Omaha daily bee., 1910-11-20
HOUSE OF VANISHING ROOMS
Remarkable House Built by Man
with n Remarkable
Nume.


A remarkable house. PLANNED and built
by man with the name of Adm Int
Hout Is % be found ornamenting "a bis,
tree shaded lot in Evanston, n suburb of
Chicago. The builder occupies g. along
with his wife and little daughter.
The house is Of stucco. % by 20 feet,
cost Sl,6O0 TO build. and contains by an
Ingenious arrangement five rooms aud a
bath. The ground floor has a living room,
l9Hxl2 feet, bedroom, lSNiO4 feet, bath
room, Si-&5a feet; kitchen, 1Exg feet;
closet Just outside the bathroom. 5N3 feet,
and guest ROOM 1i4x5h feet
Even the most careful figuring will not
succeed In COMPRISING all those measure
ments within the space OF 25XZ6 fees.
That is because Of certain arrangements
which led a writer In Country Life IN
America TO call It "the house OF vanish
ing rooms
Exactly in the middle Of the ground floor
Is a base burner stove. which upon a sup
ply Of four tons OF coal, warns the entire
house all winter. over the main floor is
a large attic, now used for storage, but
two rooms can be finished Off there II
the downstairs supply proves inadequate.
There is a curious closet between the
bathroom and the sitting room. one half
~ a NipAilto CloHeAt lue olueI n stairway
leading TO the attic. When shut up these
stairs are a tier Of boxes serving as clothes
hamper, hat boxes and so on. Pull the
lower one forward ana they form first
rate flight of steps.
Under this closet a door leads to a fair
sized compartment built below the floor
there is no celar-and giving additional
storage room.
The roomy bookcase II approached from
the rear, that is via the clothes closet, is
linen chest. There is an automatic gas
heater in the attic which supplies hot
water to kitchen and bathroom.
The visitor staying to dinner wonders
where the dining room is and whether he
is expected to eat in the kitchen His
youthful hostess has disappeared some
time since and he hears sounds in the
kitchen that tell him a meal Is In process
| Of preparation.
The kitchen is attractive enough for any
one to mistake It for the dining room, but
when the critical moment arrives the host
= y ses button in the hospitable mantel-
piece OF the living room, the burlapped
wall beneath the mantel slowly rises and
disappears, and the dining table I'm all its
splendor Of china and glass and snowy
napery appears through the opening, and
when well on the living room side the par
ution silently resumes it's wonted place
again; then chairs are drawn up and you
sit down to enjoy the repast.
! At the end of the meal the table is gently
pushed back into the other room the way
1t came, awaiting the pleasure and leisure
Of the mistress Of the house to clear it up
Perhaps the greatest marvel g when the
guest room appears out Of the empty wall
/ A large, roomy couch is rolled over to tn,
windows, and the panel behind It adjoln
| ing the bookcase by the touch of a butto1
again swings out into the room. 1t ma,
be swung out at right angles to make ,
larger room, but is usually left at a three
quarter angle, turning in slightly, ant
there you behold the guest chamber.
IL Is pretty room with it's fresh muslin
curtains at the window, snowy counter
pane on the bed, low, comfortable chat
and high bulltin dresser, which is Il
weathered oak to match the rest OF tn
furnishings. When this panel is close,
the space Is only large enough TO hol
the bed. chair and dresser Cwhich-is bull
into the paneD, but when opened out
gives guest room OF very fair dimension
and screen placed across the three-foo
opening made by the folding out OF tn
wall allows plenty Of privacy. In tn
morning the wall is pushed back into plac
and the living room resumes it's norma
hze again.