HOUSE AND GARDEN 
96 
March, 
1910 
The use of shingles as a base, with plaster above, marks this informal 
country house at Hamilton, Mass., for Messrs. A. L. and F. D. Coch¬ 
rane. Parker & Thomas, architects 
The Henry Howard residence in Brookline, Mass., combining a Colonial 
fence and classic doorway with the general mass of an English house. 
Charles A. Platt, architect 
It is a big,.broad definition. You will find three words worthy 
of note: “Character,” “Significance,Individuality ”— qualities 
well worth finding in a house. 
I am going to try to point out the value of these qualities, and 
“ Bolnhurst,” Llanfairfechan, North Wales, is an excellent example of the pos¬ 
sibilities the English plaster house possesses for picturesque mass. H. L. 
North, architect 
to show you that the modern English house, with all its faults 
(and to an American these are not a few), combines these three 
qualities to a greater extent than do the average houses ol our own 
and other countries. Finally, I should like you to consider how 
similar are our own needs and tastes w hen we want a home. 
Character in house architecture means that the building inside 
and out shall have domestic qualities and suggest, more than all, 
a home. 
Significance I understand to be the successful harmonizing of 
the needs of the client with the natural setting of the house; in 
other words, it is the logical solution of the problem, that brings 
peace and comfort to the occupants of the house, and gives an 
outsider the pleasure that one has in any well balanced view or 
picture. 
Individuality is more or less the result of character and signifi¬ 
cance, and is greatly influenced by the relation of the owner and 
the architect. 
Now Colonial houses have character; no one will deny that; 
and very charming it is, but it is the character of the past. In his 
definition of the Colonial, Russell Sturgis says in part that it is 
the architecture of the Colonies, “especially in American use, 
that which prevailed in the British settlements in America 
previous to 1776, and by extension and because the style cannot 
be distinctly separated into chronological periods, as late as the 
beginning of the present century,” etc. 
There are many times that a client comes to one and asks to 
have a Colonial house, for it is justly a popular type of American 
domestic architecture. The architect must set about to adapt 
the Colonial type to modern and special requirements. The diffi¬ 
culty is perhaps best illustrated in the article of this series devoted 
to the Colonial style, where the author pictures the house and its 
rooms. What does he do? He draws a delightful picture of days 
and customs gone by and places “My Lady” in a lovely frame. 
But “My Lady” is not a modern American woman. No doubt 
she still exists, and, when a specimen of her is found, give her the 
Colonial house by all means without a question. She will want 
it, she will be fitted to care for it; in short, to give it to her is the 
solution of the problem in this particular case. 
Colonial house architecture to-day lacks significance, except 
in special cases. That is the truth of the matter. It is the archi¬ 
tecture of a more aristocratic time, the architecture of men and 
women who lived more formally and with less of American inde¬ 
pendence than we do to-day. It isn’t democratic, as we are 
democratic and as even the average Englishman is democratic. 
Take for example the informal out-of-door life, with its 
varied sports and occupations, shared alike by the whole 
family. This kind of life is being lived by an ever-increas¬ 
ing number of people in this country, and it is producing a 
different style of architecture than that which prevailed a 
century ago. 
Successful grouping of small windows is a feature of 
Papillon Hall, an English house, by Edwin L. Lut¬ 
yens, architect 
