House and Garden 
mosaic work, which is made up of tiles of diminutive 
size, owing to its range of color, is capable of far 
more varied treatment than marble mosaic which is 
confined to the few colors in which natural marble is 
found. The decorative pattern of the tiled or ceramic 
mosaic porch is limited only by the taste of the 
architect or home builder. It has furthermore the 
advantage of being used to counteract the frequent 
faulty appearance of the porch, due to the fact that 
it must often be made rather narrow, in order not to 
obstruct the light of the rooms behind on the ground 
floor. 
This narrowness of the porch is emphasized 
and aggravated by the long narrow cracks between 
the boards of a wooden floor, but can be readily 
corrected by a suitably designed border or by a 
panel treatment in tile or ceramic mosaic. In 
addition to its decorative effect, the tiled or ceramic 
mosaic porch has a substantial and rich appearance 
that is quite in keeping with the permanence of 
construction which characterizes the present day 
country or suburban residence, in contradistinction 
to the temporary “summer cottage” character of the 
country home of a few years ago. A tiled porch is 
very easy to keep clean by simply flushing it off' with 
a hose. The non-absorbent character of the clay 
tile forces all dirt spilled upon it to remain on the 
surface, whence it is easily removed. In country 
districts, where the roads and sidewalks are often 
unpaved, the ceramic porch has another advan¬ 
tage over the wooden. Muddy footprints show 
on a clean wooden floor, while they are hardly 
perceptible upon the colored design of the ceramic 
mosaic porch. 
In concrete construction which is now so in vogue 
for country residences, the tiled porch is most 
appropriate. Its decorative character relieves the 
cold gray monochrome appearance of the cement, and 
like the tiled roof, adds a touch of color to the concrete 
building, which disarms the usual criticism of the 
dull appearance of cement. The plain concrete 
porch soon wears rough, and the small recesses thus 
formed become filled with dirt which it is almost 
impossible to remove. It is likewise too suggestive 
of the sidewalk or cellar to make an appropriate 
covering for the porch, which is one of the 
most conspicuous parts of the building: in fact it 
is the first place which meets the scrutinizing 
glance of the visitor in waiting for the door bell to 
be answered. 
Consequently the neat and attractive appearance of 
the porch does much to create that favorable impres¬ 
sion upon the stranger which should be the ambition 
of every housekeeper or home-owner. 
A PORCH FLOOR OF CFRAMIC MOSAIC 
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