Evening star., 1939-11-04
Mother-in-Law
House Designed 10
Solve Old Problem
Architect Creates X
For Federal Home
Building Service Plan

The mother -in-law problem, which
has resisted all ordinary method,
Of arbitration and mediation, now
can be tackled with picks and shov.
els, boards and bricks, welded by
skillful hands, under q program
plotted by experts.
Families can get away from moth
er-in-law, she can get away from
them and rule her own roost; she
can be out of the path Of the SON.
in-law and still near her own daugh.
ter, or vice versa; she won't 'kibitz'
on the younger generations bridge
game and she can have her owr
cronies gather on her own private
hearth in q house now available tc
those Of even small and moderate
means.
"It's q mother-in-law house." de.
signed for a specific purpose. Gre
ated by Architect William Handy
for McCall's, it has been accepted
into the portfolio Of home designs
under the Federal home building
service plan, which provides both
for adequate alteration of the de-
sign to suit family needs, site and
neighborhood, and supervision Of
construction to see that the home
seeker gets just what he's after.
If father wants rest, mother wants
sunshine, and q pair Of future rail-
road kings want to built world OF
tomorrow with their own hammers
while all mother -in-law wants tc
do is to feel coy, they all can be
satisfied at a price ranging from
$4,50O to $500, depending on con-
struction costs in the various parts
of the country. The provisions fol
mother, father and the children are
supposed to be included in most
homes, but Architect Handy gets
the credit for taking care Of mother
in-law.
The "mother-in-law house" en-
bodies one of the purposes Of the
Federal home building service plan
sponsored by the Federal Home
Loan Bank Board, to aid all home
financing institutions. It assays the
specific problem of providing homes
suitable to family requirements"-
too often neglected by those who
build and sell houses and those who
buy them.
Mr.. Hamby's contribution Of the
Mccall design to the service port
folio, or Home Selector, was mott
vated by another consideration.
"A design isn't the only thing nee
essary to guarantee q satisfactory
house." said Mr.. Handy. "Its con-
struction must be properly super
vised to assure good materials and
their proper use. The agencies ap-
proved under the Federal home
building service plan provide tech
nical advice and supervision. The
homes they build then are listed as
registered homes-the certificate Of
registration stating that they have
been properly designed and SUPER
vised throughout construction"
There now are more than $50 de-
signs in the Home Selector. con-
trtbuted by some 800 architects
throughout the country, according
to r. A. der. chief Of the Federal
home building service section. More
are being added each month, as ar
chitects create designs particularly
adapted to their own communities.
The program Of registered homes,
embodying principles Of proper de-
sign and construction, was inaugu-
rated two years ago by the Federal
Home Loan Bank Board and now
has the cooperation Of the Ameri.
can Institute of Architects and the
Producers Council, an organization
Of the country's largest building ma.
terials manufacturers. The banl
board is linking lending agencies
architects, materials manufacturer.
and dealers, contractors and al
other elements of the building in.
dustry in program to supply gooe
homes for those of moderate means
All financing and construction /.
done through private industry.
The plan is being concentrated
In six definite areas during the
coming year but eventually will be
broadened to every part of the coun.
try. Some 270 home financing insti-
tutions are now qualified to use the
plan.