Furnishing a Portable House for $150 
Proving by Actual Figures How an Inexpensive House May be Made Artistic 
and Comfortable for This Sum 
By JAMES JOHNSON 
T O the economist, whether he be so from neces¬ 
sity or choice, the portable house as a sum¬ 
mer residence makes strong and worthy 
appeal. The precedent of simple living is established 
by the mere fact of such occupancy and, therefore, 
only the most inexpensive furnishings are suitable, 
and this extends even to the clothes one wears and 
the entertainment one may offer one’s friends. 
It will then be readily realized for true economy 
and the real Simple Life, one can do no better than 
live in a portable house. The log house of the moun¬ 
tain camp and the wide eaved bungalow of the sea¬ 
shore, have been so elaborated and changed from 
their original simplicity that little save the name 
remains to remind one of their humble origin. 
Not so with the little house which is put together 
in sections, and may be entirely in place in the eve¬ 
ning of the day which saw its beginning. A very 
small house of this kind may be bought and set in 
place for $150, and these dwellings are so planned 
that like our old friend, the sectional bookcase, 
they may be “added to” indefinitely. For $500, 
however, one may have a house which two or even 
three people may occupy with comfort during the 
summer months. 
Such a house may be set in place by ordinary 
workmen, as skilled labor is not required, and in this 
there is a decided saving. The house may be placed 
on the ground, on blocks, or posts, or stones when 
only to be used during the summer months. Where 
all the year round residence is anticipated permanent 
foundations should be supplied. 
It is possible to secure these houses fitted out with 
folding beds. This is a very good plan where econ¬ 
omy of space is necessary and lessens the cost of 
furnishing. The unplastered walls may he lined 
with cheese-cloth stretched tautly and nailed to the 
uprights; to this the paper is applied. The rooms 
in a house of this kind may be arranged to the conve¬ 
nience of the occupants, using sectional partitions. 
1 he ceiling may be of wood, tongued and grooved, 
and should he left in the natural color, finished with 
a dull varnish. 
An arrangement of the floor space which has been 
found convenient provides a living-room ten feet four 
inches by nineteen feet. This room is fitted with a 
folding bed at one end, and serves as dining-room 
and general living-room. The table is placed in the 
end near the door leading to the small kitchen. At 
the right of the entrance—which is directly into this 
large room—is the door into the bedroom, and open¬ 
ing from this back of the kitchen the bath-room is 
placed. 
1 he walls of the general living-room may be cover¬ 
ed in a rough surface paper in a shade of dull gray. 
The wood trim should he stained dark brown; the 
ceiling and floor left in the natural color, the former 
of white pine, the latter of Southern pine showing a 
much stronger yellow tone than the ceiling and 
treated with a tough transparent floor varnish. 
The woodwork of kitchen and bath should be left 
in the natural and finished with a varnish impervious 
to heat and moisture. 
Where the whole southern end of the room is set 
with windows, the curtains should mark each divi¬ 
sion with one hung at either end of the row. Across 
the top a slightly full valance about eight inches in 
depth should be used, the curtains extending only 
to the sill. A crepy cotton print, showing green and 
gray storks,—picked out with bits of black and yel¬ 
low, flying across a white ground is a strong and dec¬ 
orative design and would make an effective choice for 
the curtains of this room. This fabric is inexpensive 
and can be readily washed without losing its color. 
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