July, 1918 
31 
ment, however, but that is capable of being 
made distinctive in a greater or lesser degree. 
For example, the roof, a part so given to the 
repetition of commonplace types, becomes in 
skilled hands a surprisingly plastic medium 
for individual expression. The eaves 'may be 
curved upward in a graceful, flowing line 
reminiscent of the Oriental pagoda; or in place 
of the familiar gambrel roof, whose lower sec¬ 
tion has the steeper pitch, the order may be 
reversed, making the upper pitch more steep. 
Again, instead of following the usual straight 
line, the roof may describe a slight convex 
curve from ridgepole to eaves; or the stiff 
horizontal margin of the latter may be broken 
effectively by an extension over an entrance 
or a group of windows. 
The design and distribution of windows and 
doors offer another fruitful opportunity for 
original treatment. A well balanced group 
window may by various means be made ex¬ 
tremely decorative in itself, besides relieving 
the monotony of a flat expanse of wall. Small 
paned sash inserted above casements serve the 
purposes of exterior ornament in addition to 
admitting extra light to the interior. Entrance 
doors and porches present innumerable pos¬ 
sibilities whose development is only limited by 
the inventiveness of the designer. 
In the planning of decorative details, archi¬ 
tectural or otherwise, the assistance may be 
had of an element which, though intangible, is 
nevertheless one of the architect’s most valued 
aids to beauty; namely, shadow. 
Colonial Embellishments 
An unusual pitch to a gambrel 
roof so that it describes a slight 
convex curve from ridgepole 
to eaves, is an interesting detail 
The master craftsman of the Colonial period 
understood the value of this elusive element, 
and gave dignity and variety to the flat faces 
of their box-like dwellings by the addition of 
pediments and porticos with their attendant 
shadow forms, of flutings 
and moldings whose min¬ 
utest details were thrown 
into delicate relief by 
the shadows they cast, 
and of carved cornices 
which—as one writer has 
said—“sparkled along the 
eaves” in dancing ripples 
of light and shade. The 
methods thus brought to 
such perfection have been 
accepted but hardly im¬ 
proved upon by modem 
architects. Those, in par¬ 
ticular, who have devoted 
especial attention to the 
development of the cement 
house, have found in the 
judicious employment of 
shadow the simplest and 
most effectual means of 
softening and diversifying 
the bare, harsh, prison¬ 
like aspect which char¬ 
acterized the earlier ex¬ 
amples of this type of edi¬ 
fice; and have accordingly 
adapted from the archi¬ 
tecture of the early Span¬ 
ish settlers in the South¬ 
west—as being most in 
harmony with this type of 
structure—the wide over¬ 
hanging eaves and recessed 
(Continued on page 52) 
unaided or with the assistance of 
an architect—ample scope will be 
afforded for the expression of his 
individual tastes and the exercise 
of his most original and fertile 
fancy. 
Details That Arrest Attention 
In the dress of a house, as of a 
man, the detail which confers dis¬ 
tinction may be relatively small. 
The novel fashioning of a dormer 
or a bay, or the original design of 
a sleeping porch may perhaps be 
the sole feature to arrest attention. 
There is hardly a structural ele- 
The breaking of the roof lines and 
a staggered stair window arrange¬ 
ment will effectually give interest 
and variety to an entrance 
Close planting of flowers or shrub¬ 
bery gives a building the effect of 
having sprung spontaneously from 
the ground 
