HOUSE AND GARDEN 
January, 1913 
Having arrived at the disposition of our rooms in some such 
way as this, we can proceed to work shape, sizes and sub-divisions. 
The exact disposition of space in any larger or more elaborate 
house than this will not be possible to consider here. As in the 
openings of a game of chess, after the first few moves the possible 
ramifications become so num¬ 
erous and complicated that 
we are soon bewildered if we 
try to learn them all; so here, 
too, the simple beginning of 
the four room plan is enough. 
Once we make our start cor¬ 
rectly we may amplify as 
much as we please and as we 
expand the possible arrange¬ 
ments become infinite. 
On the second floor, we 
shall not try for any archi¬ 
tecture, but the problem will 
become one of packing in as 
many rooms as will dovetail 
together with no space left 
over. 
It is well for the amateur 
planner not to forget here cer¬ 
tain uninteresting but stern 
necessities that if ignored will 
cause confusion later. For 
instance, certain carrying 
partitions must run up 
through the house, 
one above the other 
for economy of fram¬ 
ing so that joists of 
too great length and 
consequent depth need 
not be used. This will 
fix certain second 
floor partitions. The 
direction of these 
joists must also be 
considered so that the 
house will be tied to¬ 
gether at the roof 
plate. Otherwise, the 
thrust of the rafters 
would tear it asunder. 
The various plumb¬ 
ing fixtures should be 
kept over each other 
for the sake of econo¬ 
my. The stairs are 
one of the few things 
that will admit of no 
squeezing. In order 
not to hit one’s head, 
a certain amount of 
room must be allowed 
for them, and if they take up too much room in the hall the hall 
must be made larger and not the stairs smaller. We must be 
careful not to deceive ourselves on paper. The head room under 
roofs must also be gone into carefully to avoid disappointment 
later in the attic rooms. 
Speaking in a general way of houses having the same floor 
area, the advantage of the square over the long narrow plan is 
that of greater compactness. It results in being more easily 
heated, in shorter distances from one room to another and that 
there are a greater number of rooms that will have windows on 
two sides, while the expense of the house per square foot will be 
less than in the long house. On the other hand, in the long house 
we are able to get our kitchen and nursery further from our 
bedrooms. There is an immense gain in the exterior appearance 
of the building in that we shall 
have one dimension greater 
than the others, thus avoiding 
the chunkiness of the cubical 
mass. More seclusion may be 
had for the various rooms and 
a livelier sense of interest 
created because of the greater 
variety of the plan. There is 
nothing reticent about a square 
house; on entering the front 
door the whole thing is ap¬ 
parent. In the other, it is im¬ 
possible to tell what we shall 
find around the next corner. 
It is not until we have our 
plan roughly blocked out as 
above, that the architect will 
give much thought to the ex¬ 
terior expression. To be sure, 
he will probably have given 
some consideration to the ap¬ 
pearance of the building but it 
is not until the plan is determin¬ 
ed and its essentials well fixed 
that he will give any 
serious attention to 
the appearance of the 
outside. Considering 
the elevations, he will 
first determine 
whether it is to be 
formal or informal in 
character, whether he 
will try for symmetry 
with its accompanying 
dignity or for the 
picturesqueness that 
may easily result 
from an informal 
rambling treatment. 
The nature of the 
building, its surround¬ 
ings, and the predilec¬ 
tions of the owner, 
will all be factors that 
assist him to arrive at 
his decision; the pri¬ 
ority of the plan over 
the elevations and the 
greater amount of 
study going into it is 
a matter which is not 
understood by the uninitiated. It is the plan that is the important 
thing and it must govern the elevations. We shall expect, how¬ 
ever, that each will make concessions of a minor nature to the 
other, but whatever the esoteric relationship may be it is almost 
always to be noted that a thoroughly good plan arrived at after 
careful study, will find as its concomitant a set of elevations 
waiting ready to clothe it without strain or effort. If one takes 
care of the plan, the elevations will take care of themselves. 
(Continued on page 60) 
Among the conveniences that may be planned for is an automatic ash 
sifter connected directly with the kitchen range 
This house has a variety of elevations without extreme irregularity of plan. 1 he porch 
roof provides a possibility for a sleeping porch with iron awning supports as suggested 
