Making the Service Side of the House Attractive 
MODERN IDEAS IN PLACING THE HOUSE ON ITS SITE-HOW TO ELIMINATE 
THE UNSIGHTLY APPEARANCE OF THE KITCHEN ENTRANCE AND LAUNDRY 
YARD—WHAT THE USE OF LATTICE ACCOMPLISHES-STRUCTURAL HINTS 
by E. J. Goodhue 
Photographs by Jessie Tarbox Beals and Others 
I T IS strange how many conventions there are about house 
building that cling simply because it is following the course 
of least resistance to do what 
others have done. The placing of 
the house on its site forms an ex¬ 
ample of this. Hundreds and 
hundreds of houses built on the 
small lot are placed with the main 
rooms facing the street, the en¬ 
trance way on the street side, and 
the principle design put upon the 
street faqade. 
There are countless objections 
to this old-fashioned way of build¬ 
ing. The front of the house was 
made attractive, and the rear, sim¬ 
ply because it might not be seen 
from the street, was considered 
safe from observation. It was 
often ugly and disorderly. All 
that was accomplished was hiding 
from the sight of the casual and 
uninterested passerby, objection¬ 
On the small place a lattice work screen may be built about 
the doorway. This pergola can be used to support vines 
able features which are flaunted in the faces of the neighbors. 
Even if we overlook the insincerity of such one-sided building, 
there are other objections; for in¬ 
stance, the effect upon the room ar¬ 
rangement of the house. The liv¬ 
ing-rooms and the chief bedrooms 
should obtain the prevailing breeze, 
which in the Eastern States is gen¬ 
erally southwest; the dining-room 
should receive its quota of sunlight 
in order to be cheery. If the con¬ 
vention of building to face the 
street is always adhered to, some of 
these rooms must suffer. Another 
annoyance occasioned by such plan¬ 
ning is the fact that the stream of 
tradesmen and the unprepossessing 
business of the kitchen is carried on 
chiefly before the eyes of the in¬ 
mates, for the service driveway 
under these conditions generally 
must run before the eyes of those 
seated on the porch or its equivalent. 
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H >yiiiriSSSS 
The laundry yard in this situation is really an extension of the house. On top of a solidly built fence a lattice work is placed that gives a much 
more interesting effect than where the work is solid. Contrasting colors between the fence palings and lattice strips look attractive 
