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A COTTAGE ALONG ENGLISH LINES WITH
CERTAIN UNUSUAL TENDENCIES: BY E.
DRUSILLE FORD
OWHERE do we need the discrim-
       inating touch of personality more
       than in the construction of our
       homes. The fashioning of our
garments though important, is less so, since
the coat or gown is not a permanent ad-
junct; but an idea expressed in wood and
stone cannot be cast aside at the advent of
a new style; it is with us practically for all
time.
  We acknowledge theoretically that arch-
itecture belongs to the realm of art, yet
our acquaintance with it, as embodied in
the buildings with which we are most
familiar, would lead us to conclude that it
is a science of most arbitrary restrictions,
wherein certain results must be attained
by a limited number of methods, and are
capable of being expressed in but a limited
                          variety of
FIRST       .:, ------:   forms. In our
FLOOR       .,            cities, this at-
PLAN OF     FJ        ,, titude is re-
COTTAGE.                  sponsible for
                          interminable
                  .       rowsofhouses
which, be-
cause t h e y
contain an
equal number of rooms, exhibit a hack-
neyed uniformity. If, however, we raise
our conception of a home to the plane of
the individual, it ceases to be dependent
upon the style of a given period and be-
comes a law unto itself, being the satis-
faction of specific needs.
  For the sake of sincerity, if for no other
reason, the exterior should express what
a dwelling stands for, the qualities which
combine to make the home. Houses both
large and small may have these qualities,
but the habitation, large or small, whose
outward appearance conveys little besides
pretentious ostentation, is in this particu-
lar a failure. To the beholder, the build-
ing is an inn, a half-way house at which
its owner stops between the intervals of
business and social functions.
  The cottage here illustrated begins mod-
estly to bid for your interest when you
first catch sight of its ample roof, and a
nearer approach reveals no repelling com-
placency in the broad, low facade and
simple ornamentation. The walls are of
soft. light Lrav Plaster. The Dlain wood
under the eaves is stained a deep
brown, somewhat as Nature would
if we gave her time. This tone
    fades to a dull gray-green in
    the window and door trim,
    and loses its green to merge
    into the light gray of the wall
    near the ground. This treat-
    ment avoids the decided, liney
    effect which woodwork in
   solid color gives.
      It is quite evident from
    without that the hanging win-
    dow accommodates the land-
    ing of the stairs, and that it is
    supported by carrying the
    floor joists beyond the face
    of the main wall. Its peak is
    not allowed to break the long
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