October, 1921 
51 
IF YOU ARE GOING TO 
BUILD 
Walls Afford Such a Variety of Treatments in So Many Materials 
That They Should Be Given Close Study 
MARY FANTON ROBERTS 
T HE pleasant details 
of our present-day 
social existence rest 
with a certain charming, if 
ephemeral, security on the 
modern idea of the seclusion 
of the home. Whether we 
think of beauty or comfort 
or peace, whether we con¬ 
template an ideal of social 
enlightenment or a new and 
perfect jazz step; whether 
we are rulers of the land or 
modern homemakers in 
white enamel kitchens, our 
opportunity to enjoy life 
and profit by it is due 
largely to the walls around 
about our homes—that 
magic protection that en¬ 
closes space, shuts away the 
undesirable, and holds back 
the pressure of the world 
from our individual pur¬ 
poses and joys. 
This enclosing of space, 
which we have so learned 
to take for granted, gives us 
our chance to get hold of 
life in the way we may best 
enjoy it. Walls become our 
shield and buckler. In the 
olden days when enemies 
came clanking to the doors, 
we added to our ally, the 
walls, a draw-bridge and a 
moat for further protection. 
Today, when a wall is our 
sole support in time of visi¬ 
tors, we must let nothing in¬ 
terfere with our wholesome 
respect for this barrier. 
Because our walls are our 
safeguards, we should rear 
them with an intelligent skill and careful fore¬ 
thought. They should be enduring, yet with 
possibilities of picturesqueness; give pleasure 
to the passer-by as well as comfort and sus¬ 
tenance to the dweller within. 
House Types 
But interesting as is the wall problem, it is 
one impossible to settle until you decide what 
kind of house you are going to build. It is a 
little bit like the ‘‘House that Jack Built”. 
“This is the roof that covers the house that 
Jack built. These are the walls that support 
the roof that covers the house that Jack built. 
This is the plan that made the design for the 
walls that support the roof that covers the 
house that Jack built.” 
To build a wall that will satisfy you, it 
must, as you see, relate to the roof, the founda¬ 
tion, the inner space, and very particularly to 
the countryside. For beauty 
and economy’s sake you 
should use local materials 
for this wall. And then you 
should think of the type of 
house that is going to suit 
the bit of landscape you 
own. A modern Italian 
house is not at its best at 
the edge of a forest; you 
will find it more harmo¬ 
nious on a low hillside or 
near the sea. A Colonial 
model is more at home in a 
wooded section or on a long 
village street. The same is 
true of half-timber con¬ 
struction. Stone is suited to 
a rocky mountainside or a 
rolling pasture land, such as 
New England. Concrete 
may be used anywhere, ac¬ 
cording to the type of house, 
for concrete and stucco may 
be Spanish, Italian, Eng¬ 
lish, Colonial, or East In¬ 
dian in style, and still real¬ 
ize an interesting idea. 
Shingle and Clapboard 
Shingle and clapboard 
can, with simple designs and 
interesting color trim and 
appropriate construction, be 
made to suit almost any 
landscape. They seem a 
little less appropriate, per¬ 
haps, to the seashore or deep 
forest; the latter would pref¬ 
erably welcome a simple 
log cabin. 
Having studied your 
landscape, your home-grown 
building material, think long and consist¬ 
ently of your walls as an important, inti¬ 
mate detail of home construction. You 
will be influenced in some manner by 
the various historic styles that have brushed 
their beauty over our American landscape. 
Don’t fear to imitate anything about them 
that you like, but gather enough courage 
not to accept a design merely because it is true 
to some historic type. Remember that this is 
your home, and you don’t have to live in an 
Italian villa or a French chateau unless you 
want to. In the main you will find that your 
architect wants to build you just the kind of a 
house you have in mind. You will, of course, 
consider your neighbors somewhat, just as in 
the future you will want new neighbors to 
consider you. 
Practically all building materials are good, 
valuable, and interesting, if properly used, and 
all without exception will play tricks on you if 
The laying up of the stone in this type of Colonial architecture gives joints 
that are distinctive but not too aggressive. The style of the house is exactly 
suited to stone construction. It is one of the most practical, enduring and 
typical of American methods of wall treatment 
TF you are going to build next year, 
i prepare for it now. Time is as im¬ 
portant as money in planning the kind 
of house you want. Once the location 
and the site are decided upon, and the 
style of architecture, get your plans 
under way. You will find yourself 
spending some of the most delightful 
evenings of your life bringing these 
plans to perfection. Embody in them 
all the comforts you have dreamed of 
and all the luxuries that never before 
seemed essential. Put everything in 
that you want—and let the architect 
eliminate. 
This is the second of a series of de¬ 
tailed articles on building. The third, 
in November, will cover plans and 
specifications. 
