3o6 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



August, 1907 



Three Low Cost Houses at Dyker Heights, New York 



By Paul Thurston 



T IS a difficult matter in planning a house 

 to design one which will combine all the 

 principles of good construction, pleasing ele- 

 vations and well arranged plans, and at the 

 same time one which can be built for a com- 

 paratively small amount of money. 



It is, also, difficult to secure a house of a 

 distinctive character, for the reason that the usual house 

 built of this class, at the present time, for any such sum of 

 money as the ones illustrated herewith, are usually of the 

 class known as the "square-rigged" type, and are conse- 

 quently without any pronounced charm in them. 



The difficulty, however, has been overcome, as is demon- 

 strated by Mr. C. Schubert, in the three houses he has de- 

 signed for Mr. Benjamin Guisberg, whose house presents 

 one type, Mr. M. T. Bull's another, and Mr. Ingomals still 

 another, which he has built at Dyker Heights, Brooklyn. 



The House of Benjamin Guisberg, Esq. 



The interesting house built for Benjamin Guisberg, Esq., 

 has a pleasing feature in the placing of the entrance porch at 



isolated manner and in so close proximity to the kitchen 

 that no rear stairs seem necessary when making arrangements 

 for them. 



The parlor has oak trimmings, painted ivory white, a bay- 

 window with a seat, and an open fireplace with cream tile 

 facings, a hearth and a Colonial mantel. A French window 

 opens into the living-porch from this room. 



The dining-room is also trimmed with oak and has a 

 beamed ceiling and a plate rack extending around the walls, 

 forming a division for the decorations. There is a bay- 

 window with seat, and an open fireplace with green mottled 

 tiled facings and hearth. A door opens into the butler's 

 closet, which is fitted with drawers and dressers, while an- 

 other door opens into the kitchen, which is fitted with all the 

 best modern conveniences. 



The second floor is treated with white paint, and the walls 

 of each room are in one color scheme. There are four bed- 

 rooms, each provided with large closets. One of the bed- 

 rooms is fitted with an open fireplace. There is also a bath- 

 room, furnished with a tiled wainscoting, porcelain fixtures 

 and exposed nickelplated plumbing. The third floor con- 



the front and the living porch at the left side of the house, 

 balancing the elevation with a complete harmony. Much 

 care has been given to the planning of the house, in the ar- 

 rangement of its various rooms and the utilization of all the 

 available space. In doing this, it means something more 

 than the getting of the largest number of rooms in a given 

 area, for the rooms must be properly related to one another 

 and thoroughly adapted to the uses for which thev are in- 

 tended. 



There is a cellar under the entire house which is inclosed 

 with a stone foundation and underpinning. The building 

 above is covered with matched sheathing, good building 

 paper, clapboards and cedar shingles. The clapboards and 

 trimmings are painted a light gray and the shingles are 

 stained in harmony. The roof is covered with similar 

 shingles and is stained a moss green. 



Upon entering the house one finds oneself in a square hall, 

 which opens into the parlor, dining-room and the stair hall. 

 This hall is trimmed with oak and has a beamed ceiling. 

 The staircase, which Is an ornamental one. Is separated from 

 the hall proper by an archway, and Is placed In such an 



tains one servant's room and an open attic for storage uses, 

 rhe cost of this house complete was $3750. 



A House Built for Mr. Ingomals 



The whole style of this house Is simple and good, and the 

 red tone of the underpinning, the silver gray of the painted 

 clapboards, and the soft brown of the shingles, harmonize 

 well with the Ivory-white painted trim, and the moss-green 

 stained shingled roof. 



The house Is furnace heated and the cellar Is divided into 

 fuel rooms, etc. 



The entire arrangement of the house Is most excellent, and 

 it is divided into four rooms on the first floor and the same 

 number and bathroom on the second. A novel feature of 

 this plan is the staircase, which Is placed in a hall by itself, 

 and which, connecting with all the rooms, answers, on ac- 

 count of Its convenient location, for both the rear and front 

 stairway. Entrance to the house is direct to the living-hall, 

 which is trimmed with oak and finished In a Flemish brown, 

 and has an open fireplace with brick facings and hearth and a 

 Dutch mantel. The stairway, as already mentioned, is 



