A manual of home-making

It is conunonly supposed that iietlrooms located under a sloping roof must necessarily lie low and hot. This is not true. The fact that some betlroorns so locateil have been stuffy does not argue that all bedrooms need to be so; it implies rather that there has l>c*en no cross- ventilation or that the windows were placed so low as to leave a pocket of hot air confined near the ceiling. An outlet for the hot air shoult! be furnished by windows placed high in the room. If the roof pitch and dormer wintlows are studied to fit tlie height of the seeond-floor rooms, a full second stor>' with high or full-length I windows may be commodiously arranged under a long roof, and the low part^ may be used for closets. StniCtural elernents. The windows of a dwelling, whether grouped or single, should be similar in style and should show some kind of orderly arrangement. In general, unity of tlesign is preserved if the >ps of all windows on a tioor are kept on the safne leveL Vari- ations in window heights will thus occur between the floor level and the sill. Oval windows, diarnond-shafx^d windows, and other fancy forms should he avoideti. A miscellaneous collection of windows jotted at diiTerent points over a building robs it of dignity and composure, Window blinds and small paocA have a certain decorative value from the outside. 24 A MANUAL OF HOME-MAKING No country houst* is (nmiplefe without a K^neroui^ porch or other feature that will form a center for outdoor family life. A vine-covered arbor^ a paved spot, or merely a shaded stretch of lawn near the lioiise may be made fully as livable as the usual |3cjrch. The usual type of American porch, a covered platform attached to the house, built high and dry, inclosed by a railing, and reached by steps, has artificially confined outdoor life to the house apart from yard and gfU'dt^n, If comfort and beauty arc ivotli to be t^erved, neither porch nor -garden should be sacrificed; they should rather be an^anged I'luljacently so that the law^ti adjoins the porch and the vistas down the garden paths are continuous with the main vdstas from (he porch, or are relatiil to views from the important windows of the house. In other words, house and grounds should be planned as one continuous design, u^ing n^ ^^ mn-- necting link the porch. The cliief difficulty with a united porch and gai'den scijci arises from the usual difference in height l>etween the pore floor and the yard level. These two levels may be brought ne toget her either by stH ting the house low on the ground and build ing areas around the cellar windows (Plate 1), or l\v raising | flat, graded terrace to within a step or two of the porch floorf Both these schemes are fretjuently and successfully practiced^ and in no w^ay prevent light and air from entering the cellar* In order to be commodious, a porch should h^ room-shap rather than long amt narrow. A porch 10 to 12 feet wide and 14 to 20 feet long will give greater comfort than one 0 to 8 feet wide and extending around two sides of the house. Furthe more, a rectangular porch will not darken so much of the tenor as will one extending along the full length of the hoi If the porch occupies a sunny position, it niay be shaded and embowered by screening with latticework, over wWch vines may be allowed to grow» A cement or brick floor is desirablCj for porch use. I