A manual of home-making

In general, simphcity of treatment in finish and furnishing preserves t lie dignity of the house and is always in good tast^e* An interior should also l>e fitted to its use in every part, should appear consistent, genuine, and hannonious throughout. The environment can thus be made to t>T>ify the qualities to which a family aspires* I I 4 STBUCTUBAl. CONSIDERATION OF ROOMS Size The o!d ideal for a room was the largest, **squarest" room possible for every use — for a family room, bedroom, or kitchen. ■ Changed conditions of living nnrf t he increased cost of labor and Imilding material have reduced the size of tlie modern house. According to the varie*:! nature of their use, it is evident that rooms should var^' in size and in shape. tiving-room. The hving-room for the family should be the largest room in the house, since it serves a greater variety of purposes and a larger number of persons than any other j-oom. The restful effect of an appearance of ample space is one of its charms. Sacrifice of spaciousness in other parts of the house may w^ell be made in order to provide a spacious living-room. The actual size for a Hving-room is a matter allowing great variationj but HOME FURNISHING 31 I rooms var>4ng from 14 to 16 feet in width and from 18 to 24 feet in length suggest good sizes. Dtning-rooni, The dining-room ia also a gathering place for all the members of the family. It, however, has but one center and serves only one funetion. It may, therefore, well be consideralfly wraallcr than the living-room. For the eomfortahle ^erv^ing of the meals, at least three feet should be allowed betwet^n the edge of the table aad the sideboard or any other furniture in the room. Kitchen, The kitchen should be small and compact in arrangement and should not contain a foot of unnecessary space. A good •02e for a kitchen in which the work is doue by one person is ''estimated to be from 100 to 150 square feet of space (page 102). Bedrooms, The bedroom of the modern house may be relatively small because the convenience of built-in closets^ of lighter types of furniture, and of l>athroom8 makes a large size unnecessary. In a bedroom, after sufhcient space has }>een allowed for pur- poses of ventilation, sleeping, dressing, and storage of clothes, convenience is better served by compactness than by size. Halh. Halls are used to give direct access to all parts of tlie house. After this purpose ha,s been accomplislKHl, space may appro- priately be economized here in a home of moderate size. Shape and proportitm Simple rectangular shapes for rooms are the natural outcome of building conditions. Any extension or projection should be a coherent structural feature and should be used only to satisfy a need in the function of the room, A chiinney seat, a recess necessitated by a dormer window, an ingle nook when it works out naturally on p!an, are often i-easonabte features, A bay- window built to add space or to improve the ligliting conditions erf a room, if well designed may furnish an interesting decorative 32 A MANUAL OF HOME~MAKIXG Fig. 13,— a typical low room in an oUl-fueliioniHl rr,M*ijf**, fcihowing hnw cvea » good horisrmtal arrariKonieut o! liiips and /urniahiugtt dooreaaca the ap- paront hdsht of the ruom.