THE DAVENPORT BROWN HOUSE
In planning the remodeling of a farmhouse, has it ever occurred to you
how much of the appearance of the exterior depends upon the architecture
of verandas and porches? Not only must we give much thought to the
alteration of the lines of the house which may be required by the
interior plan, but we must be equally careful when it comes to the
addition of entirely exterior features.
Modern country life demands plenty of veranda room and, whenever
possible, sleeping-porches. One does not go to the country to sit
indoors, even if the windows are all thrown open. There is nothing that
will so materially improve the health as outdoor life; tired and jaded
nerves are soon restored by use of a sleeping-porch, where the fresh air
can soothe and induce restful slumber. In the early days, the porch or
veranda did not exist; it may be supposed that our pioneer ancestors
were too busy to enjoy any leisurely hours out of doors; at least, they
made no provision in connection with their houses for such relaxation.
As the details of the exterior became more elaborate, the entrance porch
was developed with free-standing columns. In time, this assumed greater
importance, especially in the south, where columns the height of the
whole building supported a roof across its entire front. In the north,
the veranda was less frequently used, but there is occasional authority
for both the front and the less pretentious back piazza. It is one of
the additions which are imperative in remodeling the house, however, and
it becomes something of a problem because there is no more definite
authority for it.
If there is to be simply an entrance porch, offering a bit of shelter at
the front door for stranger or friend, it may have much precedent in the
porches of Georgian houses. In planning this, take into consideration
that it should be an index of what one will find in the interior; it
should be the keynote, as it were, of the entire house. Here we may have
the same details and the same proportions as in the cornice of the roof,
or the fireplace within. We find many porches that are sadly out of
keeping with the rest of the house and seem very carelessly designed. It
is far better to have none at all than one which is insignificant and
out of scale; yet it must not be more elaborate than the house itself
and tend to dwarf the main structure. Few people realize how important
this feature is and how necessary that it should be a satisfactory
adjunct to the architecture of the whole. It is almost the first thing
we notice as we approach the house. Whether it is well placed and
rightly proportioned, whether it has a proper overhang, good roof lines,
and adequately supported cornice, affects to a very great extent the
style and character of the house.
There were a great many different types of porch in the Georgian houses:
the simple hood with a high-backed settle on either side that was
commonly used at a side entrance; the gable-roofed and flat-roofed,
square porch and circular, open and partly enclosed, with round and oval
windows at the sides, were all developed to high perfection. The simple,
Doric column, plain or fluted, with corresponding pilasters or
three-fourths round against the house, was used on many of the porches;
but the Ionic and Corinthian capitals are more elaborate than is
appropriate for the simplicity of a farmhouse. From the infinite number
of models which can be found, it should be a comparatively easy matter
to construct an entrance porch, utilizing the details found in the
house.
A veranda demands somewhat different manner of procedure. First it is
necessary to decide where it shall be put. Where will it receive the
best air and the least sun? It must, presumably, open from or adjacent
to the living-room and yet be so placed that its roof will not cut off
too much light. If the house is uncomfortably near the highway or
neighbors, the matter of privacy cannot be neglected, and a thought may
well be given to the outlook from the piazza. Let it enjoy any advantage
of a fine view or a picturesque garden that may be compatible with its
other requirements. Thus it may be at the front, at either or both
sides, or in the rear. At the side of the ordinary, gable-roofed house,
the roof of the veranda should as a rule be flat. If it is possible to
continue the roof line of the house to include that of the porch, by all
means let it be done; the unbroken sweep will usually be found
excellent. At some angles it may seem too long and severe; then it is
often possible to put a slight "kick" in it, especially if there is
anything of the Dutch type about the building.
The floor of the porch in farmhouses should be low; it may be on a level
with that of the house, or a step below it. It is well to let the
underpinning be a continuation of that of the house, and it may then be
covered with brick or tile, or the conventional boards. The columns or
posts which support the roof are a stumbling block for many remodelers.
These should closely copy the entrance porch, if there is one; even if
it be no more than a flat semblance of a pilaster about the frame of the
door, it will supply the correct motive. Lacking this, there will
undoubtedly be some detail in the interior which can be magnified to the
right proportion for the exterior,--the upright of a mantel or the frame
of a door. For a house which can boast no such source of suggestion, a
straight, square post with a simple molding would be the solution. The
cornice should follow the detail of the entrance door or the house
cornice; and it is effective and increases the apparent unity to repeat
the decoration of the one on the other.
The rails and balusters of old houses were extremely simple and should
be kept so in the remodeling. In the very early examples, the balusters
were square and spaced far apart; later both square and turned balusters
were used, and they were spaced twice their width. The design for these
can often be taken from the stairs in the interior of the house. It is
the modern tendency to use no railing about verandas, particularly when
they are low or when they are screened in. Some of the flat-roofed type
had a railing around the roof, and an open-air porch was thus made for
the second story.
Sometimes this porch can be utilized as a sleeping-porch on the second
floor. This feature, while of course entirely foreign to the farmhouse,
has become as much a necessity in many families as the open-air
living-room, and it is therefore logical to introduce it where possible
to do so without destroying the lines of the building. It is better,
however, to do without it than to add it in such a way that it will seem
an afterthought and not really incorporated in the structure. Often it
can be placed in a wide dormer cut in the slope of the roof; sometimes
the roof line can be extended over the roof of the sleeping-porch, or
again it may be merely a room with the walls largely cut away. Each
remodeler will have his own problem in connection with this, and by
ingenuity and careful study must work it out to his own satisfaction.
Remember always that the integral simplicity of the building must not be
disturbed, and that whether it be sleeping-porch, veranda, or entrance
portico, it must seem always a part of the original building, as if it
were the conception of the master craftsman who erected the first
timbers.
[Illustration: THE DAVENPORT BROWN HOUSE]
Most gratifying results along this line are shown in an old farmhouse at
Medfield, Massachusetts, which was built in 1755. Like many other old
houses, this had fallen into decay and stood neglected and unoccupied by
the side of the road while the extensive grounds lay unkempt and
desolate. But Mr. Davenport Brown recognized in it a house that could be
made to serve most acceptably as the foundation of his summer home.
It is of the Georgian type, built with the hall and straight flight of
stairs as the axis. There are two main chimneys opening into four
fireplaces on the first floor. A service wing has been added at the
left, parallel with the main building, and half its width. Back of that,
an ell of equal size extends at right angles. Both of these are two
storied, but the upper stud is somewhat lower than in the main building,
thus allowing it to retain its predominance in the design.
The main part is given further importance by the dignified entrance
porch. Two three-fourths round and two free-standing, fluted, Doric
columns are used, supporting a cornice and a gabled roof, the details of
which repeat those in the cornice of the house. A rather unusual type of
scalloped dentation lends additional interest. The frame about the door
is arched over, and there are side lights and an overhead fanlight in a
simple style that carries out the Colonial tradition.
[Illustration: The Hallway]
The hall leads past the stairs and through an open doorway to the rear
of the house, where there is another entrance, repeating the design of
the front one. This is some distance from the rear wall of the house,
and consequently there is a small, arched-over portico formed within the
lines of the building. The walls of this are paneled, and on each side
is a built-in seat. The floor is tiled, and the woodwork painted white.
At each end of the main part of the building is a flat-roofed veranda
carrying out the details of the entrance porch in column and cornice.
The same dentil ornamentation that appears on the cornice of the house
is used here in smaller size, as on the entrance porch. Around the edges
of the flat roofs, boxes filled with blooming plants and vines form an
original and most attractive method of softening the sharp lines and
finish of the house. The veranda on the right side overlooking the wide
lawns and gardens is used largely as the outdoor living-room and is
screened in. The spacing of the bars and framework of the screening is
well proportioned and adds not a little to the decoration. The floor of
the veranda is edged with brick and paved in the center with square
tiles which slope toward a drain at one side. This wing of the
living-room has been comfortably furnished with canvas hammocks and
Chinese grass chairs and stools, and even a sand-box for the children
finds room here.
In the central hall, the details carry out the character of the old
period carefully. There is a white unpaneled wainscot carved around the
walls and up the stairs, with a similar treatment in the second-floor
hall. The stairs are wide, with white risers and mahogany treads, and
the hand-rail is mahogany supported on white, turned balusters and a
mahogany newel post. The upper walls are papered in a gray landscape
paper, and the furnishings consist of a pair of Sheraton card tables.
[Illustration: The Sun-Parlor or Out-door Nursery]
[Illustration: The Library]
At the right of the hall, the two rooms have been combined into a
living-room by cutting double arches on either side of the fireplaces
which open from the back and front of the chimney. The furnishings are
especially interesting here, as there are a number of rare and beautiful
pieces. The mantel mirror over the front fireplace is a fine example of
American workmanship. The mahogany frame divides its length into three
sections, and it is ornamented with carved and gilded husk festoons; the
scroll top is surmounted with a gilt spread eagle. In front of the fire
there is a beautiful little Sheraton fire-screen. Chairs and tables are
equally interesting; there is an old "comb-back" chair and an
upholstered "Martha Washington" chair, as well as more modern easy
chairs and davenports. The upholstery and curtains are of
small-patterned, Colonial fabrics that carry out the spirit of the room.
In the back part of this room, a large double window has been cut,
looking out over the gardens and the grounds. Underneath it is a most
attractive window-seat suggestive of an old-time settle, and on each
side low book-shelves extend around the whole end of the room.
The dining-room is situated at the left of the hallway. The fireplace
and paneling hold the attention in this room. The woodwork is very
simple but well proportioned, and on either side of the mantel are
narrow, built-in, china closets with small, leaded, diamond panes in
both upper and lower parts of the door and even in a transom over it.
The walls above the unpaneled wainscot are painted white and divided
into simple, large panels with narrow moldings. The furniture in this
room is suggestive of the early part of the nineteenth century, with the
exception of the Queen Anne type of chair. Over the heavy and massive
sideboard is a long gilt mirror of the Empire "banister" type; between
the two side windows is a gilt, convex girandole with three branching
candlesticks on each side. On the mantel is a fine example of a Willard
shelf clock, and on each side of it are tall mahogany candlesticks with
the old-fashioned wind glasses. The over-curtains at the windows are a
soft rose damask; they hang from gilded cornices and are caught back on
gilded rosettes,--the style of draping which is carried out in all the
main rooms of the house.
[Illustration: The Service Wing]
The service wing opens from the left of the dining-room, and the den,
which is back of it, with a fireplace on the opposite side of the same
chimney, is reached from the rear of the hall.
[Illustration: The Nursery]
At the head of the stairs at the right, one enters the bright and sunny
nursery. Here the fireplace is very simple and has no over-mantel. The
woodwork is white, and a broad molding divides the upper part of the
wall. Below is a quaint paper picturing Mother Goose scenes which the
children never tire of studying. The furniture is mainly white, and the
little chairs and tables in child's size are decorated in peasant
fashion with painted flowers and lines of color.
[Illustration]
[Illustration: Two of the Chambers]
There are two other bedrooms in the main part of the house and each has
an open fireplace. The furnishings are simple and old-fashioned in
character, retaining the Colonial atmosphere admirably. In one room
there is a Field bedstead of English make, dating about 1780, showing
reeded posts and a curved canopy top. The chairs and the little night
stand at the side of the bed are in close harmony with the period of its
design. In the other chamber are twin beds which are modern
reproductions of four-posters, but other furnishings retain the
distinctive atmosphere of age. Over one bureau there is a fine mirror
with the Georgian eagle ornamentation; in keeping with it are the old
fireside wing chair and a side chair of Sheraton type.
The most interesting bedroom, perhaps, is in the wing of the house,
where Hannah Adams, the first American authoress, was born. This is
reached by a cross hall which leads from the main one, and gives access
to baths and rear stairs and another tiny bedroom. Although the old
fireplace has been remodeled, the aspect of the room is much the same as
when the house was built. The woodwork here is all dark, and the
hand-hewn rafters and cross beams are exposed in the ceiling. An unusual
wall-paper in black and gay colors forms an interesting background for
the four-poster and other old furnishings. An old batten door with a
quaint little window in the center strip leads from this room to the
chambers in the service ell.
Much of the house has been restored under the direction of the
architect, Mr. John Pickering Putnam of Boston, and to him the credit
for its successful remodeling must be largely given. The planning and
laying out of the grounds about the house, however, are the work of the
owner, who has spared no pains to make a harmonious setting for his
home.
Between the house and the road is a row of great overshadowing elms that
make a delightful setting for the red and white of the house. The drive
sweeps around these trees to the stable on the left and is separated
from the house and the lawns by white palings in a simple Colonial
pattern, having fine, carved posts surmounted by balls. The fence stops
at either side of the front to allow wide space for a heavy embankment
of conifers. Somewhat back of this fence, along the whole length of the
lawn, is a second lower one, with posts of the same height. This marks
the boundary of the wide lawn and forms a charming background for an
old-fashioned hardy border that extends all the way to a swimming-pool
and pergolas at the far end. Immediately behind the house is the flower
garden, from which all the blossoms used to decorate the house are cut;
this is screened by a white trellis and pergola, carrying out some of
the details of the entrance porches and verandas.