EDITOR’S TALKS AND CORRESPONDENCE 
The Editor, Margaret Greenleaf, wishes to extend a personal invitation to all readers of House and Garden to send to the 
Correspondence Department, inquiries on any matter pertaining to house finishing and furnishing. Careful considera¬ 
tion is given each inquiry, the letter and answer being published in due time as matters of interest to other readers. 
Where an early reply is desired, if a stamp and self-addressed envelope are enclosed, the answer will be sent. No 
charge whatever is made for any advice. 
W E quote below from an interesting letter 
which has recently come to us. The 
query contained in this is but one of doz¬ 
ens along the same line and shows the fundamen¬ 
tally mistaken attitude of many of the home builders 
of to-day. Our correspondent thus voices the ques¬ 
tion of others when he says:— 
“We are depending upon House and Garden 
to guide us in our decision regarding the style of 
house we will build. Our lot is a generous one, well 
located on the northwest corner of a shaded street in a 
large town. We wish, of course, to get the best and 
most for the least money. Perhaps you could supply 
us with some plans or pictures of houses from which 
plans could be drawn by our contractor, and the 
money we save in architect’s fees can go into the 
house. 
“We will need at [least four sleeping-rooms and 
an equal number of living-rooms besides the service 
department and servants’ rooms of the house.” 
This is the scanty information laid before us and 
from it we could scarcely feel justified or able to give 
practical advice on this important development in 
the family life. 
There are several basic conditions which must be 
considered and met in building tbe successful resi¬ 
dence. Whether it be cottage or mansion, the site and 
environment of the proposed house should largely 
influence the choice of the design for the interior; 
and the floor plans must be such as will meet the 
individual requirements of the people who will 
occupy it. Therefore, it will be seen that it is not 
practical to deal in glittering generalities when advis¬ 
ing on so obviously serious a subject. 
The colonial type of house, which is distinctly 
American, suggests itself as the style which meets the 
general requirements of the average American home 
maker, provided the price limitation permits it. 
When our correspondent states four living-rooms, 
four sleeping-rooms, and the service department will 
comprise his house, we may safely judge that he will 
not expect his estimate of cost to be less than $5,000 
or $6,000. In this case a colonial house, or one of 
modified colonial design, might be practical. He 
would, however, make a great mistake in employing 
a contractor to draw plans from pictures. 
In an article in the July number of House and 
Garden the advantage and even the necessity of 
employing an architect is clearly brought out, and 
the prospective house builder would do well to look 
into the matter carefully before having his plans 
made and his building erected without the assist¬ 
ance and supervision of the trained and experi¬ 
enced architect. 
The house of Southern colonial architecture has 
usually a central hall extending from the front to the 
rear door. From this on one side opens the living- 
room and the dining-room, and on the other the draw¬ 
ing-room and the library. Back of the dining-room 
the service department is located. The stairway, 
which is often an especially typical and attractive 
feature of such a house, rises from the center of the 
hall, and may be spiral or direct. 
All of the standing woodwork except doors, hand 
rail and risers of the stairs should be treated with 
white or ivory toned enamel, w T hile the doors, etc., 
of mahogany, birch, or similar wood should show 
mahogany stain and soft dull finish like rubbed wax. 
Tbe wood used for the trim may be of white pine, 
poplar, or any of the cheaper woods, and the doors 
may be of whitewood or poplar if birch is too costly. 
The mahogany stain show s w 7 ell on this wood. 
The architect or owner of the house should see that 
only the best finishing materials, stains, enamels and 
varnishes are specified and used, as when this is the 
case the work is satisfactory and permanent; other¬ 
wise it may require annual or even semi-annual 
renewal. 
There is no detail of the interior of the house of 
more superlative importance than the finish of the 
woodwork in the various rooms. The qualitv of 
this speaks plainly in the effect. Also the selection 
of the finish for adjoining rooms must be harmonious 
to give the restful and dignified appearance which is 
so desirable. This is especially true of a colonial 
house such as described. 
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