made pleasanter by pleasant furnishings and charming ar- 

 rangements. If they are awkward and unsatisfactory, there 

 is the greater need for the exercise of finer care in their in- 

 terior treatment. 



The charm of a well designed, well furnished, well main- 

 tained, well planned house is very great. It is a real and 

 penetrating charm, elevating to its inmates and not less de- 

 lightful to the casual visitor. The latter, indeed, is a person 

 seldom to be considered, yet too often thought too much of. 

 The house is for its inmates, and it remains with them to 

 get the most out of it. 



