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AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



October, 1906 



A Home in a Nutshell 



By Janet Macdonald 



IBSORBED in reflections anent the simple 

 life, enjoyed by the birds of the air, and the 

 beasts of the field, as well as being adopted 

 by modern faddists, I found myself trans- 

 ported to a pretentious edifice, appointed 

 with all the modern conveniences to be found 

 in a first-class hotel, office-building or apartment-house, with 

 the additions and exceptions hereinafter related. The hall- 

 ways were broad, well lighted, handsomely carpeted, and ap- 

 propriately furnished, the walls being decorated with fine 

 pictures, and occasional jardinieres of growing plants emitted 

 a delightful fragrance. The light, also, was well regulated; 

 not garish, but altogether suggestive of the light in happy 

 homes of culture and refinement. 



A door was opened for me by a man, exceedingly polite, 

 who at once introduced me to the interior of a diminutive, 

 but perfectly arranged flat, and I was informed that this was 

 but one of many similar ones under the same roof, the cen- 

 tralization of labor and capital making the possibilities of 

 modern conveniences observed in the construction and main- 

 tenance of private homes quite within reach of small in- 

 comes — elevator service, gas and electric lighting, steam 

 heat, and elegantly fitted corridors. I was now to witness an 

 entirely new and exceedingly clever device in the way of 

 house-building and fitting, for my guide, after inviting me 

 into an elegant parlor, at once, and with genuine and en- 

 thusiastic alacrity, exhibited to my admiring eyes the minute 

 details of a well-regulated home. The parlor was well 

 lighted and commanded a noble view of mountain and 

 stream, the plate glass windows being draped with the softest 

 and whitest of fine lace. Under our feet the soft, yielding 

 carpets; the furniture, in addition to elegance, represented the 

 utmost comfort, a detail often slighted in home furnishing. 

 The walls were hung with a limited number of really artistic 

 pictures, and bits of fine statuary were in evidence to enhance 

 the gentle spirit of home. 



My attention was called to a finely beveled plate-glass mir- 

 ror which instantly, and with no effort, was transformed into 

 a most inviting bed. I have seen all sorts of folding-beds, 

 designed to beguile the unwary, and have, to my unspeakable 

 regret, experimented with many, but I have never before 

 seen a bed that was part and parcel of the very house in its 

 construction. By simply touching a button, this remarkable 

 bed lowers itself into the room and there it stands, a beauti- 

 ful brass bedstead with a bed all ready for use. This bed 

 was composed of a fine hair mattress, downy pillows, and 

 with comforts of down and sheets and pillow slips of dainty 

 and immaculate purity. The recess in the wall from which 

 the bed is pulled, is closed automatically by a head-board as 

 the bed is lowered into position, and when down it is a moral 

 impossibility for that bed to close accidentally, or to collapse 

 through sheer wickedness. My attention was also called to a 

 simple device at the lower corners of the bed, which grasped 

 the corners of sheets, blankets and puffs, which are held se- 

 curely in place when the bed is up, and hang separated from 

 each other by about one and a half inches. Then this won- 

 derful bed shuts into a ventilated closet some twenty-five or 

 thirty inches deep, and opposite a window, allowing not only 

 the free air of heaven to circulate through it, but the rays of 

 California sunshine to penetrate and purify it during the en- 

 tire day. "This," I declared, "is an ideally healthful and per- 

 fect bed." As the door closed upon the inspection of the ven- 

 tilating closet, I observed upon the back of it a bookcase and 



writing-desk, with additional drawers at the bottom, all pro- 

 jecting into the ventilating closet, a panel in the door myster- 

 iously unfolding to form the desk. 



I was next directed through the living-room (which is a 

 complete replica of the parlor, and separated from it by fold- 

 ing doors), to the kitchen, for people must eat, whether the 

 salary be a princely one or only fourteen dollars per, and I 

 was greatly delighted at the miniature perfection of the dear- 

 est little kitchen I ever saw. Walls and floor were artistically 

 tiled, the walls above the tiling were lined with shelves, space 

 having been allowed for a cupboard and meat safe; a por- 

 celain sink and drain for dishes, and a stove — a gas range 

 hung on the back of a door leading into the living-room. 

 This door is hung on a central bearing, so that with the gas 

 still burning, the stove may be turned right about face into 

 the living-room, now transformed into the dining-room, 

 where it is used as a hot buffet from which food may be 

 served piping hot directly to the table, and making the 

 service of a servant entirely superfluous. After the meal is 

 over, the door upon which the range is hung is instantly re- 

 versed and the living-room, with no appearance of a kitchen, 

 is restored. 



The guide showed me a table quite large enough to serve 

 a luncheon upon. "But," I enquired (having in view the in- 

 evitable family), "supposing there be more than two?" 

 "Oh !" he replied, "that is easy. If you will take a seat, I will 

 show you how that may be arranged without trouble." And 

 suiting the action to the word, he quickly rolled the table to 

 the door, and tipping it on end caught two hooks on the side 

 of a table-top, which he found suspended on the door, into 

 the opening in the table prepared for their reception, and 

 again lowering the table he had gained a top of four by six 

 feet quite capable of seating a family of six. I was amused 

 at the transformation, which with all the preceding magical 

 lightning changes, had convinced me of the remarkable 

 possibilities future housekeeping had in store for us. 



"To replace it is quite another thing," I said, instantly 

 thinking of the cumbrous table-top. "No!" again asserted 

 the guide, "quite the same thing. See!" He again rolled 

 the table to the door, and again tipping it at the same angle, 

 lo! the table-top remained upon the door, and the center-table 

 was again standing in the living-room, as innocent of the 

 black art as though it were not one of the principal con- 

 spirators. 



I had now seen a parlor, a living-room, two sleeping- 

 rooms, a dining-room and a kitchen, besides the reception- 

 hall. The apartment-house proper is erected with a double 

 wall, the distance between the outer and the inner wall being 

 about sixty inches. These walls serve a double purpose. In 

 the first place they are sanitary, giving the finest possible 

 ventilation; the building is warm in the winter, and cool in 

 the summer; they allow space for bathroom, storage-rooms 

 and the necessary ventilation-closets for the reception of the 

 beds during the day. The labor in these magical apartments 

 has been reduced to a minimum. Space has been economized 

 but has not detracted from, but rather increased, the comfort. 

 The apartments are furnished complete for housekeeping, 

 including dishes, silver, table-linen, and bed-clothing, with 

 the laundering of the two latter. The electric lighting is free. 

 A private telephone has been installed in each suite for the 

 use of occupants. Should one not desire to live in an apart- 

 ment-house, he may build a cottage of three rooms, and still 

 have all the comforts of a five-room flat by this system. 





