July, rg1I 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
267 
Two Types of Colonial Houses 
By Paul Thurston 
HE small Colonial house illustrated in this 
paper is of Dutch character, and it em- 
braces some of the latest ideas in modern 
architecture. It was designed and built to 
meet the usual conditions which the mod- 
ern social and economic developments de- 
mand of the man of modest means who 
desires to live within commuting distance of a metropolis. 
Harmonious within and without and built with an eye for 
convenience, economy and style, the house has something 
more—it has character. 
With many there is a certain amount of sentiment created 
from long association with old mansions in New England 
and in the South, while to others, when seen unexpectedly 
for the first time, they excite more than a passing interest. 
We speak of them as “Southern” and “New England,” ac- 
cording to various characteristics. Many architects have 
made visits to them in order to study the well-known types, 
so as to reproduce and render them suitable for modern 
building. The architect of Colonial times set about to 
carry out old rules with new means. He also made brick- 
work answer in place of the cut stone which would have been 
used in England. He often made a column from a tree, the 
diameter of which was much less than that called for by the 
rule of Vignola. Clapboards were laid close to the weather 
and near to the ground, waterproof building paper being 
unknown. To-day the situation is quite different, for a 
client selects his house by photograph or sketch made on 
paper, and instead of there being only several building ma- 
terials, as it was in the time of the older builders, the 
modern one is now deluged with samples of new and inter- 
GASOMGY BONY, 
A Dutch Colonial house built of brick and white clapboards 
esting material. Under these conditions it is not strange 
that the tendency of the times is to branch out into new 
styles rather than to conform to the old customs, and to 
apply the new methods and materials to improve just a little 
upon the work which the old builders did successfully. The 
house which forms the illustration of this paper is but one 
example, and it shows that the latter course is coming to be 
more and more the one which our best architects will follow 
in the development of future architecture for domestic use. 
It will be noticed how well the square, blunt outline of the 
building suits the location of a restricted city lot. The sim- 
ple detail of the architecture precludes a possibility of any 
pretensions to a larger house than it really is. The grouped 
windows of the lower story, with the formal entrance be- 
tween, suggest at once the Colonial scheme. The ceilings 
are low. ‘The marked difference between the ground plan 
and the two stories above is suggestive of the more domestic 
functions of the latter. This is further emphasized by the 
projection of the second story over the first, which conveys 
a feeling of extra comfort in the sleeping-rooms. The en- 
trance is more than a broad doorway, for it bespeaks some- 
thing of the dignity and the repose that is not ordinarily 
found in a house of this class. The first story of this build- 
ing is constructed of red brick laid in Flemish bond in white 
mortar. The superstructure is formed of wood, and is 
covered on the exterior with wide white-painted clapboards. 
The roof is covered with shingles and is stained a dark- 
green tone, that blends well with the brickwork and the 
white-painted clapboards. ‘The entrance is direct into the 
hall, which extends through the center of the house, and 
from which a staircase of graceful design ascends to the 
