July, ipi7 
39 
they had stopped short at those bare, square 
things they made ten years ago, that looked 
like country stores?” 
The little house had arrived at noon the 
day before, by furniture van, from the 
freight office. An excited audience sat in 
wicker chairs and watched it unloaded. 
“For all the world like stage scenery,” 
some one observed, as the flat 6' sections 
were laid out on the grass—pieces of clap- 
boarded side wall, lengths and breadths of 
hardwood flooring, layers of roof. 
“It fits together like scenery, too,” said 
a carpenter who was carefully matching up 
the numbered and lettered parts. 
And Was Erected in an Afternoon 
That was at noon, remember. The morn¬ 
ing had been spent in putting twenty cypress 
posts to serve as foundation. By four- 
thirty, when the biggest carpenter pushed 
his hat forward, scratched his head and 
said he “guessed he’d call it a day,” there 
stood an inviting white cottage, 30’ long and 
12' wide, complete save for one corner of 
the hipped roof. Like magic the well-lined 
sections of flooring had been dovetailed to¬ 
gether and laid; the walls had been clamped 
in place; windows had been slipped into 
their grooves and white paneled doors 
hung; the roof sections had been fitted to¬ 
gether like the parts of a well-made toy. 
The little house settled into the landscape 
as if it had grown there. There were even 
flowers clambering up the trellises at either 
side of the door opposite the garden—tall 
African marigolds, that will accommodat¬ 
ingly bear transplanting while in full bloom. 
“Portable flowers, by George!” grinned 
one of the boys. 
Of course there was work still to be done. 
A brick chimney, sloping in the quaint fash¬ 
ion of old farmhouses, was built into the 
opening cut for it by the house-makers. 
Some old paneled wainscoting from a dis¬ 
mantled house was lifted in and painted 
creamy white; above this wallboard was 
tacked and painted a soft putty color. The 
unceiled roof was given a coat of the same 
corner of a garden. Caen stone or stucco 
or wood makes the circular walls up to a 
three-quarters height. On top range flower 
boxes with trailing ivy. The ceiling is 
painted sky blue. The floor is painted or 
tiled black and white. Furniture yellow 
with black striping and brilliant flowers 
shade, and the crossbeams were kept in the 
putty tones. The electrician did his work 
before the walls were finished, fitting 
sconces on the side walls, with two connec¬ 
tions in the baseboard for electric stove, 
toaster, percolator, or iron. Outside white 
window boxes, doorsteps and hoods were 
added by the local carpenters. 
The comments were many and lively. 
“It looks like the witch’s house, in ‘Han¬ 
sel and Gretel.’ I bet that if 1 broke a piece 
off the roof it would be sugar cooky.” 
“How did it come—by parcels post?” 
“Won’t you bring it over to my place to 
spend the week-end some time?” 
“It’s portable, but is it sup-portable?” 
Which last was, of course, one way of 
asking if it were practical and livable. 
Could you keep it warm in winter? Did it 
leak? Wasn’t it draughty? How expen¬ 
sive was it? 
What It Does 
This little house, which was put up last 
October, has been used all winter long for 
afternoon tea and supper parties, and, 
toward spring, as a study. By building a 
big fire in the fireplace, and burning a kero¬ 
sene stove at the other end of the house, 
it has been made comfortable in the very 
coldest weather. With a small coal stove it 
could be lived in the winter through. 
It has endured the hardest rains—driving 
storms from the Hudson—without leaking 
a drop. Fierce northwest winds have failed 
to produce a draught, for the windows are 
perfectly tight, the floor is protected by 
weatherboarding and a little shoring, and 
the doors are fitted with weather stripping. 
The wallboard adds materially to the 
warmth. It has no plumbing, although this 
spring a pipe for cold water connection will 
be laid from the big house, with an outlet 
pipe into the garden, the water to be heated 
by electricity when desired. In larger port¬ 
able houses ample provision is made for 
plumbing and for heating systems. 
Including freight, chimney, electric wir¬ 
ing, extra items and labor, this cottage cost 
about $800. To be sure, it is a very little 
house, containing merely a living room 24' 
long, with a 6' extension, separated by a 
double doorway, to be used as a bedroom. 
Additional units may be put on at any time 
and in almost any arrangement. Two-story 
and even three-story houses, complete with 
stairs, kitchen and bathroom, pantries and 
closets, are available. 
Not All in One Pattern 
The ready-to-wear house, like the ready- 
to-wear suit, has been improved almost to 
the point of perfection. Individuality may 
be expressed in the choice and treatment of 
the mode selected, and in its relation to the 
landscape. In the present case, for ex¬ 
ample, the shutters, which were ordered un¬ 
painted, were given just the shade of dull 
blue-green desired by the owner herself, and 
the crescents were cut by the local carpenter. 
The hoods over the rear doors were espe¬ 
cially made and the roof was repainted a 
neutral gray-green instead of the moss- 
green standardized by the makers. The 
window boxes—filled with evergreens dur¬ 
ing the winter—and the arrangement of 
doorways and trellises, as well as the deco¬ 
ration and lighting scheme of the interior, 
represent the taste of the occupant. Really 
individual expression is possible here. 
It was big, black Lizzie-by-the-day who 
brought out the real purpose of it—that it 
was not merely a home, but a place for 
work as well. 
“Yas’m,” she said, looking around her, 
with her arms akimbo; “it’s a mighty pretty 
li’l house. Nice place to do your writin’, 
too. But I don’ see no place to keep yo’ 
doocements.” 
“My what?” 
“Yo doocements an’ papers.” 
On being shown the corner dedicated to 
“documents”—which she had met in type 
but never in speech—she yielded her un¬ 
qualified approval, and so got both herself 
and the place into print. For the writer 
hereof is the owner of the little house, and 
this story was written in it. 
INSIDE THE TEA 
HOUSE 
The big outdoors makes possible a great many schemes that would never be 
livable in the cramped quarters of indoors. Colors can be stronger, lines more 
unusual, arrrangement bizarre. The two tea houses shown here are only sug¬ 
gestions. One or two ideas may be taken from them or they may be adopted 
in toto. In any event they will be attractive. But, if these do not quite suit 
your purpose you can avail yourself of the advice of the Information Service 
by writing to House & Darden, 19 West 44 th Street, New York City 
A touch of Japan can be given by sancl- 
colored walls of wood or wallboard , lat¬ 
ticed windows with woodwork stained or 
charred. Furniture can be of vermilion 
and black with the floor painted the same 
colors. Window boxes are black with 
vermilion decoration. The vase is black 
pottery, setting off the red table top 
