, 1921-05-22
SOMETHING NEW
BUILDERS
Ideas as Presented by
Keene Sumner m the Amer
lean Magazine
By e SUMNER
Gin American 1fagaxineJ


four. on one side viii not be as com
Portable in war weather as a room
with a window on each OF two sides.
Tor Southern houses there should be
plenty Of this cross ventilation and the
cefiings should be high md the win
lows large and tall Tho roof should
have a good overriding. to keep the
walls cool In the north a more com
pact. house. hat can be easily heated.
VIII be better adapted to the climate.
A compact two-story house Is more
easily heated than a rambling one
story building.
.The porch shouid not be placed
on tho north side of the house. whore
1t will hut out the light from rooms
where light Is most needed. and where
II cannot be enjoyed in early spring or
late autumn Also take into account
tho prevailing summer winds, and
place your porch where you win get
the benefit of them. II a porch is to
be used in the summer. ut least two
sides. and II possible. three. should
be open
Tho principal sieepingrooms should,
also. DO placed where they will get tho
sunshine In winter and the breeze in
m Fortunately. this is pos
sible. for tho prevailing winds in sum-
mer are from h south and west And
in winter the sunshine comes from the
same quarters. Yet I know OF houses
where tho principal bedrooms arc on
h north side Of the house. while tho
desirable southern exposure is given
up to bathroom. bach stairs. linen
closet. sewingroom, and such things
1t Is well to remember that In the
winter we can heat our houses from
xulfhla nsrf In a.. $1,000 sA.~~ a..
be cooled from without. especially at
night So 1t is important to place the
bedrooms where they VIII admit what
ever cooling breezes may be wander
ing around. II you cannot have an
attic. at least hav a ventilated air
chamber under your roof.
The present tendency is to do away
with tSe high foundations on which
houses fwere perched in years gone
by. The effect Is far more pleasing.
People often ask what Is the ideal
sfze' of house for a certain size of
family. That Is n hard question to
answer. Comparatively few families
remain the same size indefinitely.
Young people. who are likely to have
an increasing family. would do well
well to make provision for the future.
Middle-ased people. with children who
Will soon be leaving home. will DO wise
not to build too large a house
.'rhe most one can do is to ostab-
1ish a minimum size A family COM
posed OF father. mother. and two
daughters. or two sons. can get along
with a house of four rooms: two bed
rooms, a 1ivingroom, and a kitchen.
II the two children are a son and q
daughter. the bedrooms must be in
r~.~~ol 10 r,.. a1l 4Io rntrfx..trn
would then seem to be a five-room
house. One can work out the mini.
mum in every ase by the necessary
number of bedrooms.
!. Beginning with this minimum. the
size OF your house viii d>pend on two
things: the capital you can afford to
put into Il. and the income from
which you must maintain it The sec
ond consideration Is moro important
than the ffrct. You can build q house
even though you haven't enough ready
money to pay for It, because by a
few years of saving you can vsRs-eut
the debt. Bzr your cost Of running
the house aid OF keeping It IN repair
goes on as long rs you live in It; ard
this cost increases as the years go by.
TO many persons don't realize this. |
They say they want "a nice big house, |
and they seem to think they will live
In II. rent free and car free. the
rest Of their lives There are hun
dreds OF persons now living In nice
big houses who would ME to have
these over-commodious dwellings
shrink to nice little houses When
they count up the interest on their
investment, the taxes. insurance, re-
pairs, cost of heating. of replacing
floor coverings. window hangings. and
the other furnishings OF their nice
bis. house not to speak of the extra
cost OF the service to run It they
find that they are really paying a
colossal rent
realizing the drawbacks of an unne-
cessarfiy large house that this move
ment to provide beautiful and con-
venient small houses is so important
We havo planned no houses of more
than eight rooms. Only a very large
famly rea1If needs a house with
more rooms. Only a very good income
1ustifies a-larger house.
With the new designs. o open /
n door. and there is a shallow closet
with dresses. suits. and wraps on hang
ers- You open another door. and there
are trays, which can be pulled out
like bureau drawers, and which are
arranged for waists. underwear. neck
wear. and all clothing accessories
There are compartments for hats. INT
racks for shoes
Now that the problem of domestic
service has become 20 acute. the con-
venience of the kitchen arrangements
is vital. In the first place there Is
no sense in having a kitchen SO large
that the cook. or e the mistress
of the house. must walk miles in the
course of the day. going the rounds
between the range. the sing. the work
tabl and the cupbodrds. The placing
of windows so as to get light and ven
tilation where they should be, the
arrangement of the lighting fixtures,
the height of the table and sink-aii
these items call for the study Of exper-
fence and ability which only h best
architects can supply"
We need the benefit Of their study
experience. and ability in all arrange
ments of our houses We want con
venience and economy And we want
beauty. One architect with. whom