HOUSE AND GARDEN 
UNE, 1912 
29 
the floor timbers so that the lower sashes which are weighted 
may be dropped into pockets and hinged window-sills dropped 
back over them. The upper sashes are hinged and swing to the 
ceiling, and thus the whole window area can be utilized; in damp 
weather they are readily closed. Outside screens and awnings 
complete the utility of the scheme. 
The particular points of the plan 
may be readily seen. The kitchen 
end is merely a modern arrangement 
without regard to Colonial style. 
There is room enough and not too 
much. The cook has a sink and 
shelves out of the way of any pass¬ 
ing traffic; her pantry is ample and 
well lit; she is handy to the trades¬ 
man’s door and can see readily who 
is at it; two windows on either side 
gives cross ventilation; also a regis¬ 
ter over the stove connects with a 
vent flue in the chimney, which is 
warmed by the range flue. The 
kitchen dresser is handy for both 
cook and second girl, and together 
they have a small room of their own 
with a good river view. There is 
room in the pantry for a small ice- 
chest, which may be filled from the 
outside by opening the swing win¬ 
dow and dropping an inclined plat¬ 
form. 
The reception room is easily ac¬ 
cessible from both the front and side 
doors, the last of which is most used. 
The servants can answer the bell with 
but little intrusion on the rest of the house and can at the side 
door “spot” the visitor before opening. There are, as should be, 
two doors between the kitchen quarters and the rest of the house. 
The basement is reached by stairs from the hallway in the new 
part, and at their foot is the outer door to the laundry yard. 
Owing to the quick grade, full 
sized windows were possible 
in the end and yard side, the 
stonework coming only to the 
height of the sills in the latter 
instance. The laundry occu¬ 
pies the end under the pantry, 
servants’ room and the major 
part of the kitchen. Next to 
this and the outer door is a 
toilet. The coal bunkers are 
next the wall under the hall¬ 
way and entry, while the 
space below the dining-room 
is reserved for the future 
heater. The old cellar is poor¬ 
ly lighted and is used for lit¬ 
tle more than a storeroom. 
Under the open air room is a 
well lit area accessible both 
from the old cellar way and 
the laundry yard. 
The second story has re¬ 
quired more alteration of the old part than on the first floor; and 
with the single chimney plan this is always the case. Our fore¬ 
fathers were contented to go through one room to reach another; 
we, however, object to this. The old chimney took up all the 
space as in the lower story, but we were obliged to rake it toward 
The dining-room fireplace and china closet built in at 
its side, showing good Colonial motives 
The porch end shows the square bay and the roof shape of the open 
air room ell 
the old front stairs to gain the hallway to the front corner room. 
We also stole from the guest chamber to continue this to connect 
with the new part. In the original plan there were no fireplaces 
on the second floor and it was deemed best to leave them out in 
the alteration in favor of the small closets. We provided, how¬ 
ever, three small flues for stove con¬ 
nection in the three chambers, in case 
of emergency. The small closets are 
small, but they are only for imme¬ 
diate use, the large closet ofif the trunk 
room offering plenty of stowaway 
room. 
The new staircase is lighted by bor¬ 
rowed light from the two windows in 
the long hallway and has filled its mis¬ 
sion perfectly. The staircase is cen¬ 
trally located and reaches the vital 
points of the second floor easily. 
It will be seen from the plan that 
the servants are cut off from the rest 
of the house by a large flat and cur¬ 
tained arch. Within this section are 
the bedrooms, bath and ample closet 
room. There is one point which 
might have been bettered: the family 
bath is not centrally located as re¬ 
gards the chambers. Even if left as 
it is, a supplementary toilet would have 
been well placed in some handy part 
of the trunk room. The idea of its pres¬ 
ent location lay with the owner and 
the idea was to reduce the very con¬ 
siderable plumbing into one upright 
stack. Economically it is a success. 
It will be noticed that there is a standpipe in the hallway of the 
new part. This is of two-inch galvanized pipe and extends from 
cellar to garret. It is fed from a reservoir on the hill above—the 
common water supply of the house. On the three floors proper, 
a fifty-foot linen hose hangs on a bracket rack, ready at all times 
for use. With this ^11 parts of 
the interior can be reached. In 
the basement the hose is one 
hundred feet in length to allow 
for out-of-door use. 
In the trunk room floor there 
is a scuttle through which the 
trunks are hoisted with aid of 
a tackle from the room below. 
This saves carting them over 
the house, more particularly 
over the stairs. 
Having considered the plan 
as a plan, let us go into the 
general finish and design: 
The building itself belongs 
to the middle of what may be 
called the Georgian period— 
about 1714-1820. Its style is 
extremely simple in both out¬ 
line and detail. Its location on 
the map is about middle of the 
State of Connecticut, and on 
the Connecticut River. This last being an old-time highway, it 
was natural that there should be much intercourse between the 
various settlements bordering it, and hence one may naturally 
look for a great similarity in the style of building over this entire 
(Confirmed on page 57) 
