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WOODWARD'S
COUNTRY HOMES,
BY
GEO. E. & F. W. WOODWARD,
ARCHITECTS,
=Authors of "Woodward's Graperies and Horticultural Buildings."=
FOURTH THOUSAND.
NEW-YORK:
GEO. E. & F. W. WOODWARD, 37 PARK ROW,
Office of the HORTICULTURIST.
1866.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, by
GEO. E. & F. W. WOODWARD,
In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States,
for the Southern District of New York.
STEPHEN HALLET,
PRINTER,
No. 74 Fulton Street.
CONTENTS.
PAGE.
INTRODUCTION.
Domestic Architecture and Embellishment 7
DESIGN NO. 1.
A Laborer's Cottage 25
DESIGN NO. 2.
A Small Frame Cottage 28
DESIGN NO. 3.
A Compact Frame Cottage 30
DESIGN NO. 4.
A Rural Cottage of moderate extent 34
DESIGN NO. 5.
A Gardener's Cottage 40
DESIGN NO. 6.
Stone Stable and Coach House 45
DESIGN NO. 7.
A Farm Cottage 46
DESIGN NO. 8.
Design for a Timber Cottage 50
DESIGN NO. 9.
Design for a Rural Church. 53
DESIGN NO. 10.
A Suburban Cottage 58
DESIGN NO. 11.
An Ornamental Summer House 64
DESIGN NO. 12.
Stable and Carriage House 66
DESIGN NO. 13.
A Model Cottage 68
DESIGN NO. 14.
A Cottage Stable 75
DESIGN NO. 15.
Design for an Ice House 76
DESIGN NO. 16.
A Suburban Cottage 79
DESIGN NO. 17.
Stable and Carriage House 86
DESIGN NO. 18.
School House at Irvington 87
DESIGN NO. 19.
A regular Country House 93
DESIGN NO. 20.
A Country Chapel 96
DESIGN NO. 21.
An Old House Remodeled 99
DESIGN NO. 22.
Coach House and Stable 104
DESIGN NO. 23.
Fences 106
DESIGN NO. 24.
Plans of the Residence of C. F. Park, Esq. 108
DESIGN NO. 25.
Carriage House and Stable 111
DESIGN NO. 26.
Residence of T. H. Stout, Esq. 113
DESIGN NO. 27.
A Chapter on Gates 119
DESIGN NO. 28.
Mr. Tristram Allen's House at Ravenswood, Enlarged 131
DESIGN NO. 29.
Plans of the Residence of L. M. Ferris, Esq. 134
DESIGN NO. 30.
A Model Suburban Cottage 139
DESIGN NO. 31.
Head Stone 149
BALLOON FRAMES.
Balloon Frames 151
WOODWARD'S
COUNTRY HOMES.
IN presenting to the public a new work on DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE, it is
our aim to furnish practical designs and plans, adapted to the
requirements of such as are about to build, or remodel and improve,
their COUNTRY HOMES.
The rapid progress in rural improvement and domestic embellishment all
over the land, during the last quarter of a century, is evident to the
observation of every traveler, and, as we have found during several
years of professional experience, there has grown up a demand for
architectural designs of various grades, from the simple farm cottage to
the more elaborate and costly villa, which is not supplied by the
several excellent works on this subject which are within the reach of
the building and reading public.
Among the permanent dwellers in the country this spirit of improvement,
fostered as it is by the diffusion of publications in the various
departments of Rural Art, and by a wider and more genial general culture
as the means of intercommunication and education are increased, is
becoming more manifest every year. But besides these intelligent farmers
and tradesmen who make the country their home the year round, there is a
large class of persons whose tastes or business avocations compel them
to reside a considerable portion of the year in our cities or
suburbs--prosperous merchants, bankers, professional men, and wealthy
citizens--who have the tastes and means to command such enjoyments and
luxuries as the country affords; who need the change in scenes,
associations, employments and objects of interest, for themselves and
their households, and who enjoy, with a keen relish, the seclusion, the
comparative freedom from restraint, the pure, sweet air, the broad, open
sunshine, and the numerous other rural advantages which are essentially
denied them in their city homes.
In former years this class of people resorted, almost exclusively, to
the sea-side, and a few popular mineral springs, taking in, perhaps,
Niagara in their transit, and rarely venturing into the wild and
unexplored regions of Lake George. They returned to town in the early
days of September, with many a backward, longing look at the attractions
and delights from which they reluctantly tore themselves away, and
settled down again to the weary tread-mill of business. But for some
years past this class has largely increased in number, and instead of
confining themselves to their former resorts, they now seek the upper
country, and prolong their stay into the glorious days of Autumn. Many
of them have provided permanent summer homes, among the hills and on the
lake or river shores. They have bought, and built, and planted, until
they have identified themselves with the chosen spot, and as their trees
have taken root in the fertile soil, so have their affections taken root
in the beautiful country. They hasten gladly to these rural scenes with
the opening Summer, and they leave them with regret when the exigencies
of business require their presence in the city,--when the Summer suns
have ripened the luscious fruits, and the flowers fade with the frosty
kisses of the cold, and the passenger birds fly Southward. This class of
our population know where to find all the facilities for the best
country enjoyments, and their ample means assure them a free choice of
summer resorts, and adequate command of all the appliances of pleasant
country living.
But there is another and still larger class of citizens who have neither
the means to enable them to keep up both town and country residences,
nor such command of their time that they can pass two or three months of
every summer away from their business. There are thousands of clerks and
subordinate officers in the banking and insurance institutions in our
cities and in our large commercial houses; there are many merchants who
are making their way slowly and surely to competence and wealth, who
would gladly compromise for one-third of such a summer vacation. These
are men of intelligence, and sometimes of a good deal of social and
intellectual culture and refinement. Many of them were born, and their
boyhood nurtured amongst the hills. They love the country with the
intensity and purity of a first love, and they long for communion once
more with nature in all her moods of loveliness. Their sweetest dreams
still, when they forget the hard realities of life, are of green lawns
and sloping hill-sides, of waving trees and cool streams. And they would
wish that their children should become familiar with the same wholesome
associations, and be moved by the same attachments and inspirations. In
the city they are constantly exposed to its excitements, and subjected
to the restraints of its artificial modes, with few outward influences
to counteract upon their development; with very little, indeed, except
the discipline and the affections of home to emancipate them from the
tendencies to a trivial, artificial, and sordid life. They would gladly
supply to them the healthful tone and vigor--the outer and inner bloom
and freshness--which are the product of out-door life in the pure air of
the country. But they are compelled by considerations of economy, to
forego most of these advantages, and allow their children to grow up
with city tastes and habits. They long for the country but think they
must content themselves with the town, until the time comes when their
fortunes will enable them to command the coveted indulgences.
The time may come, sooner than they anticipate, when they will be
obliged to choose the country.
Our towns are rapidly overflowing their local boundaries, and spreading
out into suburbs, more or less beautiful and desirable. As far as New
York city is concerned, it is simply a question of time how soon our
middle-class citizens, who desire to live comfortably, with due regard
to economical conditions, will be obliged to choose the country for
their homes.
During the last forty years this city has increased in population with a
rapid and uniform rate. Within the memory of persons now living, it has
grown from an inconsiderable commercial town, until it has become one of
the great cities of the world. This rapid stride and steady progress
furnish us with the elements for calculating the period when the whole
island will be covered with buildings, and there will remain no more
vacant space for the use of its commerce, or the domestic accommodation
of its citizens. The present population of the city is estimated at
fully one million. The entire territorial capacity of the city, the
density of the population remaining the same as it is at present,
cannot much exceed two millions. The ratio of increase during each
period of five years, since 1820, is about twenty-eight per cent. It
will thus be seen that the utmost limit of the city's capacity will be
reached within the next sixteen or seventeen years, and New York will be
a solid and compact city from the Battery to Westchester County.
Meanwhile, the expenses of living in the city are increasing every year.
Rents are higher now than ever before, and there is no prospect of their
coming down for many years.
For it must be remembered that when we renew our building operations,
which have been nearly suspended for the last four years, in consequence
of the unsettled condition of the country, we shall have to provide not
only for the current increase in population, but for the deficiencies
which result from the past four years or more, when comparatively few
houses were erected. At the present time the rent of a convenient and
respectable house, suitable to the requirements of a family having a
fair income, and occupying a desirable position in society, is an
excessive item of cost.
And the remedy for this is to go into the country. Along the lines of
our railroads and navigable waters there are localities where land is
comparatively cheap,--beautiful, healthy regions, where the comforts of
a rural home may be secured, with all the advantages of society, and of
religious and educational establishments and institutions. The
facilities for reaching these country homes are already adequate for
general purposes, and will be increased every year, as the demand for
them grows. Railroads and steamboats are built and run for the purpose
of profit on freight and passenger transportation. According to the
general law of trade, the supply will equal the demand, and as the
population increases along our lines of travel, the facilities and
accommodations for transit will be multiplied.
Why, then, should the man who loves the country, and possesses tastes
and capacities for its enjoyment, and yet is compelled by circumstances
to practice economy in his mode of living, be restrained to the city
limits? It is quite a practicable thing for him to realize his
wishes,--live in the country and enjoy its best luxuries, without
abandoning the city as far as its commercial advantages are concerned.
There are localities _within an hour_ of the city hall, where land can
be purchased at reasonable rates, and where all the advantages of health
and beauty, of retirement, pure air and attractive scenery can be
enjoyed for less money than is now expended in the narrow house in the
crowded street, where every sense is offended--with no open sky or
distant horizon tinged with the glories of the dying day or rising
morn--no grassy lawns, or waving trees, or fragrant banks of flowers.
For such accommodations as he has, he pays, we will say, a rent of one
thousand or twelve hundred dollars. In the country he might purchase two
acres of land and build a cottage, which would afford him all, or more,
conveniences than he now has, without the necessity of climbing four or
five flights of stairs--at an outlay, at the usual cost of building, not
exceeding six thousand dollars. The interest on this sum would be four
hundred and twenty dollars. The difference between this amount and his
present house rent would in a few years pay the whole cost of the place,
and he would have a _home_--a centre and gathering place for his
domestic interests and affections.
And this is no fancy sketch--no exaggerated statement of possibilities.
We know of localities which can be reached from Wall Street in as many
minutes as would be required to go to 50th Street, where land can be
obtained for about five hundred dollars an acre, where there are all the
conditions of health, good water, pure air, extensive and attractive
views, and whatever else is desirable for a country home. In the
direction we have now specially in mind, there are at least twenty
railroad trains which daily stop at convenient stations, between the
early morning and ten o'clock at night. For the ordinary purposes of
business, and social intercourse, this is ample travelling
accommodation, and as we said before, these accommodations will be
increased in the proportion that the country population in the
neighborhood of our cities becomes more dense, and thus creates a larger
demand for such facilities.
The necessity and desirableness of country homes being thus easily
demonstrable, it is of importance to know how to choose sites for them,
and how to build. The Poet-author of "Letters from under a bridge," has
given a wise and admirable suggestion in regard to choice of sites,
"leaving the climate and productiveness of soil out of the question, the
main things to find united, are, _shade_, _water_, _and inequality of
surface_. With these three features given by nature, any spot may be
made beautiful, and at very little cost: and fortunately for purchasers
in this country, most land is valued and sold with little or no
reference to these or other capabilities for embellishment." There is an
affluence of choice sites all over the country, and what we need most to
learn is how to develop their capabilities, and add such fitting
embellishments as belong to beautiful and convenient houses. Here it is
that the popular taste requires additional cultivation. The impulse
already given in this direction should be kept up. There is no
deficiency of wealth for the appropriation and culture of these
attractive places, and there is often a lavish expenditure upon country
homes which ought to make them complete and even magnificent. But
unfortunately we see, every year, costly establishments, designed for
summer residences, or for permanent homes, built up with as little
regard for taste, as for expense. The deficiency is found rather in the
culture than in the dispositions and means of our people. And the remedy
and supply for this must be provided by the dissemination of works
treating upon this and kindred topics of rural art, by means of which
the public taste may be refined and elevated to a higher standard.
In constructing country houses there are several prime conditions to be
observed, such as adaptation, accommodation, and expression. By
adaptation is meant not only the arrangement of the main structure, as
to form and material, to suit the locality and character of the grounds,
but a fitness as respects the real wants--the habits and condition--of
the occupants and the purposes of a country home. Nobody wants a modern
city house planted down in the open country, nor should any sensible man
seek a refuge from the bare streets of the city in the little less bare
streets of a country village. There is no congruity between the
classical forms of Grecian Architecture and the varying climate of our
land.
The material used in the construction of our country houses has not been
sufficiently considered by us. Timber is abundant in almost all parts of
the country, and the facility with which an
establishment--mansion-house, office, and outbuildings--can be built up
in a few weeks, of this material, has been the main reason, we suppose,
why we have so many abortions, in the shape of Grecian temples, and
miniature Gothic cathedrals and castles, scattered over the land. Let it
be considered, that in building our country houses, we are not simply
providing for ourselves, but for our children--we are constructing a
homestead. It is for the want of this consideration that we have so few
_homes_ in our country, so few home associations, around and among which
our deepest and purest affections are entwined. Our thin lath and
plaster constructions, which rattle and tremble in every wind and leak
in every rain, do not afford very good or permanent centers for these
associations and affections.
We have some native woods that are durable, out of which we may build
houses that will last for several generations; but with these, even, the
cost of frequent repairs and painting is so great, to say nothing of the
annoyances thereby entailed, that, in point of economy, wood is by no
means the most desirable material. Nor is it, in any way, the most
desirable. The prevailing taste in country dwellings, before Mr.
Downing's time, was defective enough. A large, square, wooden house,
painted intensely white, garnished with bright green Venetian
blinds--standing in a contracted yard--inclosed with a red or white
wooden fence, was the very beau ideal of a gentleman's country dwelling.
We are thankful that this dispensation has passed away; and we revere
the memory of Downing, and of others like him, who were instrumental in
bringing in a better taste in such matters.
The first cost of a stone or brick dwelling somewhat exceeds that of
wood, even in places where these materials are readily obtained. But if
they are properly constructed, such buildings will need very few repairs
for many years. It is often objected, on the other hand, that such
buildings are damp and unwholesome. This is, undoubtedly, true of many
of the old stone houses which we find scattered about the country. And
it is true, because they were not properly built. When properly built,
they preserve the most equal temperature at all seasons. They are warm
in winter and cool in summer, and the sudden changes which affect the
weather without, need scarcely be felt by the delicate invalid within
the walls of the stone mansion, if suitable attention is given to the
simple matter of ventilation.
But let us return to the subject of adaptation. The illustrations which
occur to us may serve to furnish a somewhat clear idea of what we mean
by the prime conditions necessary to be observed in building.
By the term adaptation, we mean such choice of style, material, size
and arrangement as shall fit the structure: 1st, to the site; 2d, to the
climate; and 3d, to the uses for which it is built.
And, first, as to the site: It would be obviously incongruous to erect
the same house on these two different sites, with their different
characteristic features and surroundings; for example, _the one_ a
nearly level plane gently rising, perhaps, as you approach from the road
the position where the house shall stand, and sloping away again towards
other broad green fields and the fertile meadows beyond--with no
background of hills or mountains, no irregularly formed lake, but with a
placid, lazy stream, half-sleeping, half-gliding by the weeping elms,
and among the scattered groups of stately, old trees:--_the other_, a
romantic hillside in the native forest, with its neighboring mountain
range, where in the bright summer-time, the noisy, laughing brook keeps
time to your thoughts and fancies as you wander among the hills, and in
the bleak winter the winds sigh mournfully through the pines or utter
their clarion calls to the spirit of the storm.
The one situation would be appropriate to the Italian villa, with its
flat roof, and overhanging cornices, its spacious verandahs and
balconies, all having that depth and boldness and variety of outline
necessary to secure the proper effects of light and shadow which, the
absence of all variety of form in the landscape, would render
indispensable. But no man with an artist's eye would think, for a
moment, of building such a house as this on our wooded hillside. He
would construct there his English cottage in good solid stone, whose
steep roofs would shed with facility the summer rain and the winter
snow, whose irregularities of form and outline would harmonize with
nature's Gothic work in precipice and rock, in trees and climbing vines.
Or else, he would place there his Swiss chalet, which would be in
harmony with the scene, and a pleasing object to the eye of the
observer. On the broad, open plane the villa should be made, or seem, to
cover a considerable space, while the nice cottage might be built more
compactly.
But here let us remark, that many of our attempts at the English
cottage, generally known as the Gothic, have been failures, and some of
them sad abortions.
This comes from defective models and plans, and these defects arise
mainly from these sources--the lack of boldness and variety in the main
outlines, and in the construction of the roofs and chimneys. Such a
cottage, to be pleasing and satisfactory, must have irregularities in
form, variety in ornament, and boldness in treatment. A square house
with additions of gables, and dormers and pinnacles, and ridge crests,
will not give us an English cottage. It is a work of art, like a poem
or a picture, and not a mechanical aggregation of Gothic features and
ornaments. We were about to say that it should never be attempted in any
other material than stone, but as many of us cannot command the means
for such permanent buildings, we will concede that it may be allowable
for us to put our wooden buildings into the cottage form, using the best
taste and the most beautiful and picturesque styles, even if the
material is objectionable.
One other observation, before we return to our main topic, may be
indulged. It is simply the suggestion that too little attention has been
paid to the _sky-outlines_ of our country houses. Roofs and chimney-tops
have been treated as necessary evils, instead of being made, as they may
be, highly ornamental. The unity of the plan, as a work of art, is lost
as you ascend above the eaves, all the rest seeming like excrescences
growing out of structures otherwise commendable and satisfactory. The
superior horizontal lines of the roof will depend somewhat upon the
background of the house. When a building is placed upon the crest of a
hill, or upon a slope descending from the main point of view, so that
its outlines are seen against the sky, the treatment of the plan will be
obviously different from that required where the background is solid, as
a hill or a forest. In any case, however, the horizontal lines should be
broken, as far as practicable, by making the roofs of the several parts
of the house of unequal height.
It will be apparent, without special argument, that our choice of style
in our country houses should be controlled essentially by the climate.
In our northern climate, the flat roof is objectionable, and we are
obliged to modify the Italian styles somewhat in this respect, to
obviate inconveniences. The hot summer sun, when, as on an August day,
in the city,
"The pavements all are piping hot,
The sky above is brazen,
And every head as good as dead
The sun can shed his rays on,"
will be more than likely to open the joints and seams of the flat roof,
and the sudden shower coming down with the force of a tropical storm,
will find its way through, sadly to the detriment of our ceilings, our
stuccoes and frescoes, as well as to the comfort and the commendable
equability of temper of those who suffer the invasion. The heavy winter
snows, too, require a steep roof, from which they will readily dislodge
themselves without injury.
And so in the interior arrangements of the house, the provisions for
heating and ventilation, for summer freedom and winter coziness, for
domestic comfort and the exercise of the commendable grace of country
hospitality, due regard must be had to the conditions of climate. There
must be a proper adaptation to them, if we would secure satisfactory
country homes.
And this brings us to our last topic, the uses for which our country
seats are built. The place designed simply for a summer residence for
the citizen, who is obliged to be at his office or counting room daily,
bating the few weeks of summer vacation, need not be so complete in its
appointments and arrangements, as the permanent country residence. One
essential condition, however, in this case is, that there shall be _room
enough_, with ample verandahs, and shaded gravel walks, which will
afford opportunities for open air exercise in all states of the weather.
There is nothing, perhaps, that interferes so essentially with the
citizen's enjoyment of the country, as the want of facilities for out
door exercise. It is too hot or too dusty to ride or walk, before the
shower, and after its refreshment has come, it is too wet and muddy.
Spacious verandahs, shaded with vines, and well-made walks, always firm
and dry, bordered with shrubbery, or overhung with trees, will give us
"ample scope and verge enough."
But the uses of country seats depend mainly upon the tastes and
habitudes of the occupants; and their adaptation in style size and
arrangement should be accordingly. We believe there is no law against a
man's building an elegant library and picture gallery, though he may
have no taste for literature or art, but having plenty of money,
chooses to make this display of it. There are a great many absurdities
to which poor, frail humanity is liable, against which the legislature,
in its wisdom, has not thought it worth while to make solemn and
positive enactments; it is better for the general moral condition of
society, perhaps, that the vulgar rich man's ambition for display should
manifest itself in books and pictures, rather than in fast horses. Might
not the cultivation of the garden--vegetables, fruits and flowers,--take
the place of both, as simple means of display? These are wholesome and
agreeable employments even for those who have passed that time of life
when a taste for books and art may be acquired.
A country seat should combine and express the real uses which are
required by the intellectual and social condition of its occupants, and
not attract attention as blazoning the wealth and money importance of
the owner. If he is rich, let him make it as complete and simply elegant
as he will, and this he may do without proclaiming to every passer-by
his miserable pride of wealth.
With these preliminary observations, we submit our work to the judgment
of those who are interested in these subjects. We have not included in
our present volume any considerable number of designs for the more
spacious and costly Villa, the work being designed for popular use and
to meet a demand which is unprovided for by previous publications.
DESIGN No. 1.
[Illustration: FIG. 1.--_Front Elevation._]
[Illustration: FIG. 2.--_End Elevation._]
This design as shown in figures 1 and 2, is for a laborer's cottage
intended to be erected on the grounds connected with a fine estate on
the western slope of the Palisades in New Jersey. It is to be built of
rough stone, plainly finished. It is 16 by 24 feet outside, having a
living-room with bed room on the first floor, (Fig. 3,) a large pantry,
stairway, etc., and a fine cellar below. The second floor (Fig. 4,) has
two bed-rooms, well lighted and ventilated, and large closets to each.
This size will admit of several different arrangements; the rear door
might open out from the pantry, and afford more convenient access to the
cellar stairs, to get in heavy articles, and shut out some cold in
winter, but would interfere with the fine ventilation so necessary in
summer to a generally heated apartment, as a kitchen, dining, and
living-room combined. A porch might be placed over the rear door, or
better still, at a small additional expense, a summer-kitchen and
wood-house might be added. A house of this accommodation is usually the
first one put up by settlers on the western prairies. They are built of
wood, balloon frame, with a plain pitch roof, without ornament.
[Illustration: FIG. 3.--_First Floor._]
[Illustration: FIG. 4.--_Second Floor._]
The elevations as shown, give a greater variety than is usual in this
class of building, and a house thus constructed may afterwards become a
very pretty portion of a larger and more expensive structure.
DESIGN No. 2.
[Illustration: FIG. 5.--_Front Elevation._]
[Illustration: FIG. 6.--_Side Elevation._]
[Illustration: FIG. 7.--_First Floor._]
The second design (Fig. 5,) is for a frame building giving more variety
of outline. The plan (Fig. 7,) separates the sitting room from the
kitchen and dining room, and insures more privacy. There is also a
greater abundance of closets, though smaller. One of the bed rooms above
might be divided into two, and thus increase the accommodation. A
portion of the cellar may also be finished for a kitchen, and the
living room used as a dining room. This plan admits of future additions
being made without destroying the harmony or proportion of the building.
To one of moderate means, such a mode of building presents some
attractions, as it affords a house for immediate wants, to which
additions may be made as one's means increase. Such houses, if
tastefully furnished and embellished with suitable surroundings, as neat
and well-kept grounds, fine trees, shrubbery, flowers, and climbing
vines, will always attract more attention and admiration than the
uninviting aspect of many more expensive structures. Money tastefully
expended in this manner will always yield gratifying results.
[Illustration: FIG. 8.--_Second Floor._]
DESIGN No. 3.
[Illustration: FIG. 9.--_Front Elevation._]
[Illustration: FIG. 10.--_Side Elevation._]
This design is similar, in some respects, to design No. 2, and gives,
perhaps, the most compact arrangement of rooms for a building having so
irregular an outline. Exteriorly considered, there is much to be admired
in variety, and light and shadow, the different elevations being
entirely unlike each other, and affording a constant change from every
point of view; an object, we think, very much to be desired in cottage
architecture, and when well managed never fails to make a pleasing
impression. A high, bold appearance, without the overhanging eaves or
depth of shadow, is not suitable for a country house; a feeling is
created that something is wanting to make up the accessories of an
agreeable habitation.
[Illustration: FIG. 11.--_Basement Plan._]
In this plan, (Fig. 11,) the kitchen is in the basement, convenient to
the cellar, and with a good pantry attached to it. It is put there for
the purpose of economizing in the construction. Our own preference is to
put the kitchen in a well ventilated wing on a level with the main
floor, and thus avoid, as much as possible, the necessity of running up
and down stairs. This can be done at any future time when desired, as,
indeed, can any addition of other rooms be made to meet the wants of an
increasing family. A dumb waiter connects the kitchen with the dining
room, and thus saves many steps.
[Illustration: FIG. 12.--_First Floor._]
The first floor (Fig. 12,) gives parlor, dining room, and a library,
with a roomy vestibule, and a side door or private entrance, and
supplies all the wants of a small family. The library might be used for
a bed room. On the second floor (Fig. 13,) are 3 bed rooms with closets.
The engravings are intended to tell their own story as far as possible,
and but little explanation is necessary to make them fully
comprehensible. In the matter of cost, one can hardly give a price that
is reliable; the enormous advance in some building materials and slight
advance in others, disarrange all old standards of estimating.
Localities, of course, have much to do with the cost; yet, above all
others, the business management must be considered. A good manager,
thoroughly familiar with the qualities and values of materials, who
knows how to direct labor to the best advantage, will execute work at a
less cost than one who undertakes his own building without a previous
training.
[Illustration: FIG. 13.--_Second Floor._]
DESIGN No. 4.
This is a perspective view of a cottage, designed to afford a reasonable
amount of accommodation for an average sized family, and which, if
tastefully furnished, and fitted with suitable landscape surroundings,
will convey a pleasing impression to all; much more so than dwellings of
a more expensive class, where sufficient attention is not given to such
accessories.
[Illustration: FIG. 14.--_Perspective._]
The plans of this house are compact, the rooms opening into each other
in such a manner as to afford easy communication and economy in heating.
The porch is spacious, and more pleasant than the long, narrow verandah.
The supply of water for all purposes is from a filtering cistern, which
is connected with the kitchen sink, by a pump. The entire house may be
heated by a furnace, hot water, or steam, as is most preferable; or
stoves may be used in nearly all the rooms, if first cost is to be
closely considered. A passage underneath the staircase connects with the
side door from the vestibule, and, with the exception of the library,
all parts of the house are accessible without passing through other
rooms.
[Illustration: FIG. 15.--_Basement Floor._]
[Illustration: FIG. 16.--_First Floor._]
[Illustration: FIG. 17.--_Second Floor._]
In the vicinity of large cities, and more particularly the city of New
York, there are reasons which have a money value to them, why more
attention should be given to suburban architecture, and why capitalists,
as well as individuals, should undertake the construction of
moderate-priced buildings, that shall command attention from the
harmonious combination of fine architectural effects. It requires but a
very limited experience to become aware of the fact, that dwellings of
precisely the same cost, and similarly situated, will differ in their
rental at least one half, and it is mainly owing to the reason that one
is properly designed, and the other perhaps an amateur performance,
modeled after the ill-proportioned Greek pediment style, too prevalent
to be countenanced for a moment by any one who prides himself on his
good taste. There can be no question that a fitly designed cottage,
conveniently arranged, adds, independently of its own cost, a large per
centage to the value of the acres which surround it, and is the point
which arrests the eye and secures the purchaser. Rapid rail-road
facilities, lower rents, more healthful localities, and the fact that
the growth of this city "_Spuyten Duyvelward_" has reached a point
beyond the convenient access of the strictly business man, necessarily
turn the attention of those who look to the full measure of comfort, to
a suburban life, ten to fifteen miles away from the unceasing noise and
hurry of the city, where the business of the day is forgotten, and fresh
air, fresh milk, butter and eggs, fruits, flowers, birds, &c., are
luxuries unknown in town. Taking a strictly money view of building
operations, for sale and rent, in suburban localities, and more
particularly about New York, it would promise, by every course of
reasoning, a remunerative return, if the plan were judiciously and
tastefully carried out. The wants of the public, however, are so
unequal, and their opinions so varied by the circumstances under which
they are formed, that, unless an attractive beginning can be shown,
very desirable property may remain a long time on the market. If we
canvass real estate thoroughly, we shall find that property sells first,
and at the best prices, which has ever so humble a cottage on it, a
starting point in which one may temporarily reside, and lay out his
plans of future operations; for the construction of a country place is
of all things one with which to make haste slowly. With those actively
engaged in business, and to whom time is every thing, there is no
disposition to add the labor and annoyances of building; the demand is
for a home ready for occupancy; the thought is entertained, and the
wish gratified, simply because the opportunity presented itself; but it
is far less trouble for young and middle-aged business men to stick to
the city, than to give the time for building, particularly when they
undertake their own architecture. Let capitalists invite them by snug,
well-built, convenient, and tasteful cottages, and the demand will
always be in advance of the supply, in all healthy localities, having
rapid, reliable, and frequent communication with the city.
[Illustration: FIG. 18.--_First Floor Enlarged._]
DESIGN No. 5.
A GARDENER'S COTTAGE.
The accompanying design was made for William C. Bryant, Esq., by Fred'k
S. Copley, Esq., Artist, Tompkinsville, Staten Island, and was erected
on his beautiful estate at Roslyn, Long Island, in 1862. It stands on
the hill above his residence, overlooking the bay from the village to
the Sound, possessing one of the finest views on the Island. It was
intended as a gardener's lodge, and to accommodate one or two families,
as circumstances might require, (one on each floor,) giving each three
rooms, and a joint right to the scullery, sink, and cellar.
[Illustration: FIG. 19.--_Perspective View._]
_Arrangement._--The first story is 9 feet in the clear throughout, with
every convenience suitable for the health and comfort of the occupants.
From the porch, a small hall, lighted from the roof, is entered, with
doors on either hand, to parlor or living room, and staircase passage in
front, communicating with the kitchen at the back, chambers above, and
cellar beneath.
[Illustration: FIG. 20.--_First Floor._]
The chamber floor, second story, is 9 feet in the clear through the
centre, and 6 feet at the sides, (from the floor to the plate,) the roof
cutting off three feet of the ceiling at the sides at an angle of 45
degrees. This loss of a few feet of the ceiling is more than compensated
by the cottage-like effect it gives to the rooms, harmonizing the inside
with the external appearance. The two principal chambers are provided
with fire-places and ample closet room. The one over the parlor has two
closets, built outside the frame, and a door into the single room, over
the porch, forming a most desirable family chamber. Both these rooms
have ventilators in the same chimney breast, and the small one may be
warmed by a stove leading thereto. The other has a large closet over the
store-room for trunks, linen, &c. The attic room over the kitchen wing
is intended for the domestics.
[Illustration: FIG. 21.--_Chamber Floor._]
By reference to the plans, it will be seen that every room is of good
size and form, cheerfully lighted, thoroughly ventilated, and of easy
access one to another, at the same time that privacy, so essential, is
maintained throughout.
_Construction._--The building is constructed of wood, vertically sided,
and battened, (with 1-1/2 inch tongued and grooved pine plank,) with
horizontal strips in line of the window sills and floors, to hide the
buts, and small triangular pieces in the corners, which gives the pretty
effect of paneling. The whole is stained by a mixture of oil, &c., that
heightens the grain of the wood, and gives a brightness of color, and
that cheerfulness of effect, so desirable in rural dwellings. The roof
is of slate, in bands of purple and green, and the chimneys are
surmounted by terra-cotta pots. The whole is filled in with brick.
This cottage is built in a substantial and plain manner, with cellar
under kitchen, cemented on the gravel the same as the cistern, and all
the interior wood work is oiled and stained.
As a specimen of cottage architecture, (on the smallest scale, lodge
class,) it will rank as one of the best. For simplicity, variety of
form, symmetry of proportion, with convenience of arrangement and
economy of space and construction, it forms a model cottage, that any
one might live in and many covet, besides being an addition to the
landscape and an ornament to the grounds.
DESIGN No. 6.
STONE STABLE AND COACH HOUSE.
[Illustration: FIG. 22.--_Perspective._]
This design was erected on the Hudson, during the past year, of the
beautiful rock faced stone so abundant between the Spuyten Duyvil and
the Highlands, and is a good example of such a building as will meet the
requirements of a moderately extensive establishment. It is conveniently
arranged, enabling all the work to be done with the most ease, and gives
thorough light and ventilation, so essential to the health and comfort
of animals. The time has gone by to give prospective prices for
anything, but we have seen the day when this building might have been
erected for about $4,000. A room for the coachman may easily be made on
the second floor, and the plan increased or decreased to suit the wants
of any one.
[Illustration: FIG. 23.--_Ground Plan._]
DESIGN No. 7.
A FARM COTTAGE.
[Illustration: FIG. 24.--_Perspective View._]
We show in this design a style of cottage which, in these high priced
times of lumber and labor, can be erected at a very reasonable figure;
and although prepared for a farm cottage, will admit of such changes as
will adapt it to the wants of those who require a higher grade of
accommodation. It is the most natural thing in the world for any one to
take up a plan and suggest innumerable changes and additions, always
forgetting the unalterable condition of price, situation, and object,
which restrained the architect while working it up. To prepare a design
regardless of expense is a very different matter from devising one that
gives the largest amount of accommodation within a fixed limit of cost.
We shall arrive gradually at the precise figures, and endeavor to get
the accommodation wanted by some of our readers.
[Illustration: FIG. 25.--_Cellar._]
[Illustration: FIG. 26.--_First Floor._]
[Illustration: FIG. 27.--_Second Floor._]
It has been frequently observed that the gate lodges and farm cottages
attached to large estates are generally more attractive in their
architectural proportions and beauty than the mansion itself; and this
has been usually attributed to the education of the proprietor's tastes,
the cottages being the latest erections. This impression is not,
however, always true; for there is a peculiar beauty and attractiveness
about cottage architecture which can not be produced in buildings of a
larger and more commodious class. Certain it is that a prettily designed
cottage will always arrest attention. "Among the first and most
pleasing impressions," says a late writer, "of our trite friend, the
intelligent foreigner, as he entered England by the old Dover road, were
those suggested by the little whitewashed and woodbined cottages which
caught his eye at every turn. All books of travels on English ground are
full of them. Snugly sheltered in its bower of apple trees, or more
stately group of walnuts, approachable only by its rustic stairs, or
dotted at neighborly distances along the straggling village, with its
trim garden of lavender and wall flowers, seen through the wicket gate
or over the privet hedge, the English cottage, above or below, near or
in the distance, was alike the delight and envy of the traveler, the
theme of the journalist and the poet. 'There is scarce a cottage,' says
an American tourist just landed from America and France, 'between Dover
and London which a poet might not be happy to live in. I saw a hundred
little spots I coveted with quite a heart-ache.' Whether or not Rogers
would have given up his picture-lighted snuggery in St. James' Place for
his 'Cot beside the hill,' and really preferred to have his latch lifted
by the pilgrim, instead of his knocker by a London footman, it is
certain that the cottage homes of England that border the main roads
have long possessed a beauty far beyond the houses in other lands
belonging to classes much higher in the social scale, and have been
coveted, sometimes not without reason, by those who could, if they
chose, have purchased them fifty times over."
DESIGN No. 8.
This design for a timber cottage is simple and at the same time
picturesque, and built upon a site adapted to it, and in harmony with
the architectural expression, the effect could not fail to be in a high
degree pleasing.
[Illustration: FIG. 28.--_Perspective View._]
It will be seen that some of the principal timbers of the frame are
intended to show on the outside, and that there is a designed contrast
between the horizontal siding extending to the top of the posts, and the
vertical and battened covering of the pediment above the ornamental
string course. The brackets and posts which support the roof of the
porches, should be chamfered, and these timbers should be of sufficient
thickness to avoid any appearance of meanness, while at the same time,
they should not be too heavy, and so destroy the proportions of the
design.
[Illustration: FIG. 29.--_Cellar._]
The roof should be covered with shingles having their ends clipped or
rounded.
[Illustration: FIG. 30.--_First Floor._]
[Illustration: FIG. 31.--_Second Floor._]
The cellar may be divided in such way as to serve the wants of the
occupants. A portable furnace might be placed at the foot of the
basement stairs, which would warm the rooms on the first floor, and
temper the air of the chambers above.
The interior accommodations and conveniences are readily seen on
inspection of the plans--(Figs. 30. 31). There is no waste of room, and
for the uses of a small family, the accommodations would be found as
ample as could well be obtained in a cottage of such size and cost.
DESIGN No. 9.--RURAL CHURCH.
DESIGNED BY THE REV. DR. CRESSY.
This design is intended for a church which is to occupy a beautiful and
commanding site on the western shore of Lake George, in the midst of the
original forest, and is now in process of erection. It will also meet
the requirements of several correspondents who have requested plans for
rural churches which could be erected as economically and cheaply as
possible, with due regard to proportion, fitness and beauty of
expression.
This design will be found to comprehend, we may say, in an eminent
degree, variety of outline, correctness of detail, force of expression
and purity of taste, with simplicity of execution, and in those parts of
the country where lumber is abundant, and labor not exorbitant, it can
be erected at a low cost.
[Illustration: FIG. 32.--_Perspective._]