House 
for One Thousand 
By HELEN LUKENS GAUT 
Dollars 
N O style of architecture lends itself so amiably 
to all conditions of pocketbook, as that 
known as the box-house. In moderate 
climates it adapts itself to every season, and makes 
an acceptable all-the-year-round home. These 
houses of one story, and occasionally one story and 
a half, may be fashioned according to the ideas of 
the builder, hence they are of almost innumerable 
and original designs. 
The accompanying illustrations are of a house 
the cost of which was but $1000. The place was 
built by a woman who wanted a “rest home,” a 
country place, yet because of many duties, realized 
it was out of the question to have it far from her 
city home, as too much time would be consumed 
in going and coming. She looked about, finding a 
cheap, but sightly bit of land within five miles of 
the town, and easily reached by electric cars. It 
required but twenty minutes to make the trip from 
city home to country place, and at least once a 
week, on Saturday and Sunday, the family had an 
outing, enjoying entire change of air and scene 
in this cozy rest house in the lap of the Sierra Madre 
foot-hills. 
This idea may be helpful to those who long for 
a country home yet think it should be located many 
miles from a city in order to be desirable. On the 
outskirts of every city are possible site opportunities, 
unpromising lots which can often be bought very 
cheaply, and which, now that electric roads vein our 
country like arteries, can be reached in a few min¬ 
utes. These sites are just as comforting and rest¬ 
giving as the more costly suburban lot or those 
located hundreds of miles away, in the latter case 
more so in fact, because 
one avoids the fatigue of 
long dusty travel. 
The foundation of this 
house is of posts, set on 
blocks of cement, and is 
enclosed by planed boards 
placed horizontally. The 
walls are made of boards 
a foot wide, which are 
planed on the inside and 
rough on the outside. These 
are nailed to the framework 
at top and bottom. Battens 
of unplaned wood two 
inches wide are used to 
cover the cracks between 
the boards on the outside. 
The roof has forty inch projecting eaves, and 
is shingled. Shakes are cheaper than shingles, and 
are frequently used for roofing, but such roofs 
often leak and prove unsatisfactory in other ways, 
thus shingles are advisable. 
The house is unplastered. The inside finish 
is simple, consisting only of the planed side of the 
boards, which form the main walls. The cracks 
are covered with planed battens, two inches wide 
and three-quarters of an inch thick. The effect is 
that of a wainscoting running from floor to ceiling. 
Handsomely grained wood adds greatly to the 
artistic effect, for the stains now so popular for 
finishing woodwork, and which often take the 
place of paint and varnish, bring out each detail 
of natural beauty in the wood. Ceilings are con¬ 
structed in the same way as the walls, excepting 
that beams, two by four, are used. These are both 
artistic and substantial in effect. A brace, one by 
three, circles each room about four feet from the 
floor. No other braces are necessary in these 
light-weight houses, for roof and floors strengthen 
and brace the structure sufficiently. 
The best thing about this house is the veranda 
dining-room, which in sunny California can be used 
almost every day in the year. The outer edge of 
the porch floor on the north is close to the ground. 
This porch is ten by twenty-six feet. At one end 
is a low, wide railing for plants. Three-quarter 
inch gas-pipe makes a frame work for an adjustable 
awning, which, however, is seldom used, as the roof 
of blue sky is much pleasanter. 
The house is complete and modern in every way, 
having the best of plumbing throughout, and is an 
excellent example of what 
can be done for $1000. 
Most of the furniture in the 
house is hand-made from 
Arts and Crafts designs, 
and corresponds admirably 
with the rustic interior. 
Indian blankets,gay pillows, 
dainty curtains, and attrac¬ 
tive pictures make the place 
an oasis of rest. 
In cold climates such hous¬ 
es are especially adapted for 
summer homes for beach 
and mountain, but are not 
suitable for winter use, 
owing to the lightness of 
the structure. 
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