Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-31
FRONT PORCH IS PASSING
FROM HOUSES IN AMERICA
Old Fashioned Carpet Also Is Going, Says
Survey, Showing Bungalows
Still Are Popular.

The front porch is passing. the old
| fashioned carpet Is seen no more, cell
| ing heights vary in different parts OF
the country, bungalows are still popu-
! lar. American architecture Is improv-
ing. and dining rooms remain firmly
intrenched in the average American
home. according to James S. Taylor,
acting chief of the division of building
and housing of the United States De-
partment of Commerce.
The National Association of Real
Estate Boards in its weekly article on
subjects of interest to home owners
quotes Mr.. Taylor on modern trends
in home building. His observations
are based on survey just made by the
housing division in 38 typical American
cities. Most of the homes examined
were of the five or six room type.
The value of the radio in toning up
the atmosphere OF American homes
cannot be overestimated. especially in
the life of a family having young peo-
pie. says Mr.. Taylor. The radio is keep
ing people at home and is giving
parents a chance to become acquainted
with the friends of their children.
Rear Sun Parlor Is Common.
The built-in garage has descended
from the very expensive house to be
on streets where there is any consid-
cradle amount of automobile traffic
families are living more and more in
the back of their houses. A sun parlor
at the rear of the house is fairly COM
mon, he says, and the rear living room
Is no longer curiosity.
The bathroom has become a con-
spicuous feature in many of the new
small homes, says Mr.. Taylor. He
L. 1fy,e. f~y Ice
than $4,000, that looked fit for mil
lionaire screen star. 1t had a floor of
black and white tile. buff colored VAIN
scoting, special wallpaper depicting sea
scenes and built-in bath tub in an
alcove.
In industrial housing projects, like
those in Southern mill towns, consid-
cradle numbers of houses are erected
without all the modern features: but
an increasing proportion of such houses
in North Carolina have running water
and electricity.
I'm some rapidly growing commune
ties, such as Oklahoma City and Flint,
We found that more lower priced houses
are being built than in most of the
other cities, probably because there is
not so great supply of secondhand
houses to meet the needs of families
in low-income groups says Mr.. Taylor.
THE number of houses erected that
are distinctly faulty in construction
seems to have diminished considerably
during the past six years.
One-Story Houses Popular.
"The lower-priced houses now being
built in quantity in the larger cities to-
day are Of five and six rooms, with one
story construction apparently predoml-
mating for the flve-rOom, and tWO-Story
for the six-room size.
THE Six-room, two-Story house Is
favored more in Eastern cities, whereas
in cities of the Middle and Far West
the five-room bungalow is in the lead
in the lowest-priced groups. In the
latter cities, however. the two-story
house usually has six rooms.
American domestic architecture is on
the mend. The more expensive houses
are usually designed by architects who
specialize in that kind of work and are
acknowledged to be the best in the
world. More operative builders appre-
ciate the importance of good architec-
tural service and employ architects OH
their staff or as consultants.
THE Architects Small House Service
Bureau, an offshoot of the American
Institute of Architects. has done a great
deal to set higher standards in the small
uOuSe HelO. 1IS WOIk, IoScIIleT Will
that of material manufacturers and
some of the commercial plan services,
has interested more architects in the de-
sign OF small houses, speciality in itself.
This has all been encouraged by the
wider publication and use of stock plans.
Building trade papers and home building
periodicals, which have had striking
increase in circulation during the past
few years, and the home building pages
of newspapers, have done much to en-
courage interest in good design and to
cultivate public taste.
Probably more small houses of good