January, 1915 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
25 
good logical scheme to utilize them. Such instances are indeed 
unfortunate, and perhaps the following review of several in¬ 
teresting closets may furnish a few ideas of sufficient appeal to 
encourage you to avoid possible errors of omission and commis¬ 
sion in the house you hope to build. 
In an old Colonial house, remodeled 
by a young architect, are some es¬ 
pecially clever schemes, indicating that 
even if your house is already built 
there is still an opportunity to increase 
its comfort and efficiency. Entering 
the front door, a vestibule had been 
added, provided by a new partition 
across the wide, old-fashioned hall 
about four feet back from the front 
wall of the house. This kept the hall 
warmer and provided a small room 
about four feet square each side of 
the vestibule and lighted by the side¬ 
lights of the Colonial doorway. One 
of these rooms opened off the vesti¬ 
bule and was equipped with hooks, 
hangers, umbrella-stand, mirror, etc., 
for the use of guests. The other 
served as a sound-proof telephone- 
booth opening off the hall for pri¬ 
vacy of conversation when wanted. 
The hall extended only part way 
through the house, and at the rear end 
the front stairway wound upward in 
three runs and two landings. Access 
to the cellar was had by a flight under 
the back stairs, leaving the space un¬ 
der the front stairs for other pur¬ 
poses. As the space under the 
third run was open to the hall, 
there was opportunity to locate 
a family clothes-closet for outer 
garments under the second land¬ 
ing, reached by a door opening 
from the hall. Often this space 
is used for a telephone-booth 
when no other is provided. The 
space under the first run and 
landing was used in connection 
with the den at the right of the 
hall, and that under the second 
run was used for the dining¬ 
room back of the hall and 
reached through a short side hall 
to the left. 
Built into the wall of the den, 
its bulk under the first landing, 
and only its face showing, a fire- 
prbof safe served to store pa¬ 
pers of value. It was somewhat 
conspicuous, too, and might at¬ 
tract a chance burglar long 
enough to ring the electric alarm 
attached, the valuable silver, 
however, being kept elsewhere at 
night. A closet above the safe, 
the depth of the partition only, 
contained a rack of several thin 
board shelves set at an angle of 
twenty-three degrees, forming 
pockets in which to thrust folded newspapers. To the left of the 
safe, a panel in the wainscot proved to be a small, almost imper¬ 
ceptible, door, giving access to the space under the first run of 
the stairway, which was used for files of magazines kept for 
reference. There had been an in¬ 
genious use made of the space under 
the second run. Pressing an invisible 
spring in the wainscot, and pushing 
aside one of its panels, a well-filled 
cellarette is displayed. 
Pressing another invisible button 
and pushing aside the whole cellar¬ 
ette discloses beyond, in the space un¬ 
der the stairs, another fireproof safe, 
in which the valuable old family silver 
was kept. 
The entire wall of this hall was 
paneled in white-painted wood, and 
on each side of a small English bay 
with casement sashes the corners of 
the room had been taken for triangu¬ 
lar china-closets with round-top. 
double doors with leaded, clear glass 
in a simple, attractive pattern. An 
unnecessary clothes-closet in this 
room was utilized for a third china- 
closet by the introduction of white- 
painted shelves with hooks for hang¬ 
ing cups. 
A door opposite this one the other 
side of the fireplace led into the 
kitchen through a butler’s pantry with 
a broad serving-shelf and drawers on 
one side and a linen-chest with clos¬ 
ets high up and drawers low 
down on the other. At one side 
of the linen-closet, in a closet 
the full height of the room and 
about two feet square, the 
brooms, mops, vacuum-cleaner 
and dusting-brushes were kept, 
each on its proper hook. A 
shelf above was reserved for 
floor-wax, wood and metal pol¬ 
ish, while two drawers at the 
bottom contained cleaning- and 
dusting-cloths. This location has 
been chosen as being equally 
handy to kitchen or front rooms. 
In remodeling the house, it 
was found that, as is usually the 
case, much space had been 
wasted each side of the great 
old chimney, and here was found 
ample room for a bookcase with 
attractive glass doors and two 
big drawers below. The most 
ingenious closet in this room was 
a tiny affair with a little leaded- 
glass door at one side of a 
window-seat built into a jog in 
the room. It had no definite 
purpose, but was filled with 
playing-cards, game-sco r es, a 
box of cigars ;m‘d” a sewing- 
(Contin'ned on voge 62) 
Every nursery should have at least one closet high enough up 
in the wall to be out of reach of small hands 
Experience has shown that shelves — not drawers — prove the most feasible 
arrangement for the linen closet. If placed on rollers, the shelves can be 
easily pulled forward, thus saving a reach to the back. 
