[Illustration: Elevation]
[Illustration: Floor plan]
1^st Floor
2^nd Floor
Inspired by a Normandy-French house built on the shore of Lake
Arrowhead, the plan illustrated here presents a spacious summer home for
a large family or one which does much entertaining. An idea of the size
is indicated by the fireplace, which has an opening of 9½ × 5½ feet,
topped by a huge oak beam.
The exterior is pleasingly finished in board and batten with gable-ends
of siding, and a slate or shake roof. The porch is flagstone with rustic
rail.
The first floor, besides a magnificent living room, contains a master
bedroom and bath, maid’s quarters and the kitchen. Upstairs are five
minimum-size guest rooms and a bath. Four of the bedrooms are lighted by
charming dormer windows.
An attractive way to finish the interior, to keep it in the provincial
spirit, would be to use rough plaster walls with exposed ceiling beams
and a plank floor in random widths pinned with wooden dowels. The
furniture should be hand made, patterned after simple French peasant
styles.
When the owners built the original of this home they salvaged old
hand-wrought iron pieces from an abandoned construction camp to make
much of the hardware, and for the rest, they used modern lacquered iron
hardware, with the finish burned off. It was tempered in hot oil and
then hand-hammered to give the proper look of age.
the BIGGEST LITTLE CABIN
[Illustration: Elevation]
[Illustration: Floor plan]
BIG ROOM 16′-0″ × 23′-6″
Kitch. 6′-5″ × 8′-6″
Ba.
C.
SH.
Some people would be cramped for space in a ten-room house, while others
live with perfect freedom in a pup-tent. It’s all a matter of adapting
oneself to the situation.
Here, for example, is a cabin that might be too small for two persons,
while as a matter of fact it will sleep six without crowding at all.
That’s not just a theory, because a similar cabin has been used for
several years up in the Mt. Rainier country with great success. It’s
just the easy-going, unpretentious sort of place a man would love, where
he can wear old clothes and let his whiskers grow, and the odors of
coffee and sizzling bacon are sweeter than the most exotic perfume.
As illustrated this cabin has an exterior of wide planks and a roof of
shakes. It would make an ideal log cabin, or take any one of a number of
finishes. If any kind of siding is used, a beautiful effect could be
obtained by use of silver-gray stain. It makes a new cabin look as if it
had stood through many winters. If shakes or shingles are used for
roofing, be sure to include about 10 per cent of dark-stained ones with
the lighter colors, to give a dappled look like sunshine through the
trees.
The real secret of this little cabin lies in the use of three folding
double beds instead of the regular kind or bunks. They are hinged at one
end and can be put up out of the way, concealed behind curtains or
cupboard doors. Built-in double-deck bunks are, of course, a fine
addition to any cabin, but they do cut down the space even in a 23-foot
living room.
The little flagstone entry may seem like a fancy addition to such a
cabin, but it is decorative—and insures against mud puddles at the front
door.
The kitchen is particularly well arranged, with lots of work table space
and room for storage shelves above. The bath, although not large,
contains all the comforts of home.