Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1908-08-20
UNIQUE NEW
RESIDENCE
The Home OF Attorney j. w. caroW
Just Being Completed on
River View Heiuhts

! J. w. Carow, of the law firm of
| Thomas & Carow of this city, is just
completing a new residence on the
river bank which is unique in several
details. The house is what is called
semi-bungalow built in the Craftsman
style. 1t was designed by Mr.. Carow
and his wife, he drawing the plans him
self. The idea throughout has been
utility first and beauty afterwards.
Believing that it is impossible to i'm
prove upon nature, the endeavor has
been to initiate nature in every way
possible in the external appearance of
the house and to make it look as if it
had grown upon the place where it
stands.
In carrying out this scheme the foun-
dation was built of cobble-stones picked
up around the place; the house sided
with drop siding, rough side out, which
has been stained weathered gray to
initiate the color which pine boards
take on when exposed to the weather;
stained a moss green which shows
about the color of the shadows in the
foliage, and finally the chimneys have
also been built of cobble-stones. The
roof is very flat and the caves project
three feet, giving not only the air of
comfort, but comfort itself in protec-
tion from sun and rain. The interior
has been planned with an idea Of utiliz-
ing the location along the river. This
idea has been carried out on the ground
floor by placing the bedroom on the
street and the living-room and dining
room upon the river, both of which
latter rooms have splendid views.
The entrance is over an open tiled
terrace into hall, from which door
opens into the living-room on the right
and the bedroom on the left. Adjoin
ing the dining room is the kitchen,
which is built on the north side of the
house'and also opens on to the street.
The bathroom opens into both the bed
room and into the kitchen.
The features of the living-room are
it's size, 16x21 feet, the large fire place,
and the abundant light, together with
large seat which has been built in
under the window looking out upon the
river. The features of the dining-room
are the splendid view of the river from
four large windows, and the built-in
side-board. The dining-room also opens
on to the porch which is built along the
river side of the house. The features
of the kitchen are the tiled floor and
built-in cupboard. The bath room will
be tiled on the floor and on the wall up
to five feet. Tiling is now recognized
as absolutely sanitary and the easiest
material there is to clean.
| Upstairs there are three bedrooms,
a lavatory and an outdoor sleeping
room, besides several ample closets.
Although the house is low the upstairs
has been so arranged as to utilize
every foot and one is greatly surprised
at the ample room obtained. There is
no attic above the sleeping rooms up
stairs and Mr.. Carow was warned that
on that account they would be so hot
in the summer as to make it impossible
to live in them. This difficulty, how
ever, was overcome and the workmen
say that the upstairs is more comfort
able than the downstairs in this hot
weather. The entire house, roof and
all is covered with what is known as
"uuilt." 1t consists of a mat of Lee
grass obtained from the sea which is
quilted between two thicknesses of
building paper. The air space between
the blades of the grass are not only
nearly impervious to heat, but also to
cold. This quilt was placed over the
rafters and studding, over this the
sheeting, then a thickness of building
paper and finally the drop siding. The
plastering is what is known as the
float finish, being very rough. The
idea of the float is to give the walls a
restful appearance when tinted. The
walls will be covered with colored
wax in the shade desired. The wood
work down stairs will be finished in
quarter sawed white oak, and will be
treated in the Craftsman method with
the idea of bringing out the natural
color of the wood, instead of rubbing
smooth with shellac and varnish, as the
latter method is supposed to give
hard and unsympathetic effect.
In the basement is the laundry, vege-
table cellar, furnace, compartments
for wood and coal and Mr.. CarOwNs,
work shop. There is also an air-pres-
sure tank for the water system. The
tank will be filled from pump in the
basement which draws excellent water
from well which was sunk forty-three
feet. The furnace is the Campbell
Heater which is supposed to be an i'm
provement over hot water or steam.
Nowhere inside or outside is there an
adornment which is not first useful,
and all ornamentation has been care
fully excluded which has no utility.
We are pleased to commend the
thought and study which has been put
into the building of this house.
Miss Ruth Ellis Of Milwaukee WIS.,
itad friends in the city last week.