WOODWARD'S
COUNTRY HOMES,
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.
I860.
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1865, fc>
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.
PRINTER,
- 74 Fulton Street-
PAOK.
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
IT CONTENTS.
PAOI.
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
CONTENTS.
PAOE.
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 Ill
DESIGN No. 26.
Residence of T. H. Stout, Esq 113
DESIGN No. 27.
A Chapter on Gates 119
DESIGN No. 2?.
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 DOMES-
TIC 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 do-
mestic 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 diffu-
sion of publications in the various departments of
Rural Art, and by a wider and more genial general
culture as the means of intercommunication and edu-
8 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
cation 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 con-
siderable 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, asso-
ciations, employments and objects of interest, for them-
selves 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 re-
gions of Lake George. They returned to town in the
early days of September, with many a backward, long-
ing 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
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 9
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 coun-
try. They hasten gladly to these rural scenes with
the opening Summer, and they leave them with re-
gret when the exigencies of business require their pres-
ence in the city, when the Summer suns have ripen-
ed 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 ap-
pliances 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 mer-
10 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
chants 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 be-
come familiar with the same wholesome associations,
and be moved by the same attachments and inspira-
tions. In the city they are constantly exposed to its
excitements, and subjected to the restraints of its ar-
tificial modes, with few outward influences to counter-
act upon their development ; with very little, indeed,
except the discipline and the affections of home to
emancipate them from the tendencies to a trivial, ar-
tificial, 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
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 11
grow up with city tastes and habits. They long foi
the country but think they must content themselves
with the town, until the time comes when their for-
tunes will enable them to command the coveted in-
dulgences.
The time may come, sooner than they anticipate,
when they will be obliged to choose the country.
Oar towns are rapidly overflowing their local boun-
daries, 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 comfort-
ably, 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. With-
in 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 ra-
pid stride and steady progress furnish us with the ele-
ments 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 ol the population remaining the same
12 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES
as it is at present, cannot much exceed two millions.
The ratio of increase during each period of live years,
since 1820, is about twenty-eight per cent. It will
thus be seen that the utmost limit of the city's capa-
city will be reached within the next sixteen or seven-
teen 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 suspen-
ded for the last four years, in consequence of the un-
settled condition of the country, we shall have to pro-
vide 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 de-
sirable 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
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 13
of society, and of religious and educational establish-
ments and institutions. The facilities for reaching
these country homes are already adequate for general
purposes, and will be increased every year, as the de-
mand 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.
14 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
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 ex-
ceeding 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 gather-
ing place for his domestic interests and affections.
And this is no fancy sketch no exaggerated state-
ment 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 twen-
ty railroad trains which daily stop at convenient sta-
tions, between the early morning and ten o'clock at
night. For the ordinary purposes of business, and
social intercourse, this is ample travelling accommoda-
tion, and as we said before, these accommodations
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 15
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 produc-
tiveness of soil out of the question, the main things to
find united, are, shade, water, and inequality of sur-
face. 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 ap-
propriation and culture of these attractive places, and
there is often a lavish expenditure upon country homes
which ought to make them complete and even mag-
16 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
nificent. 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 ofwhich the public taste may be refined and ele-
vated 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 char-
acter 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 coun-
try, 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 coun-
try houses has not been sufficiently considered by us.
Timber is abundant in almost all parts of the country.
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 17
and the facility with which an establishment man-
sion-house, office, and outbuildings can be built up
in a few weeks, of this material, has been the main rea-
son, we suppose, why we have so many abortions, in the
shape of Grecian temples, and miniature Gothic ca-
thedrals 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 chil-
dren we are constructing a homestead. It is for the
want of this consideration that we have so few hornet
in our country, so few home associations, around and
among which our deepest and purest affections are en-
twined. 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 cen-
ters 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 fre-
quent 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 ma-
terial. 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, gar-
nished with bright green Venetian blinds standing
18 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
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 dispen-
sation has passed away ; and we revere the memory
of Downing, and of others like him, who were instru-
mental 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 ma-
terials 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 ot 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
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 19
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 fea-
tures and surroundings ; for example, the one a near-
ly 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 for-
med lake, but with a placid, lazy stream, half-sleep-
ing, half-gliding by the weeping elms, and among the
scattered groups of stately, old trees : the other, a
romantic hillside in the native torest, with its neigh-
boring 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 cor-
nices, its spacious verandahs and balconies, all having
that depth and boldness and variety of outline neces-
sary to secure the proper effects of light and shadow
20 * WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
which, the absence of all variety of form in the land-
scape, 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 irregu-
larities 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 Goth-
ic, 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 bold-
ness 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
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 21
art, like a poein 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 build-
ings, 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 pictur-
esque 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 ex-
crescences growing out of structures otherwise com-
mendable and satisfactory. The superior horizontal
lines of the roof will depend somewhat upon the back-
ground 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 bo
obviously different from that required where the back-
ground is solid, as a hill or a forest. In any case,
however, the horizontal lines should be broken, as far
22 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
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 dis-
lodge 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
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 23
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 con-
dition, 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. Spa-
cious 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 ac-
cordingly. We believe there is no law against a mans'
building an elegant library and picture gallery, though
he may have no taste for literature or art, but having
24 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
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 mani-
fest 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 pres-
ent volume any considerable number of designs for
the more spacious and costly Villa, the work being
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 25
designed for popular use and to meet a demand which
is unprovided for by previous publications.
DESIGN No. 1.
FIG. 1. Front 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
2
26
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
rough stone, plainly finished. It is 16 by 24 feet out-
side, 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 dif-
erent arrangements; the rear door might open out
FIG. 2. End Elevation.
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
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
27
ventilation so necessary in summer to a generally
heated apartment, as a kitchen, dining, and living-
FIG. 3. First Floor.
room combined. A porch might be placed over the
FIG. 4. Secwid Floor.
iear door, or bettor still, at a small additional expense,
28
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
a summer-kitchen and wood-house might be added.
A house of this accomodation 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.
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.
FIG. 5. Front Elevation.
The second design (Fig. 5,) is for a frame building
giving more variety of outline. The plan (Fig. 7,)
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
29
separates the sitting room from the kitchen and
dining room, and insures more privacy. There is also
FIG. 6. Side Elevation.
a greater abundance of closets, though smaller. One
of the bed rooms above might be divided into two,
t/fWC ROOM
12X15
F IG . 1. First Floor.
and thus increase the accommodation. A portion of
the cellar may also be finished for a kitchen, and the
30
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES
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
Borne attractions, as i t affords a house for immediate
BCD ROOM
IZX15.
TB- 1
BED ROOM
axis.
FIG. 8. Seco-ud Flow.
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 expen-
ded in this manner will always yield gratifying results.
DESIGN No. 3.
This design is similar, in some respects, to design
No. 2, and gives, perhaps, the most compact arrange-
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
31
ment of rooms for a building having so irregular an
outline. Exteriorly considered, there is much to be
FIG. 9. Front Elevation.
admired in variety, and light and shadow, the difler-
FIG. 10. Side Elevation.
cut elevations being entirely unlike each other, and
32 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
affording a constant change from every point of view;
an object, we think, very much to be desired in cot-
tage architecture, and when well managed never fails
to make, a pleasing impression. A high, bold appear-
ance, 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.
FIG. 11. Basement Plan.
In this plan, (Fig. 11,) the kitchen is in the base-
ment, convenient to the cellar, and with a good pantry
attached to it. It is put there for the purpose ol
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,
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 33
indeed, can any addition of other rooms be made to
meet the wants of an increasing family. A dumb wai-
ter connects the kitchen with the dining room, and
thus saves many steps.
FIG. 12<Firft 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 c bed rooms
with closets.
The engravings are intended to tell their own story
as far as possible, and but little explanation is neces-
sary 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 ma-
terials and slight advance in others, disarrange all old
2*
34
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
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
FIG. 13. Second Flow,
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.
DESIGN No. 4.
This is a perspective view of a cottage, designed to
afford a reasonable amount of accomodation for an
average sized family, and which, if tastefully furnish-
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
35
ed, and fitted with suitable landscape surroundings,
will convey a pleasing impression to all; much more
BO than dwellings of a more expensive class, where suf-
ficient attention is not given to such accessories.
The plans of this house are compact, the rooms
FIG. 14. Perspective.
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 pur-
poses is from a filtering cistern, which is connected
with the kitchen sink, by a pump. The entire house
36
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
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.
FIG. 15. Basement 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 construc-
tion of moderate-priced buildings, that shall command
attention from the harmonious combination of fine
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
37
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, mod-
eled after the ill-proportioned Greek pediment style,
FIG. 16. First Floor.
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, conve-
niently 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
38 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
that the growth of this city " Svuyten Duyvehoard"
has reached a point beyond the convenient access ot
the strictly business man, necessarily turn the atten-
tion of those who look to the full measure of comfort,
to a suburban life, ten to fitteen miles away from the
unceasing noise and hurry of the city, where the busi-
ness of the day is forgotten, and fresh air, fresh milk,
butter and eggs, fruits, flowers, birds, &c., are lux-
uries unknown in town. Taking a strictly money
FIG. 17. Second Floor.
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,
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
39
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,
FIG. 18. First Floor Enlarged.
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 active-
ly 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
40 WOODWAKD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
ready for occupancy; the thought is entertained, and
the wish gratified, simply becau6e 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 capital-
ists 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.
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 Boslyn, 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 fami-
lies, as circumstances might require, (one on each
floor,) giving each three rooms, and a joint right to
the scullery, sink, and cellar.
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMEB.
41
42
WOODWAKD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
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 en-
tered, 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.
The chamber floor, second story, is 9 feet in the
clear through the centre, and 6 feet at the sides, (from
FIG. 20. First Floor.
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 com-
pensated by the cottage-like effect it gives to the
rooms, harmonizing the inside with the external ap-
pearance. The two principal chambers are provided
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
43
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, form-
ing a most desirahle 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.
FIG. 21. Chamber Floor.
By reference to the plans, it will be seen that every
room is of good size and form, cheerfully lighted, tho-
roughly ventilated, and of easy access one to another,
at the same time that privacy, so essential, is main-
tained throughout.
Construction. The building is constructed of wood,
vertically sided, and battened, (with 1 inch tongued
and grooved pine plank,) with horizontal strips in
44 WOODWARD'S COUNTKY HOMES.
line of tha window sills and floors, to hide the buts,
and small tiiangular 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 small-
est scale, lodge class,) it will rank as one of the best.
For simplicity, variety of form, symmetry of propor-
tion, 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.
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
DESIGN No. 6.
STONE STABLE AND COACH HOUSE.
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
FIG. 22. Perspective.
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 lime has gone by to give prospec-
tive prices for anything, but we have seen the day
46
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
when this building might have been erected for about
$4,000. A room for the coachman may easily be made
FIG. 23. Ground Plan.
on the second floor, and the plan increased or decreased
to suit the wants of any one.
DESIGN No. 7.
A FARM COTTAGE.
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 pre-
pared 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,
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
47
48 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
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 larg-
est 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.
It has been frequently observed that the gate lodges
FIG. 25 Cellar.
and farm cottages attached to large estates are gen-
erally more attractive in their architectural propor-
tions 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 erec-
tions. 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 al-
ways arrest attention. "Among the first and most
WOODWARD S COUNTRY HOMES.
49
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 wal-
nuts, approachable only by its rustic stairs, or dotted
at neighborly distances along the straggling village,
FIG. 2G. First Floor.
FIG. 27. Second Floor.
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 dis-
tance, was alike the delight and envy of the traveler,
the theme of the journalist and the poet. f There is
scarce a cottage,' says an American tourist just landed
from America and France, ' between Dover and Lon-
don which a poet might not be happy to live in. I
saw a hundred little spots I coveted with quite a
50 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
heart-ache.' Whether or not Kogers 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 pur-
chased 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.
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 horizon-
tal 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
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
51
52
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
which support the roof of the porches, should be cham-
fered, and these timbers should be of sufficient thick-
ness to avoid any appearance of meanness, while at
FIG 29. Cellar.
the same time, they should not be too heavy, and so
destroy the proportions of the design.
The roof should be covered with shingles having
their ends clipped or rounded.
B. BOOM 1
J """ 1
ROOF
n ROOM
10X15
ffi , ., .,
' B.ROOM '
IIXl.G.
M
ar
1 1
FIG. 30. First Floor.
FIG. 31. Second Floor.
The cellar may be divided in such way as to servo
the wants of the occupants. A portable furnace might
oe placed at the foot of the basement stairs, which
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 53
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 west-
ern 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, correct-
ness of detail, force of expression and purity of taste,
with simplicity of execution, and in those parts of the
54
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
country where lumber is abundant, and labor not ex-
orbitant, it can be erected at a low cost.
We have a right to congratulate ourselves on the
improvement which the last quarter of a century has
witnessed among our people in the building and adorn-
ing of our edifices devoted to Christian worship.
Downing, in his time, said, " that the ugliest church
FIG. 32. Perspective.
architecture in Christendom, is at this moment to be
found in the country towns and villages of the United
States." And speaking of the influence of what our
churches should be, in the beauty of their proportions,
and in the expression of the sacred purposes which
they embody, and the feelings of reverence and har-
mony with Grod and man which they suggest, he fitly
says " We fear there are very few country churches
in our land that exert this kind of spell, a* spell
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
55
which grows out of making stone, and brick, and tim-
ber, obey the will of the living soul, and express a re-
ligious sentiment. Most persons, most committees,
select men, vestrymen, and congregations, who have
to do with the building of churches, appear indeed
wholly to ignore the fact, that the form and feature
of a building may be made to express religious, civil,
domestic, or a dozen other feelings, as distinctly as the
form and features of the human face : and yet this
i
NAVE 24X50
FIG. 33. Floor Plan.
is a fact as well known by all true architects, as that
joy and sorrow, pleasure and pain, are capable of ir-
radiating or darkening the countenance. Yes, and we
do not say too much, when we add, that right expres-
sion in a building for religious purposes, has as much
to do with awakening devotional feelings, and beget-
ting an attachment in the heart, as the unmistak-
able signs of virtue and benevolence in our fellow-crea-
tures have in awakening kindred feelings in our own
breasts.
56 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
" We do not, of course, mean to say that a beauti-
ful rural church will make all the population about it
devotional, any more than that sunshine will banish
gloom ; but it is one of the influences that prepare the
way for religious feeling, and which we are as unwise
to neglect, as we should be to abjure the world and
bury ourselves, like the ancient troglodytes, in caves
and caverns."
Happily we are coining to appreciate these truths,
not only in our cities, but in the country, and the
ugly, unsightly, and unseemly structures which have
so long deformed 'the land are giving place to edifices
in which the true ideas of harmony, grace, proportion,
symmetry and expression, which make what we call
Beauty, are brought out in due proportion.
The church we present is designed to be of wood,
the country about the site affording an abundance of
that material, at the lowest cost. An inspection of
the design will show that the principal timbers of the
frame are intended to be visible externally, the wea-
ther-boarding being set back from the face of the posts
and beams. This exterior covering is intended to be
made of sound rough plank, from ten to fourteen inch-
es wide, and at least one and a-half inches thick.
These are to be tongued and grooved, so as to make
a close joint, and nailed to the frame in a vertical
manner. The joint is to be covered with a narrow
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 57
strip, or batten, of one and a-half inch plank. These
unplaned plank may be painted with two good coats
and sanded, or they may be left to take such tints and
complexion as time and the weather may give them.
Lumber, at the proposed site, being cheaper and
more easily obtained than lime, the interior of the
church will be neatly ceiled with narrow boards, which
will be lightly stained and oiled. The roof will be
" open timber" of simple construction. All the wood
work of the interior will be of pine, smoothly planed,
stained and oiled, without painfc, except the ceiling of
the roof which should be colored, in order to give some-
thing like warmth of tone to the interior, the lack of
which is often sadly felt in our country churches, par-
ticularly.
This mode of weather-boarding and " open timber"
finish is now so common that a more particular de-
scription is unnecessary.
This church will seat, comfortably, about two hun-
dred persons. Its cost will depend entirely upon the
price of lumber and labor, of course, and these vary
with different localities, and are particularly uncertain
at this time. We will only add that it will cost no
more to build with correct proportions and in good
taste, than in disregard and defiance of these desirable
and commendable principles.
58 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
DESIGN No. 10.
We give below a somewhat different example of
Cottage Architecture, of a form that is compact and
every way available, at the same time affording every
convenience in the arrangement of rooms desirable for
a family of refined tastes and moderate means. This
cottage may be built of wood, or, better still, in favor-
able localities, of brick or stone, and if suitably sur-
rounded with tasteful landscape embellishments, will
make a snug, pretty, and attractive home. One can,
by the exercise of appropriate taste, produce the right
kind of an impression in a house of this character.
It should become a part of, and belong to the acres
which surround it; it should be an indispensable
accessory to the place itself, and the grounds should
be laid out and embellished in such a manner that
the whole combination impresses all with harmonious
beauty, and not, as is too frequently the case, seek to
make up the wretched deficiencies in the grounds by
elaborate expenditure and display about the house.
A true appreciation of country life will not tolerate
slovenly, ill-kept grounds, and no house exhibits its
true value unless there is a harmony in its surround-
ings. If this be attended to, a high degree of effect
can be produced in houses of very moderate cost;
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
59
60
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES
houses that shall be roomy, warm, substantial, and
in every way agreeable to their occupants.
The plans show the arrangement of rooms, and
these can be made larger or smaller, or be differently
disposed, to suit almost any fancy. In this design
the kitchen apartments are below stairs; in future
FIG. 35. Basement Plan.
plans we shall give some with kitchen, laundry, etc.,
on the principal floor: or they can be readily added
to this plan. The cost of a house is the one thing
desirable; every one asks for it, and yet every one
within our knowledge who has built a house himself
at a stated price has been sadly deceived. Close
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
61
specifications are very dry reading, and not appropri-
ate here, and it is questionable how much service they
would be to any but professional builders. It is
reasonable to suppose, that if one without building
experience undertakes it. he will have to pay some-
thing additional for the knowledge he will gain. If
DININC ROOM
(5X17
PARLOR
13X17
I
r LIBRARY
axeje-
s
FIG. 36. First Floor.
he places it to the proper account, then we can not be
accused of misleading him.
Most men contemplate, at some period of life, the
construction of a dwelling-house, but few deem it
necessary to study their wants or prepare their plans
until they have selected their site and made all other
62 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
arrangements for building, and then proceed with all
possible haste to plan a home. That which should
have been the study of months or years, is hurried
through in as many days, imperfectly done at the best,
and the cause of frequent annoying and expensive
changes after the work has commenced. It is true,
FIG. 37. Second Floor.
that the site has very much to do with the distribu-
tion of rooms, but any ingenious architect can readily
adapt a .proper combination of rooms to suit the ex-
posures and views of a particular site. It would be
vastly better for those who prefer to arrange their own
plan of rooms, (and there are but very few who do
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 63
not,) that they take abundant time to consider well
every thing relating to them; and although the hope
of building may be very remote, it should not be con-
sidered time lost to begin to give one's thoughts a
definite form of what he thinks a house should be;
for if nothing else results, it may furnish a valuable
hint for a friend, and will certainly enlarge one's
information and experience in these matters. Almost
every one is capable, with such hints as have been
freely given in the volumes of the HORTICULTURIST,
in the leading papers which treat on rural art, and
the numerous valuable publications on rural archi-
tecture, to make such a combination of rooms as will
best suit his peculicir wants, tastes, or fancies, and
then, with the aid of an architect, it can readily be
freed from mechanical impracticabilities, and put into
a proportionate and harmonious form. Architecture,
both in design and construction, is a profession that
requires long years of study and practice to develop
an expert, and those who really want a good thing at
the least cost, usually seek such assistance; those
who prefer to do their own designing and building,
find out with absolute certainty the most expensive
modes of erecting very ugly and ill-proportioned
structures.
64
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
DESIGN No. 11.
A SUBURBAN SUMMER HOUSE.
FIG. 38.
In the adornment of ornamental grounds, some con-
siderable attention has been given to summer houses,
and similar structures ; but these have been mainly
rustic in their design and finish, and in this respect
well adapted to their purpose and surroundings. The
good taste of these structures will not be called in
question. There are locations, however, in the more
immediate vicinity of our large cities, where a style
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 65
less rustic would seem to be more in harmony with
the architecture which is found to prevail. Wo refer
to residences on the outskirts of our large cities, with
inclosures containing a few city lots. Here the archi-
tecture, so far from being rural, is, on the contrary,
stiff, sharp, and sometimes very ornate. A rustic
summer house in such a place would be an incongruity.
A rustic house is in itself a beautiful object ; but there
is a certain charm in association which can not be
widely departed from without doing violence to our
conceptions of the fitness of things ; and hence a pure-
ly rustic house without rural surroundings is destitute
of the chief elements which give rise to the beautiful.
Most persons would say it was out of place.
The design herewith presented was prepared to
meet the requirements of such a case ; it is conse-
quently somewhat elaborate. It is located on a small
plot of ground within the city limits, and in full view
from three streets. The grounds are laid out with a few
rectangular walks, and such shrubs as the small size
of the -place would admit of. The house, we -think
corresponds with its surroundings. Its faults, if an}',
are a little too much ornament, but something of this
kind seemed to be required in the absence of that
more beauliful ornamentation produced by the dra-
pery of Nature. The house is so located that it re-
ceives the morning sun for a few hours, but during the
66 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
rest of the day is in the shade ; it therefore constitutes
a pleasant place of retreat for the family at all hours,
and is used by the children freely as a play house.
The floor is laid in narrow stuff, and is elevated a foot
above the ground for the sake of dryness. Easy seats,
a handsome centre table, and a hanging lamp complete
the interior. Venetian blinds afford ample protection
on a misty day or a chilly night, or admit the soft sum-
mer breeze on a hot and sultry eve. Horticulturist.
DESIGN No. 12.
STABLE AND CARRIAGE HOUSE.
This stable affords abundant accommodation for
three horses, with carriage house, feed room, and a
large harness room on the first floor, while the loft
above may contain a coachman's room, and leave am-
ple space for hay and straw.
If required, a shed and cow house can be extended
on the side opposite the carriage house, thus adding
considerably to the effect of the external appearance.
Under the stable there should be a cellar for the stor-
age of roots for feed, and, if desirable, the winter
stock of vegetables for household use. This stable
may be built of wood, or of stone or brick.
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 67
FIG. 39. Stable.
STABLE
16' X 16.
CARRIAGE.
I4.X 26.
I 6X8 I
6X8' | FEED
FIG. 40. Stable Plan.
68 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
DESIGN No. 13.
This design is intended to cover, at a low cost, as
much comfort and convenience as a moderate-sized
family would require, and to distribute the same as
much as possible on one floor.
The cellar or basement kitchen is dispensed with
and only enough cellar room provided to meet the
wants of those who occupy suburban places of a few
acres in extent. Where large quantities of vegetables
are stored, or where cellar room is required for farm
purposes, we think it better to build cellars separate
from the residence, (an arrangement much more
healthful, as well as convenient and desirable.) JFor
the preservation in warm weather of meats, milk, and
other perishable articles, a refrigerator, or, better still,
an ice closet, can be set up at one end of the laundry.
This can be supplied with ice through an outside door,
and is infinitely better and more convenient than any
cellar or spring house.
The kitchen is without a fire-place, but is provided
with a ventilator in the chimney near the ceiling. The
cooking may be done by a stove, which, if properly
contrived, is one of the most effective ventilators, and
preferred by many housekeepers for all kitchen pur-
poses. Or a range can be placed in the chimney, if
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
69
70
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
desirable, or a fire-place, if it should be considered in-
dispensable.
A door under the stair- way separates the front and
rear halls, and disconnects the kitchen apartments
from the rest of the house. All the doors opening into
the rear hall should be hung with the new spiral spring
butt, the best door spring that has come under our
FIG. 42. Plan.
notice. It is entirely concealed, and works without a
fault.
The closets in the dining room are finished to give
an interior appearance of a bay window. The dining
room and the two chambers above, are intended to be
heated by a fire-place heater set in the chimney, thus
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
71
warming three rooms, at pleasure, with one fire. A
small stove in the library will keep that comfortable.
Or, in place of all this, the whole house may be heated
by any of the approved modes, in the use of hot air,
hot water, or steam.
The library, parlor, or general living room in a
FIG. 43. First Floor.
country house and. we like these rooms in one
should have the cheerful, healthful luxury of an open
fire-place, and we know of no more elegant, cleanly
and effective contrivance for this purpose than Dixon's
low down, Philadelphia Grate, in which wood, coal,
or any other fuel can be used equally well. The ad-
72
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
vantages combined in this grate are these : the fire
flat on the hearth, and radiating the heat from an oval
ca'st iron backing : cold air supplied from below, and
ashes, dirt, &c., shaken down into an ash-pit in the
cellar, beneath the grate. We speak confidently of
this invention, after a trial of two winters, and do not
FIG. 44. Second Floor.
hesitate to say that, compared with this, the ordinary
grate is worthless. Large rooms can be kept per-
fectly comfortable in the coldest weather, without
heat from any other source.
This house is supplied with a cistern, constructed
with the utmost care, ten feet in diameter, and ten
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 73
feet deep, holding 6,000 gallons of water. The roof
is of slate, and the rain-water is therefore of great
purity, free from color, and the woody taste usually
imparted to it by falling on a shingle roof.
At the laundry sink is one of West's lift and force
pumps, which draws the water from the cistern. This
pump is a simple and effective affair, and works with
remarkable ease, is always in order, and may be con-
sidered one of the best pumps known. We have given
it a thorough trial, and speak from personal knowl-
edge.
On one side of the laundry sink there is also, one of
Kedzie's large size rain-water filters, which holds
several pails full of water, and which we commend as
an admirable contrivance for the purposes intended.
It possesses every merit claimed for it, and after more
than a year's use, the water drawn from it is of such
crystal purity and sweetness as to attract the atten-
tion of all to whom it is offered.
No well has been dug or contemplated on the pre-
mises connected with this cottage. About one-half
the cost of a well has been expended upon a slate roof,
a large and carefully-constructed cistern, West's pump
and Kedzie's filter the other half has been safely in-
vested in U. S. 7-30's, and instead of hoisting water
fifty feet, for household, garden, and stable uses, the
tin 11 of a croton water tap is not more easy and con-
4
74 WOODWAKD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
venient, and the finest flow of a silver spring of soft
water, is not more beautiful than that delivered by
West's pump and Kedzie's filter, which supplies for
all purposes of the cottage, stable, and garden, water
unsurpassed in its pleasant and wholesome properties.
Those who seek the most convenient and reliable
modes of procuring the purest and sweetest water,
will find this to be the least costly and the most satis-
factory.
For a compact, convenient cottage, with every fa-
cility for doing the work of the household, with the
least number of steps in which all the essential
modern conveniences are introduced, without the
modern prices attached for a low-priced, elegant cot-
tage, we do not know of any plan more appropriate
than this.
In the construction of this house a bay-window was
introduced in front, in the parlor, (Fig. 43.) and the
veranda was made half octagon. These alterations
add much to exterior appearance, as well as to the
capacity of the parlor. On the side of the parlor and
dining room an addition is contemplated, which will
relieve the apparent want of variety which now exists,
and essentially improve the external appearance.
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
75
DESIGN No. 14.
FIG. 45. Cottage Stabk.
II'6'X24
CARRIAGE ROOM
16 X 20
FIG. 46. Plan.
76 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
Fig. 45 shows a design for a cottage stable, giving
accommodations for a horse and cow, two carriages,
one or two wagons, and two tons of hay. The main
building is so proportioned, that three more stalls
may be added, and it may then become the wing of a
larger building, to be used for carriage room and other
purposes. For those who keep but one horse and cow,
this design affords abundant room.
DESIGN No. 15.
ICE HOUSE.
It is only within a few years that ice, in all seasons,
has been classed among the necessaries of life. In
large cities it is indispensable, but the cool spring-
house or cellar in the country impresses many with
the idea that ice, in summer months, can only be re-
garded as a luxury. Along with other conveniences
in keeping with this progressive age, the ice-house
has its place, and a country-seat of any pretensions is
not complete without it.
It is simple in construction, and can be built very
cheaply of rough materials, or made as elaborate as is
desirable. It forms a pretty feature about the grounds,
if treated with some architectural taste.
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 77
FIG. 47. Ice Home.
FIG. 48. Ground Plan.
78
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 79
DESIGN No. 16.
This design, with th.e accompanying plans suffi-
ciently explain themselves without minute description.
The arrangement, as will be seen upon examination,
secures a very large amount of accommodation, with
good sized rooms, and ample store and closet conveni-
ences. The building is compact, and at the same
time presents a pleasing variety in its exterior appear-
ance. By carrying up the library, two dressing rooms,
for the two principal chambers, may be secured.
When one contemplates building, and has put his
thoughts and wishes into a tangible form, the leading
question asked is, how much will all this cost? for
what price in dollars and cents, without extras or ad-
ditional charges of any kind, can this dwelling be
erected in a good and workmanlike manner, in ac-
cordance with plans and specifications, and satisfac-
tory to the owner? This is precisely the plain English
of what a business man wants to know; for we hold
that it is right and proper, that every one should look
right through all the connected links and complications
that require a considerable expenditure of money, and
see that he lands carefully in the place anticipated.
To start with the intention of disbursing $5,000, and
wind up with an expenditure of $ 12,000, is not only
80 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
annoying in a money point of view, but an impeach-
ment of one's judgment and good sense, not pleasant
to hear outsiders reflect on; for however much one
might wish to shift the responsibility on others, it is
one of those things that time will always place where
it belongs. As long as men consider the arts of design-
ing and constructing buildings to be of no special
importance, or that they are qualified, without in-
struction or experience, to practice them, expensive
blunders will naturally result, and sooner or later it
will be discovered that such wisdom is dearly bought.
There are many, however, who prefer to manage their
building affairs thus, and who can only learn more
agreeable and less expensive modes by actual expe-
rience; some do it from ignorance, some from supposed
economy, and others from the supposition that they
are best qualified.
The design for a house or other building, and a
plan of the interior arrangement of each floor, prepar-
ed by a professional man who makes such things the
business of his life, is now very generally admitted
by intelligent men to be essential; but the manage-
ment or superintendence of the work by the party who
has studied and designed it, does not seem quite so
apparent. An architect prepares the drawings for a
dwelling to cost $5,000; now whether it actually will
cost $5,000, $8,000 or $10,000, in the hands of an-
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
81
other superintendent, is an unanswered problem. A
prevailing folly which we find very general, is to sup-
pose that all men can build the same house, in all
places, for precisely the same amount of money; and
but few are willing to admit that they, of all others,
are not the most competent to carry through the whole
business of building at the lowest figure. Some must
STORE
ROOM I ENTRV " COAL
FIG. 50. Basement Plan.
find out in the most expensive manner, that the pro-
fession of an architect, or the skill of a builder, can
only be attained by long years of careful application.
What a house will cost to build is a question
always asked with the utmost simplicity, and a prompt
and reliable answer always expected, and if not forth-
coming at once, gives rise to a suspicion that one's
professional ability is not of the most thorough char-
4*
82
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES
acter. There are so many conditions to govern results
in house building, that even an approximate estimate
may fall very wide of the mark. Two houses may be
built from the same plan, and we may also say, from
the same specifications; one by day's work, and the
other by contract, and they shall be so exactly alike
in all respects when finished, that an unprofessional
FIG. 51. F irst Floor.
observer would detect no difference, and yet one may
honestly cost just double the amount in money ex-
pended on the other; even the same builder may build
two houses precisely alike in all respects, and yet the
cost be quite unequal. On one site stone may be
easily obtained, a sand bank on the premises, a run-
ning brook close at hand, saw mills, brick yards, and
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
83
liine kilns within moderate distances and accessible
by good roads. The other site may be quite the re-
verse in situation, or have some decided disadvantages
in obtaining some very necessary materials. We once
built a fine stone house where stone was abundant and
close at hand, but all the lumber and brick had to be
hauled thirteen miles over hilly roads; the cost of
CHAMBER
19X17
CHAMBER
15X15
BATH.R
81X10
CHAMBER HALL
ex 10
FIG. 52. Second Floor.
that house has nothing to do with the cost of a similar
house in a different locality.
A competent business superintendent has a great
deal to do with the cost of a house; one that under-
stand all the tricks of every building trade, that knows
the market well, and the value and quality of all
building materials, and where inferior workmanship
84 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
and materials can be used to an equal advantage with
those of first class. To slight work and yet do it
justice; to give it all the strength and endurance ne-
cessary, requires one of skillful acquirements. A
mechanic may persuade a proprietor into many a long
day's work, as it pays well to nurse good jobs when
other work is slack, but an architect who understands
such things would save the value of useless work.
The cost of a house depends on a well-studied plan;
this plan does not consist alone in the arrangement of
rooms, windows, doors, etc., but involves a careful
study of the anatomy of construction. One may save
by a proper distribution of timbers, as well as make a
very great saving by the arrangement of rooms. Good
management is of the greatest importance, not only
as a matter of economy, but as securing the best class
of workmanship, and the most judicious use of ma-
terials. Good or bad management produces the same
results in building operations as in war or any other
pursuit.
One takes up a capital work on rural architecture,
written perhaps ten or fifteen years ago, before the
general introduction of furnaces, steam pipes, gas,
baths, marble basins, etc.; they find a house that suits
them, which the book says will cost $6,000, and that
is just the amount, by close figuring, that can be
raised for building. The house is ordered, put in the
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 85
hands of the best mechanic to finish all complete, and
he oes ahead; he is unrestricted except by the book,
and the author of it is a man of reputation. In the
u ay of details perhaps nothing has been said; they
are therefore extravagant in the use of materials, and
elaborate in workmanship; as it is not considered good
policy for a workman who has a good order, to make
suggestions calculated to decrease the amount of work.
When the bills to the amount of $6,000 have been
settled, the house is found to be half finished, and an
additional $6,000 is necessary to complete it; less
that one year's interest of which would have amply
sufficed to secure the services of one who has spent the
best years of his life to learn how to design and to
manage work to cost a specified price.
When an architect says a house can be built for a
certain price, it is to be understood that materials
delivered on the ground shall not exceed an average
cost, that the payments made are to be in cash, and
that he manages the work. To hold an architect res-
ponsible or blame him for blunders in the cost of
work that he designed and did not superintend, is
manifestly unjust, yet it is a frequent occurrence.
The cost of work is a question easily answered, when
one is fully acquainted with all its bearings and has
it under his control, but no one can say at what price
a novice in building operations can execute it.
86
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
DESIGN No. 17.
FIG. 53.- Stable.
Fig. 53 is a design for a cottage stable, with stalls
for two horses, and the necessary carriage room and
J
CARRIAGE ROOM
STALL
STALL
1
HARNESS
FEED
1- 1
FIG. 54. Stable Plan. (Reversed.)
other conveniences. This design, in its exterior, pre-
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 87
sents as great a degree of variety in the combinations
of form and shadow as the price will admit of. It
answers the purposes of comfortable protection and
convenience, as well or even better than the most
costly structures. A horse needs a dry, well- venti-
lated apartment, and enjoys fresh air, daylight, and
sunlight as well as human beings. Unless these very
inexpensive wants are provided, no compensation is
afforded by elaborate detail and workmanship.
DESIGN No. 18.
SCHOOL HOUSE AT TRVINGTON, ON THE HUDSON.
Our architectural series would be by no means com-
plete if devoted entirely to dwellings ; and as the re-
sources of an extensive professional practice in the
arts which embellish and beautify our country may
be largely made use of, we present here a design for
another class of buildings.
A school-house is not a building which every one
contemplates erecting, and yet a large proportion are,
or ought to be, interested in developing in structures of
this class such architectural principles as shall make
their impressions in early life, and influence future
tastes.
88
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 89
This building is designed to accommodate about fifty
scholars, being 25 by 40 feet, with a front projection
10 by 18 feet. In the basement a large furnace and
abundant accommodation for coal. The main floor is
divided into school-room, two recitation rooms, hat
and coat room, wash closet with sink, and water
closet, above which is a large tank, supplied from the
roof. An outside cistern supplies cool drinking-wa-
ter, the purest and healthiest water known, and ren-
ders the use of ice unnecessary in summer. The
height of all these ceilings is nearly fourteen feet, and
each room is thoroughly ventilated ; the belfry is pro-
vided with a one hundred pound bell ; indeed, nothing
has been left undone that is calculated to promote the
health and comfort of the pupils.
The partition between the doors to the recitation
rooms is made in sections, and can be easily removed,
thus making one large room for exhibition and lecture
purposes. The stage, in this case is to be placed at
the left end of the room. The capacity of the build-
ing can be nearly doubled by occupying the entire floor
as a school-room, and building an addition 12 by 24
feet directly in the rear, opposite to the front pro-
jection, for recitation rooms.
The situation of this building at Irvington, on the
Hudson, some twenty-five miles above the city ol
New York, is in a charming, healthy, and delightful
90 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
locality ; one made famous by the pen and residence
of Washington Irving, and noted for its magnificent
scenery, its views of river and mountain, and the fine
taste displayed in landscape and architectural embel-
lishments by those who have made their homes in
this vicinity.
We have always thought that those educational in-
stitutions possess the most attractions that are so
situated that all surroundings shall have a favorable
influence ; and there is nothing like example in early
training. Bring up and educate a boy among thos
who know nothing of the refinements of life, away
from the progressive examples of art and taste, in a
tumble-down, unplastered, ill-heated and ventilated
apartment, and he never can become, with all the aid
of books and teachers, as thoroughly cultivated and
fitted for the duties of life, as one who has enjoyed
associations of a higher order. School architecture
has a meaning in it ; there is value in proportion, har-
mony, beauty, light and shade, as applied to school
buildings, that is not comprehended by all. A recent
writer says better than we can say it, that "It is the
duty of teachers, as well as parents and school com-
mittees, to see that the circumstances under which
children study are such as shall leave a happy impres-
sion upon their minds ; for whatever is brought under
the frequent observation of the young must have its
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
91
influence upon their susceptible natures for good or
evil. Shabby school-houses induce slovenly habits.
Ill-constructed benches may not only distort the body,
but, by reflex influence, the mind as well. Conditions
like these seldom fail to disgust the learner with his
school, and neutralize the best efforts of his teachers.
FIG. 56. Principal Floor.
On the other hand, neat, comfortable places for study
may help to awaken the associations enchaining the
mind and the heart to learning and virtuous instruc-
tion with links of gold brightening forever."
92
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 93
DESIGN No. 19.
This design was prepared for erection in the vicinity
of Goshen, Orange Co., N. Y., and the accommodation
limited to a price not exceeding . It presents
in hall, verandas, and large parlor, some of the very
necessary attractions of a country house, and is a good
example of what can be done for a limited sum.
While the plan is a parallelogram, and the roof free
from hips and valleys, the general arrangement is such
as to show considerable variety in outline, and one,
we think, that will have a pleasing effect.
Such houses, erected in the vicinity of New York,
and many of our large cities, would add a large value
to the ground they stand on, and pay a handsome rate
of interest on their cost ; better than any other class
of building investments, as the supply is in nowise
equal to the demand. It is so simple a matter, with
present prompt and rapid railroad facilities, to invite
a fair proportion of the young business men of our
large cities to make their homes in the adjoining
country, that we wonder capitalists and real estate
owners do not more frequently make money for them-
selves and others by erecting tasteful, low-priced sub-
urban homes.
94
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
In former times, a house of this class erected in the
country, would be painted exteriorly a pure white, with
no relief, except probably in the violent contrast of
bright green Venetian blinds to the windows. This
sort of taste unfortunately still remains, although in
the progress of rural taste and art, the country is
much improved in this respect.
FIG. 58. CcUar.
There is a variety of colors, known as neutral tints,
which are suitable for exteriors, and the effect pro-
duced by them is altogether pleasing, while a house
painted white can never be an agreeable object in any
landscape, however admirable its architectural propor-
tions and finish may be.
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
95
The tone of color for a house will depend upon its
size, form, and situation, and it often requires a nice
and cultivated eye to determine what would be most
appropriate and effective.
For such a house as this, we should choose a light
fawn color not yellow and paint the cornice, win-
dow-frames and other projecting and ornamental parts
FIG. 59. First Floor.
two or three shades darker than the body of the build-
ing. This will give a depth of shadow and expression
which cannot be obtained in any other way.
Large houses, with massive features of construction,
will bear to be painted with darker colors, but they
should not be too sombre, so as to give a gloomy ap-
pearance to the house. The country, with its bright
96
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
sunshine, its rich adornments of flowers, and its num-
berless forms of beauty and grace, is eminently cheer-
ful. It often happens that the painter does all he can
FIG. 60. Second Floor.
to mar this cheerfulness and beauty, by startling con-
trasts of colors, and by destroying the harmony which
pervades the landscape.
DESIGN No. 20.
A COUNTRY CHAPEL.
We present in this design a plan for a substantial
and permanent chapel, having capacity for seating
about four hundred. For the purpose for which it
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
97
98
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
was designed, no distinct chancel was required. Such
a chancel could be arranged, if desired, in a recess
taken off the lecture or class room in the rear of the
chapel. It could be lighted at the roof, or on the
sides.
This chapel, built of stone throughout, with an
open timber roof and stained glass windows, would be
FIG. 62. Grownd Plan.
an ornament to any country locality, and a credit to
the taste and liberality of those who built it.
Every thing about such a chapel should be real,
and no suspicion of sham or unreality should be tol-
erated in any part of the work. The practice of build-
ing the fronts of churches of stone, while the side and
rear walls are constructed of rough brick, painted and
marked off to resemble the stone, is very common, we
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 99
know, both in town and country, but it is a species
of deceit and false pretence which ought not to be.
If the best and costliest material cannot be used for
the entire structure, let the rougher and inferior ma-
terial be fairly shown, in every part. If the means
and liberality of the parish cannot provide oak or wal-
nut for the interior finish, let the wood work be
plainly painted, or what is better still, simply oiled,
but there should be no cunning deception of graining,
to represent the costlier wood. It is not honest, and,
we take it, a church, built for religious worship, is
the last place that should betray our human meanness
and want of honesty.
DESIGN No. 21.
We show in this design what can be done with a
substantial old farm house; how easily and beautiful-
ly it can be changed into a suburban home of elegant
exterior, and comfortable and convenient interior ap-
pointments.
This class of spacious and substantial farm houses,
with the gambrel, curb, or Mansard roof, as shown in
Fig 63, is very numerous about the suburbs of New
100
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
101
102
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
York City, and more particularly in the " neighboring
province of New Jersey," where one finds them nest-
led in the valleys or by the road side, as best fitting to
the taste of our early Dutch settlers, who prized se-
clusion and protection above bleak exposure and far-
reaching views.
As a general thing, the better class of New Jersey
farm houses of this type were built of squared and
hammered red sand-stone, laid up in regular courses,
FIG. 65.
and in many instances the character of the work dif-
fered on all sides, the front being the most finely
finished. And in many of the most pretentious of
these houses, brick was substituted for the front, as
being less common.
There is, perhaps, nothing more difficult in an ar-
chitect's experience than to make a fine thing out of
a subject so destitute of beauty of form or proportion,
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 103
and yet preserve the substantial walls and other be-
longings, that have stood for half a century, and are
now stronger, and promise a durability that exceeds
those of other houses built in this progressive age;
and yet here is a "presto change" that will almost
defy the keen eyes of the old settlers to recognize any
trace of the ancient landmark that for fifty years has
overlooked the beautiful valley of the Tenakill.
There are very many of these old houses that are
equally well adapted to wear a modern face, though but
FIG. 66.
few purchasers can look through all such changes with
the eye of a professional expert, and select that to
which, at a low price, a certain beauty can be added,
which, when done, shall indicate the wisdom of their
choice. First impressions many times are sadly
against all hopes of success.
" "With weather-stains upon the wall,
And stairways worn, and crazy doors,
And creaking and uneven floors,
And chimneys huge, and tiled and tall."
But these difficulties are the least troublesome to
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
adjust, if the walls are good, and ceilings of a fair
modern height. It may then be a better choice to
adapt such a house to the present cultivated tastes
and requirements, than to build anew from the foun-
dation.
In the plans, the dotted lines show the centers of
the old partitions. Six feet have been added to the
length of the wing, thus improving the kitchen ac-
commodations.
This house is situated some fifteen miles from the
great commercial metropolis, on one of the new lines
of Kailroad, and in a locality of easy access to New
York business men.
DESIGN No. 22.
This stable may be constructed either of wood, or
of stone. It contains stalls for four horses, and affords
space for their accomodation, together with a harness
room and a tool closet. This latter is a convenience
very essential to the comfort of the owner, as well as
to the proper care and preservation of such imple-
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 105
FIG. 67 Stable.
TOOL C,
9'6'XIO
COACH R.
27X30.
FIG. 68. Plan.
5*
J06 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES
ments as belong especially to the carriage house and
stable.
This building should be surrounded and screened
with fruit trees and shrubbery, and then, with its evi-
dent architectural effects, it will become an attractive
feature in the landscape of which it becomes a part,
with the other accessories of the elegant country home.
DESIGN No. 23.
FENCES.
In spite of all laws to the contrary, cattle will in-
trude upon one's property, and each and all must at
great expense build and maintain fences for their own
protection. There has not as yet been devised any
practicable mode by which the enormous sums annual-
ly spent in fencing might be saved. The theory ad-
vanced, that it is cheaper for each to fence his cattle
in, than to fence his neighbor's out, has not as yet
been practically illustrated, if we except a few subur-
ban localities.
Fig. 69 represents a substantial fence, with a pan-
eled base, of simple construction, and yet quite effective
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
107
108 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
in appearance. In Fig. 70 the work is somewhat
more elaborate, while the base is of stone, or brick.
Each engraving shows two panels, with a gate in the
centre.
With chestnut or cedar posts, the pickets cut from
1^ inch plank, and the whole kept painted, such a
fence would last many years.
DESIGN No. 24.
RESIDENCE OF CHARLES F. PARK, ESQ.
This residence of which we show only the floor
plans, occupies a commanding position on the northern
end of the Palisades, on the western side oi the Hud-
son, some twenty miles above the city of New York,
the river, mountain, and inland views from which are
exceedingly fine, embracing the villages of Dobbs'
Ferry, Irvington, Tarrytown, Sing Sing, Piermont,
Nyack, and Tappan, as well as Tappan Zee and
Haverstraw Bay, the distant Highlands of the Hud-
son, and the beautiful valleys of the Sparkill and the
Hackensack, a section of country rich in historic asso-
ciations, and highly appreciated by those who seek
suburban homes.
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
109
This house was designed principally tor a summer
residence, being nearly fifty feet square, with wide
halls and spacious verandah, and commodious and
well ventilated sleeping apartments, the plans show-
ing the arrangement of rooms. The style of archi-
FIG. 71. First Floor.
tecture selected is that generally known as the Kural
Gothic, which, perhaps, is the most useful and most
beautiful of any that are adapfed to the requirements
of our climate. The almost square form of the plan
is one of the most difficult to treat successfully in this
style, yet has been carried out in the most satisfactory
manner. This style admits of an almost never-end-
110
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
B.ROOM
16X216
B.HOOM b B.ROOM
I76XI3'S'
HALL
irexis.
n
B.ROOM
14X17
B.ROOM
15X17
FIG. 72. Second Floor.
J
B.ROOM
16X16
HALL
16X106
B.ROOM
16X1.4
B.ROOM
17X15
FIG. n. Third floor.
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. Ill
ing variety of form and proportion, and in effects of
light and shadow at all hours of day is unequaled.
Its comparative expense but little exceeds the hipped
and Mansard roofs.
The building is constructed in the most thorough
and workman-like manner, and is as well adapted for
a winter residence as for summer. The frame is built
in the balloon style, (the strongest known form of
framing,) with deep studding filled in with brick,
having double air chambers, is thoroughly finished
throughout, is covered with a slate roof, and fulfills
all the requirements of a substantial and commodious
country residence.
DESIGN No. 25.
CARRIAGE HOUSE AND STABLE.
The accompanying design for a carriage house and
stable affords about the same amount of accommoda-
tion as Design 22. The arrangement, however, is some-
what different, and the exterior quite unlike it. In
this plan the portion appropriated to the stalls is
more ample, and the means for ventilation abundant.
112
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
FIG. 74.S'able.
CARRIAGE ROOM
17X24
FIG. 75. Stable Plan.
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 113
DESIGN No. 26.
RESIDENCE OF THOS. H. STOUT, ESQ.,
IRVINGTON, ON THE HUDSON.
Irvington is a noted locality for the higher grades
of country homes, there being many fine examples of
substantial, roomy, and elegantly appointed mansions.
Far within the gradually extending circle which
limits the daily intercourse of the business man to
the city of New York, it has become, in virtue of its
position, healthfulness, fine scenery, and ease of
access, one of the most favored of the suburbs of this
city; a city whose rapid increase of population and
corresponding decreasing comforts in conveyance from
one portion to another, is turning the attention of
those who like ease of transit, and the quiet and
health of the country, to a residence among its beau-
tiful and attractive suburbs. What the last ten years
have accomplished in introducing rapid and reliable
communication, and building up and improving the
country about New York, will probably be repeated
several times over in the next decade. An impetus
has been given to rural life, that will increase with
every facility that is offered, and it will not be many
years before the suburbs of New York will compare
with any city in the world; and we question, even
now, if elsewhere can be found a suburban locality
114 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 115
comparable with the east bank of the Hudson, from
New York to the Highlands.
The accompanying engravings illustrate a country
house that embraces many of the best features of
exterior variety, and interior compactness and conve-
nience. The workmanship and materials throughout
have been of the best description, and no pains have
been spared to make it first class in every respect.
Situated on the slope of the eastern bank of the
Hudson, it overlooks the broad expanse of " Tappan
Zee," and commands the views peculiar to this
locality, that reach from the Highlands to the ocean.
To build well, and to do so at a low price, is always
desirable ; and to build artistically, imposingly, at-
tractively, does not imply elaborate finish or profuse
ornament. Sand paper and decoration will never
make an ill-proportioned building attractive to an
educated taste, while a rough exterior of harmonious
lines and forms will pass current with those who have
an eye to the artistic.
One of the most important lessons that the art
student learns is that of effect; that effects can not
be produced by smoothly finished surfaces or details;
and that in architecture, as well as in sculpture or
painting, there must be a strong bold manner of ex-
ecution, when there is a desire to convey an impres-
sion of strength or power.
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
Where stone is conveniently obtained as a building
material, its use in rural architecture deserves far
more consideration than is usually bestowed on it;
and in its unchiselled, quarried form it becomes desir-
able in an economical point of view. There is an
imposing grandeur in the unhewn stone that asserts
its presence in both near and distant views, and, with
the proper combinations of proportion, and light and
shade, will illustrate the finest architectural effects.
Prevailing prejudices are too apt to consider it not
only cheap, but inferior in protection and durability
to finely wrought surfaces and smooth, close-fitting
joints. We are too apt to estimate the value and
beauty of a stone house by the amount of labor
lavished on its exterior, as if the chisel possessed the
power to make the joints more impenetrable, and
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
117
bestowed an endurance commensurate with the story
of expense that it tells. So long as we build well and
honestly, with a proper regard to protection from the
weather, in a substantial and workmanlike manner,
good taste and sound sense will uphold the use of
quarried rock, and discover a permanent strength and
power in this Cyclopean masonry that elaborately
FIG. 78. First Flow.
finished surfaces and delicately wrought ornaments
fail to express.
Dressed in squared blocks and hammered lines,
stone becomes an expensive building material, and
preference is then given to something else less costly ;
but if used in its quarried form, irregular in size and
shape, it becomes, wherever conveniently obtained,
among the economical materials used for building,
and is unsurpassed for its impressiveness and dura-
bility. No paint is required to preserve it from the
118
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
weather, and no color is so good as the color of the
stone; time softens its tints, and the clambering vine
that lays hold of the massive walls is a decoration
beyond the resources of architecture.
"If a building," says Mr. Buskin, "be under the
mark of average magnitude, it is not in our power to
increase its apparent size by any proportionate dimi-
nution in the scale of its masonry; but it may be
FIG. 79 Second Floor.
often in our power to give it a certain nobility by
building it of massy stones, or, at all events, intro-
ducing such into its make. Thus it is impossible
that there should ever be majesty in a cottage built of
brick; but there is a marked element of sublimity in
the rude and irregular piling of the rocky walls of the
mountain cottages of Wales, Cumberland, and Scot-
land.
"And if the nobility of this confessed and natural
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 119
masonry were more commonly felt, we should not lose
the dignity of it by smoothing surfaces and fitting
joints. The sums which we waste in chiselling and
polishing stones, which would have been better left as
they came from the quarry, would often raise a build-
ing a story higher.
" There is also a magnificence in the natural cleav-
age of the stone to which the art must indeed be great,
that pretends to be equivalent; and a stern expression
of brotherhood with the mountain heart from which
it has been rent, ill-exchanged for a glistering obedi-
ence to the rule and measure of men. His eye must
be delicate indeed who would desire to see the Pitti
Palace polished."
DESIGN No. 27.
A CHAPTER ON GATES.
We present in the following designs, several illus-
trations of the principle of the truss applied to
wooden gates. It was described by us, several years
ago in the Country Gentleman.
Since then, in our professional rambles, we have
accidentally noticed some thirty gates erected after
120 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
!_,
o
oo
a
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
121
129.
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
7
1
g
K
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
123
124
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
these designs in different sections of the country, and,
for aught we know to the contrary, it is one of the
most popular gates that swing. The principle of this
gate is best shown in figure 80, and consists of four
FIG. 84.
FIG. 85.
panels of braces crossing each other, and held firmly
in position by five iron rods, which can be tightened
by the screws at the bottom. The braces are not
tenoned, and there are no nails about the gate. There
FIG. 86.
can be no sagging under any circumstances ; but
should such a thing occur from unequal shrinkage, it
can easily be remedied by placing a thin strip of wood
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
125
or sheet lead under the foot of the braces running
forward. There is economy in the construction of
these gates, as they can be made with a less number of
O / J
FIG. 87.
joints, and greater strength and stiffness secured with
lighter materials, than in any other style of gate we
know of. The principle is the one used in railroad
H tr
FIG. 88.
bridges and roofs of great span, and our own experi-
ence with them, having built and tested all the gates
126
WOODWABD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
here illustrated, is, that they possess very decided
merits.
Fig. 81 is the principal entrance gate to one of the
finest estates on the Hudson, above Tarrytown, and
although similar in appearance to figure 82, has some
very decided differences, the cross braces in this case
reaching only to a second rail; the rods, however, pass
through to the bottom; it is much more elaborate in
workmanship, and the addition of a moulding on the
top and bottom would increase its effect.
Fig. 84 is the entrance gate at the New Windsor,
N. T., Parsonage, and has been hanging six years
without a perceptible change. The braces in this are
one inch square and doubled; they are not halved, but
cross each other, two one way and one the other, in
the manner shown in figure 85.
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 127
There is no other mode of constructing gates in
which rustic work can be made such good use of. The
chief objection to all things made in the rustic manner
is, that they soon fall to pieces, limbs shrink and
twist, and nails do not hold; but a rustic gate held
together by iron rods will remain good until the last
brace has decayed.
Fig. 86 is the principal entrance gate to one of the
most finely finished country seats on Newburgh Bay.
Figs. 87, 88, and 89, illustrate a novel style of hinge,
peculiarly adapted to this gate, and is really stronger
than any other. It requires less iron and less black-
smith work.
Fig. 87 shows the top hinge corner, and figure 88
the bottom hinge corner. The iron which secures
this end of the gate, passes through both top and
bottom hinge, and binds them and the gate securely
together. The additional fastenings for hinge are
made with carriage-bolts. Nothing but a power be-
yond the enormous tensile strength of iron and the
compressible strength of wood, will cause the gates to
yield in ordinary use.
Fig. 89 is a perspective view of the hinge, showing
how it may be counter-sunk, and thus almost entirely
concealed. Figs. 80, 81, 82, and 83, also show the
hinge, and four different styles of stone gate piers.
Fig. 90 is intended for a farm gate. The cross rails
128
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMEU.
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 129
are secured by carriage-bolts passed through them and
the main braces. Each end of the gate has an iron
rod only, which is made heavier than the others, and
saves framing. The hinge is made by having the iron
rod project beyond the bolt head and nut, and the
upper end is passed into an eye, as shown in Fig. 91,
which is screwed into the post; the lower end is
pointed, and is placed in a stone as shown, or it may
rest on solid iron of similar form to the eye. Any
FIG. 91.
intelligent laborer, with an axe and auger, can, with
the iron work, make these farm gates.
This principle of constructing gates admits of an
infinite variety of designs; those given are merely
suggestive. It admits of all classes of workmanship,
from the plainest to the most elaborate, from the
simplest farm gate to those required for the finished
park, and in beauty, strength, and economy stands
unequaled.
Fig. 92 and 93. Plan and elevation of an entrance
gate, which we have executed in oak, and presents an
effective appearance.
130
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 131
DESIGN No. 28.
RESIDENCE OF TRISTRAM ALLEN, ESQ.,
HAVENSWOOD, N. Y.
The accompanying view of Mr. Allen's house is a
good example of the method of adding to a dwelling
which has ceased to be of sufficient capacity for the
requirements of the family. By reference to the base-
ment or cellar plan, the outline of the old house and
the foundation of the new will be distinctly seen. The
addition transforms the cottage to a villa, and in a
manner which preserves the proportions as harmo-
niously as if the whole had been erected at one time
and from one plan, thus illustrating a prominent ad-
vantage in this style of architecture, which admits
more freely than any other, successive additions, which,
when properly designed, add to the variety of outline,
and its beauty of light and shade. The different floor
plans show the arrangements of rooms- and their con-
nection with the original building, which, it will be
seen, are convenient and compact.
Ravenswood is one of the most elegant of the
suburbs of New York, being near at hand, and having
freauent and rapid communication with the city.
Situated on the Long Island shore, opposite the centre
132
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
133
FIG. 95. Basement.
FIG.. 96. First Floor.
FIG. 97. Sec -nd floor.
134
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
of Manhattan Island, overlooking the great metropolis
and its outlying cities, of easy access to the Central
Park by the Hell Gate Ferry, amid all the refinement
RUO
I2X
M '
2
ATTIC
i
j
ROOM
9X10.0
ROOM
12X12
FIG. 98 Attic.
of fine gardens, polished landscape scenery, and archi-
tectural taste, it presents at once all the enjoyments
that a combination of city and country life can afford.
DESIGN No. 29.
RESIDENCE OF LINDLEY M. FERRIS, ESQ.,
NEAR POUGHKEEPSIE, N. Y.
The residence of Mr. Ferris, of which we give the
plans only, is located south of the city of Pough-
keepsie, and almost or quite within its suburbs. The
surrounding estate, of 150 acres of handsomely rolling
land, posesses all the attractions of beauty and fer-
tility so generally awarded to the finer portions of
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
135
Dutchess county. In the immediate vicinity are some
of the highly finished and well-kept country seats
which adorn this portion of the Hudson, and make up
the attractions which taste and refinement always add
to country life.
FIG. 99. First Floor.
The object aimed at in the design of this house,
was that of a substantial and commodious mansion,
suited to the requirements of a large family, and that
should express its purpose in the simplest manner at
136 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
a moderate expense. It was therefore desirable to
avoid all costly irregularity of form, and all the fanci-
ful varieties of gimcracks.
The style selected as best illustrating this purpose
is the Chateau roof, Louis XV style; the main build-
ing being 43 feet square, with a rear addition 25 by
29 feet; the plan illustrating the arrangement oi
rooms, verandah, etc. The first floor gives double
parlors, (one of which may be used as a bed-room or
library,) a sitting-room or reception-room, dining-
room, and a large kitchen, with necessary closets, an
inclosed verandah, water closets, etc. The second
floor, main building, gives four large bed rooms and
two smaller rooms for other purposes, and in the rear
are four servants' rooms and a bath-room. The attic
story, main building, has now five rooms, finished with
closets, and two rooms more can be added by putting
up two partitions. These upper rooms, in a roof of
this character, are cool, well ventilated, well lighted,
and agreeable in warm weather, there being roomy air
chambers between the attic ceiling and the upper roof,
and also between the walls of the rooms and the outer
wall of the house. There is but little difference in
the value of these rooms and those on the floor below,
except convenience of access.
The house is built of brick, in a first class manner,
the lower roof slate, the upper one being tin; is
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
137
thoroughly finished throughout, and is in all respects
a convenient, durable, and commanding structure,
giving the largest amount of room in a desirable and
attractive form, with the most economy of means. It
FIG. 100. Second Floor.
is situated on a knoll overlooking all the surrounding
grounds, which include a number of other fine sites,
one or two of which, we think, even more desirable
than the one selected. It is not, however, an easy
matter to choose one from a dozen sites, each almost
equally good.
138 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
A new road is now being laid through these and the
adjoining premises, to connect two of the principal
drives southward from Poughkeepsie, which when
completed, will add a new attraction to the beautiful
suburbs of this city. The views from the grounds,
more particularly from the top of the house, are varied
and extensive. The mountain panorama, which
sweeps three-fourths of the horizon, beginning with
the Fishkill mountains, and ending with the Catskills,
is exceedingly fine. The eastern view embraces the
Vassar Female College, the noble gift of Matthew
Vassar, Esq., to the cause of female education. In
the foreground and middle distance are the rich rolling
landscapes of Dutchess and the fertile hillsides of
Ulster counties, the glittering spires of Poughkeepsie,
the lordly Hudson, and southerly are seen the famous
Beacons and the Highland Pass,
"Where Hudson's wave o'er silvery sanda
"Winds through the hills afar."
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 139
DESIGN No. 30.
MODEL SUBURBAN COTTAGE IN THE OLD ENGLISH
OR RURAL GOTHIC STYLE.
BY FREDERICK S. COPLEY, ARTIST, TOMPKINSVILLE, 8. I.
The general appearance of this Cottage, as seen
from the road, is shown in the engraving, (Fig. 101.)
which is a perspective view of the North and East
Fronts.
It is situated at Montrose, on the lake-like shores
of Hempstead Harbor, near the village of Roslyn,
Long Island, a spot noted for its beauty and healthful-
ness.
Size of building, 44 by 38 feet. Principal Plan
(Fig. 103.) 10 feet high. P. shows a recessed porch,
with double doors of oak, (oiled) the outer ones open,
to be closed only at night and stormy weather, behind
the one on the right ia a space for wet umbrellas, &c.,
the inner doors have glazed panels to give light within,
and should always be closed. V. is the vestibule,
containing a spiral staircase, with walnut steps and
rail (oiled). The floor laid with encaustic tiles, with
ceiling groined, and walls finished in imitation of
stone in the sand coat. On the left (under the stairs)
is a private door opening into a lobby, fitted with
140
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
141
wash-basin, water, &c., and lighted by a narrow win-
dow, that also serves to light the front basement
stairs, so that a servant could answer a call, at either
front or back doors, without passing through the
central hall ; which would not only be more con-
venient for them, but would be to the family and
guests, especially in time of company, when the hall
would form a central room, by closing the doors that
n=i
FIG. 102. First Floor.
lead to the stairs: nor would this interfere in the least
with the domestics, or their duties: as they can go
from cellar to attic without disturbing the privacy of
a single room: and the guests could ascend, unseen
to the dressing rooms above, (from either entrance) or
depart in the same manner.
The hall screen, separating the vestibule, should be
142 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
of real oak, (oiled) and lighted in the panels with
stained glass, which would impart a soft and pleasant
light to the hall, and produce a fine effect on either
side, day or night. The hall is here placed in the
centre of the plan, and so happily arranged are the
doors and rooms, as not only to give it a symmetrical
effect, but to unite the whole, en suite, without dis-
turbing the individuality of either. Also, the hall
lamp and stove would light and warm, equally, every
room, besides passage, vestibule, and stairs. The
cloak closet is in the passage which contains the
back stairs.
P. is the Parlor, which would be the favorite living
room in the summer, as it faces the north, and has a
large bay-window commanding a fine view down the
harbor to the sound.
L. is the Library, and living room, connected with
the parlor by sliding doors, with recessed book-cases,
on each side, and the same on the sides of the bay-
window, here facing the south, and possessing a
beautiful view of the bay and hills, with the village
in the distance, which make it the favorite quarters
in winter, being fully exposed to the genial influences
of the sun during the absence of foliage at that season.
On the right of the mantel is a private closet for plate,
papers, &c., both these rooms have windows opening
on the west veranda, with a fine view across the har-
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
143
bor. D. is the Dining room, and a most cheerful one,
(as it should be,) with a large ornamental window on
the east, admitting the morning sun, and a fine bay-
window on the north, looking down the road and har-
bor, possessing a charming prospect of land and water.
To harmonize with the bay (on the other end) is the
sideboard recess with a dumb-waiter on the right, and
FIG. 103. Second Floor.
a china closet on the left; on one side of the mantel
is the door opening into the lobby, which communi-
cates with the hall, and basement plan below, and
fitted with wash-basin, water, &c., which would be
found most convenient to wash hands or glasses, deli-
cate or valuable articles of use not wished to be trust-
ed to careless servants. It will be seen that the three
bay-windows on this plan, are of different forms, and
144 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES
each fitted with inside shutters. 0. is the principal
chamber, or boudoir, facing south and east, with fine
large windows in each. The one on the south has
closets on each side, and opens into the conservatory,
making this a most delightful ladies'-work-room. It
will be seen that all the rooms on this floor, although
not large, are of the most comfortable size, perfect
and elegantly proportioned, and arranged with every
conceivable convenience requisite for the enjoyment of
all the comforts and luxuries of life.
Chamber Plan (Fig. 103.) is nine feet high, and in
keeping with the rest, in its admirable arrangements,
furnishing five excellent rooms, with a bath room,
convenient to all, fitted with the latest improvements,
(the water closet enclosed, and vertical pipes, which
would make freezing impossible). The four principal
rooms are about equal in size and attractiveness, as
they possess the same fine views as the corresponding
ones beneath, and each finished with fire-places and
ample closet room. The small room windows open on
a balcony, with a charming view of the bay; and
would afford an agreeable lounge in summer evenings,
to enjoy the setting sun, or cool breeze. All the
rooms on these two floors (except the last) to be fitted
with Dixon's patent grates, and Arnott's ventilating
valves, which would secure sweet, healthy, and warm
rooms, without draughts. The hall, as will be seen,
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
145
is well lighted and ventilated, not only by the stair-
case window, on the north, but by the ventilating
sash-lights over the doors of every-room; the bath
room door is also lighted in the panel with ground
glass. Between the doors, on the east side, is the lift,
or dumb-waiter, and dust register, which being in the
centre of the plan, is of equal convenience to all.
Fig. 104. Roof and attic plan. The attic
FIG. 104. Attic and Roof.
contains five good rooms for the accommodation of
the servants, storing fruit, trunks, &c., and drying
clothes. As this plan has the same central arrange-
ments as all the rest, consequently the same advan-
tages in economy of space, and of direct and easy
access to every room, stairs, &c. The landing here is
lighted in the same way as the hall below, and by the
same staircase window, with the addition of a large
sky-light and ventilator in the centre, which would
keep the rooms sweet and cool.
7
146 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
Fig. 105, shows the Basement and Cellar plan, nine
feet high, and containing every requisite convenience
for the domestic duties of a family. As they are on
the same level, and under the principal story, the
noise and smell of the kitchen would be excluded. The
garden entrance is shown by the steps on the south-
west corner of area, which extends the whole of the
west side, round to the hall door on the south; and
covered by verandah, would make these rooms dry,
cool, and pleasant, as they are but little below ground,
and well lighted on two sides, with a large bay-window
in each; the north bay fitted with wash-tubs, as this
kitchen is intended as a back one, or scullery, and for
cooking in during the heat of summer, it has a sink
closet on the left of the fire-place, and dresser and
shelves for pots and pans on the south side, by which,
is a door opening into the basement, and one out on
the area. The basement would be a cheerful room,
facing the south with a large bay-window with seats
and inside shutters, on the opposite side is a dresser
fitted with plate rack, &c. On the east is the range
and pantry; behind the range, in the hall, is a warm
closet for clothes, shoes, &c., and opposite, under the
stairs, is a dark one, for potatoes. At the north end
of the hall, (and behind the scullery, fire-place, &c.)
is the furnace room and front basement stairs. On
the east side of the hall is the dumb-waiter, or lift.
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
147
The coal cellar has two bins placed under the shoots,
for large and small coal, with two on the east side for
ashes and wood. Against the middle window is a
wire gauze safe, for cooked meats, &c.: between this
and the wine cellar is the dairy ; the other division
is for stores in general. All the partitions are made
open, so as to admit the free circulation of light and
air.
FIG. 105. Basement and Cellar.
On observing the relative position of the different
doors and windows, in the several plans, it will be
found that the house may be ventilated by through
drafts in every direction at pleasure; a luxury to be
appreciated in the heat of summer. Also, by carrying
the lift, or dumb-waiter, to the top of the house, and
communicating with every floor, its full value would
be secured, besides forming a ventilating shaft for the
whole building, from cellar to attic. Another valuable
148 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
labor-saving convenience (next to the water- works and
lift) is the dust shoot, which is simply a tin tube,
with registers in the floors of the different plans, to
sweep the dust into, from the rooms, where it desends
to the cellar, and is caught in a barrel, to be removed
when full. It is here placed in the hall, by the side
of the lift, on every floor, which by this central ar-
rangement is at the door of every room.
Construction, although of wood, is made nearly fire
proof, by making the floors, walls, partitions and
stairs solid. The walls and principal partitions are
formed of slats of one inch thick by four inches broad,
securely nailed one on the other, so as to form a one
inch groove on both sides, to plaster on. This forms
a good strong six inch solid wall, fire and vermin
proof, and dryer than any built of stone or brick.
The stairs to have their skeletons of iron work, filled
in solid with cement. The floors of basement and
entry to be of earthenware tiles, the kitchen and cellar
cemented. That of the principal plan, (forming the
ceiling of the basement, &c., the seat of danger,)
should be formed of brick, arched on iron girders, and
filled up with cement, and laid with larch, (as that
burns less freely than any other wood). The hall,
&c., to be laid with encaustic tiles. The floors of the
chamber plans should have their timbers coated with
plaster paris, and filled up with mortar and laid with
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 149
larch, the plastering of the ceilings, &c., on wire
gauze, instead of lath; a slate roof, and the walls of
the basement plan of hollow brick, and plastered on
the inner surface. By these simple and inexpensive
means, the house would be nearly fire proof, and life
and property secure.
The exterior is covered by a sand coat, of a cheerful
and rich light brown ochre tint, it being the most
befitting for the situation and design, besides possess-
ing the advantages of economy, and imparting a more
substantial effect, it avoids that harsh and disagree-
able glare and glisten of paint.
DESIGN No. 31.
The design on the following page, for a Head Stone,
was published by us in the May number, 1864, of the
HORTICULTURIST. It attracted the attention of one
of our most intelligent subscribers and valuable con-
tributors in Western New York, who desired to set
up, in their beautiful Cemetery, a memorial of one of
his household who "who had gone before." The
monument was executed in this city, under the super-
150
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
vision of the friend who furnished the design for the
HORTICULTURIST. It was cut from the Caen stone,
and the execution was every way satisfactory. The
gentleman for whom it was made says in a letter
advising of its safe arrival : " Last week I had it set
in a solid foundation, and my highest anticipations
FIG. 106. Head Stone.
are more than realized. I do not see how the monu-
ment could be better, as to material, design, and
inscriptions. It is unique, yet chaste, highly signifi-
cant and satisfactory. I have only words of praise
and feelings of gratitude for a result that so fully
answers to my ideal."
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 151
"BALLOON FRAMES."
" If it had not been for the knowledge of balloon frames, Chicago and San Fran-
cisco would never have arisen as they did, f:om little villages, to great cities ill a
single year." SOLON ROBINSON.
In these days of BALLOONING, it is gratifying to
know that there is one practically useful, well tested
principle, which has risen above the character of an
experiment, and is destined to hold an elevated posi-
tion in the opinions of the masses. That principle is
the one which is technically, as well as sarcastically,
termed Balloon Framing, as applied to the construc-
tion of all classes of wooden buildings.
The early history of the Balloon Frame, is some-
what obscure, there being no well authenticated state-
ments of its origin. It may, however, be traced back
to the early settlement of our prairie countries, where
it was impossible to obtain heavy timber and skillful
mechanics, and the fact is patent to any one who has
passed through the pleasures and the vicissitudes of
the life of a pioneer, that his own necessities have
indicated the adoption of some principle in construc-
tion, that, with the materials he has at hand, shall
fulfill all the necessary conditions of comfort, strength
and protection. To these circumstances we must
award the early conception of this frame, which, with
152 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
subsequent additions and improvements, has led to its
universal adoption for buildings of every class through-
out the States and cities of the West, and on the
Pacific coast.
The Balloon Frame has for more than twenty years
been before the building public. Its success, adapt-
ability, and practicability, have been fully demon-
strated. Its simple, effective and economical manner
of construction, has very materially aided the rapid
settlement of the West, and placed the art of build-
ing, to a great extent, within the control of the pioneer.
That necessity, which must do without the aid of the
mechanic or the knowledge of his skill, has developed
a principle in construction that has sufficient merit to
warrant its use by all who wish to erect in a cheap
and substantial manner any class of wooden buildings.
Like all successful improvements, which thrive on
their own merits, the Balloon Frame has passed
through and survived the theory, ridicule and abuse
of all who have seen fit to attack it, and may be reck-
oned among the prominent inventions of the present
generation, an invention neither fostered nor developed
by any hope of great rewards, but which plainly and
boldly acknowledges its origin in necessity.
The increasing value of lumber and labor, must
turn the attention of men of moderate means to those
successful plans which have demonstrated economy in
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
153
both, and at the same time preserved the full qualities
of strength and security so generally accorded to the
old fogy principles of framing, and which, we presume
to say, is inferior in all the true requisites of cheap
and substantial building. Light sticks, uninjured by
FIG. 107. Isometrical Perspective View of the Balloon Frame.
cutting mortices or tenons, a close basket-like manner
of construction, short bearings, a continuous support
for each piece of timber from foundation to rafter,
and embracing and taking advantage of the practical
fact, that the tensile and compressible strength of
pine lumber is equal to one-fifth of that of wrought
154
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
iron, constitute improvements introduced with this
frame.
If, in erecting a building, we can so use our mate-
rials that every strain will come in the direction of
the fibre of some portion of the wood work, we can
make inch boards answer a better purpose than foot
square beams, and this application of materials is one
reason of the strength of Balloon Frames.
FIG. 108. Floor Plan.
The Balloon Frame belongs to no one person;
nobody claims it as an invention, and yet in the art
of construction it is one of the most sensible improve-
ments that has ever been made.
That which has hitherto called out a whole neigh-
borhood, and required a vast expenditure of labor,
time, and noise, can, by the adoption of the balloon
frame, be done with all the quietness and security of
an ordinary day's work. A man and boy can now
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY .HOMES.
155
attain the same results, with, ease, that twenty men
could on an old fashioned frame.
The name of "Basket Frame" would convey a
better impression, but the name "Balloon" has long
ago outlived the derision which suggested it.
The moment the foundation is prepared, and the
bill of lumber on the ground, the balloon frame is
ready to raise, and a man and boy can do all of it.
FIG. 109. Elevation Section manner of nailing A. corner stud, 4 by
4 B. joist, 3 by 8 C. stud, 2 by 4.
The sills are generally 3 inches by 8 inches, halved at
the ends or corners, and nailed together with large
nails. Having laid the sills upon the foundation, the
next thing in order is to put up the studding. Use
4 by 4 studs for corners and door posts, or spike two
2 by 4 studs together, stand them up, set them
plumb, and with stay laths secure them in position.
Set up the intermediate studs, which are 2 by 4 inches,
and 16 inches between centres, toe or nail them diag-
156 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
onally to the sill. Then put in the floor joists for
first floor, each joist to be placed alongside each stud,
and nailed to it and to the sill. Next measure the
height to ceiling, and with a chalk line mark it
around the entire range of studding ; below the ceil-
ing line notch each stud one inch deep and four inches
wide, and into this, flush with the inside face of the
studding, nail an inch strip four inches wide. This
notch may be cut before putting up the studs. If the
FIG. 110. D. Upper Edge of Joist E. Stud.
frame be lined on the inside, it will not be necessary
to notch the strip into the studs, but simply to nail
it to the studding ; the object of notching the stud-
ding is to present a flush surface for lathing, as well
as to form a shoulder or bearing necessary to sustain
the second floor ; both of these are accomplished by
lining inside the studding (for small barns and out-
buildings that do not require plastering, nail the strip
1 by 4 to the studding) on this rests the joists of the
second floor, the ends of which come flush to the out-
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
157
side face of the studding, and both ends of each joist
are securely nailed to each stud ; the bearing of the
joist on the inch strip below is close by the stud,
and the inch strip rests on a shoulder or lower side of
11
r
FIG. 111. Side Elevation. G. Manner of splicing sills. F. Manner
of splicing studs.
the notch cut to receive it. This bearing is so strong
that the joists will break before it would yield.
Having reached the top of the building, each stud is
sawed off to an equal height ; if any are too short
they are spliced by placing one on top of the other,
and nailing a strip of inch board on both sides. The
158 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
wall plate, 2 by 4 inches, is laid flat on top of the
studding, and nailed to each stud ; the rafters are
then put on ; they are notched, allowing the ends to
project outside for cornice, &c. The bearing of each
rafter conies directly over the top of each stud, and is
nailed to it.
FIG. 112 End Elevation.
A Balloon Frame looks light, and its name was
given in contempt by those old fogy mechanics who
had been brought up to rob a stick of timber of all its
strength and durability, by cutting it full of mortices,
tenons and augur holes, and then supposing it to be
stronger than a far lighter stick differently applied,
and with all its capabilities unimpaired.
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 159
Properly constructed, and with timber adapted to
its purposes, it will stand securely against the fury of
the elements, and answer every purpose that an old
fashioned timber frame is calculated to fulfill.
When the building is supported on posts, heavy
sills are necessary, and the frame should be securely
nailed or spiked together. The bents may be 16, 24
or 30 inches apart, and covered in the usual manner.
The thrust of both the rafters and contents of the
building are outward ; the tie, 1 by 4, is abundantly
strong, as each one will practically sustain, in the
direction of its fibre, three tons. The floor joists are
nailed to studs at each end. No one need fear any
lack of perfect security, as these ties exceed in strength
any hold that tenons could have.
Fig. 113 illustrates the manner of framing buildings
of one story, such as are used about almost every
farm or country seat, as tool houses, granaries, wash-
houses, spring houses, &c., &c.
Very small buildings, if unplastered, will not re-
quire ceiling joists ; a tie at each end will be all-suffi-
cient. Moderate size buildings will be strong enough
if the ceiling joists are left out, and collars put on
half way up the rise of the rafter. According to the
size and uses of the building, the collars or ceiling
joists may be put on every rafter, every other, or
every third rafter ; floor joists should be about 16
160
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
inches between centres, and the studding may be from
16 inches to 8 feet apart ; in the last case only, every
sixth floor joist is nailed to the stud, the intermediate
FIG. 113. Isometrical Perspective Balloon Frame.
ones being arranged equally distant from each other
between the studding. Where the studding is placed
wide apart, the plate must necessarily be heavier to
sustain the roof ; if vertical siding be used, it should
be nailed to the sill and plate, and to an intermediate
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES. 161
horizontal strip spiked in between the studding ; if
done in this way, the plate may be lighter ; when
horizontal siding is used, the studding should not be
more than 4 feet apart in small buildings, say 12 by
20 feet, we should cut all our stuff, except joists,
from 1 inch plank. Studs 4 inches wide, rafters 5
inches wide ; floor joists should be 2 by 9 inches, and
put all up 30 inches between centres.
In Fig. 114 is shown the manner of constructing
frames for buildings of three stories. The corner stud,
4 by 4, is composed of and built up with two 2 by 4
studs, which are nailed together, breaking joints as
the building progresses in height ; the splicing of
studs is done in the same manner, being nailed toge-
ther as fast as additional length is required ; the
joists of the last floor are laid upon the plate, and
they act as tie-beams to sustain the thrust of the
rafters. We consider the splice where the studs butt
and have side strips nailed to them, to be the most
secure ; the lapping splice is very generally used,
however, and found to answer every purpose.
Eibs for vertical siding may be put on in two ways ;
one as shown, by which the ribs run over the sill, and
are nailed to it ; a strip of the same thickness as ribs,
say 1 inches, nailed on to the sill to fill up the space
between the ribs, and is then covered by the outside
plinth or base. The other plan is to set the studs
162
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
back 1 inches from face edge of sill ; then let the
end of ribs bevel down on the sill, or dovetail them
into the edge.
!H
1
fe3 5B
Ridge board.
Rafters.
Studs.
Flooring. Fie.
Joists.
Side girth
Studs.
Flooring. Fig. 117.
Joists.
Side girth
Studs.
Flooring.
Joists.
iS.U.
Joist resting
on plate.
Joist notched
down on side
girt.
Side girt
gained in
flush for plas-
ter.
Joist bearing
on sill and
foundation.
Fig. 118.
Fig. 119.
FIG. 114. Three Story Building. Balloon Framing. Details.
Fig. 115. Joist notched down on plate. Fig. 116. Side girt not gained in for small
unplastered buildings. Fig. 117. Inside lining answers the same purpose as a side
girth. Fig. 118. Joist bearing on sill.
Either outside or inside lining may be used, or both
together. Where diagonal lining is used, it {should
be reversed or run the other way on the opposite side
of the house.
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
153
The lining of a Balloon Frame adds immensely to
its strength, particularly so if put on diagonally ; it
may be done outside or inside, though on the whole
the inside is preferable. If done outside, it should be
carried over the sill and nailed to it ; the sill being
FIG. 120. Diagonal Ribs for Vertical or Battened Siding.
wider than the studding, in order to get a larger bear-
in <> on the masonry, and the floor joists being in the
way, does not admit of inside lining being put on in
the same manner.
A first-class Balloon Fmme should be lined, if for
vertical siding, outside the studding if horizontal
164
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
siding is used, line inside; it makes the frame stiffer
and the building warmer. Some line diagonally, say
from centre next the first floor towards extreme upper
corners both ways; others line one side diagonally in
one direction, and the other in an opposite direction.
This makes assurance of strength doubly sure. If
lined inside, nail perpendicular lath to the lining 16
inches from centres, and on this lath horizontally for
plastering.
Y
FIG. 121. Showing Lengthwise and crosswise manner of tying frame.
The principle of Balloon Framing is the true one
for strength, as well as for economy. If a mechanic
is employed, the Balloon Frame can be put up for
forty per cent, less money than the mortice and
tenon frame. If you erect a balloon frame yourself,
which you can easily do without the aid of a mechan-
ic, it costs the price of the materials and whatever
value you put upon your own time.
Fig. 23 shows the manner of attaching the flooring
to gable end studding, and in those buildings in
which the thrust of the rafters is in the direction of
the flooring if every third stud be bolted to the joist
WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
165
in the manner shown, it makes the tie equal if not
superior to that in the direction of the joists.
Fig. 122 explains the manner of framing the largest
class of barns. Wide openings, like bays, require the
use of heavy timber, and the mortice, tenon and brace,
only so tar as the gallows frame is concerned ; the
balance of the frame is of light stuff, studding 2 feet
FIG. 122. Manner of Framing Large Barns.
to 2^ feet apart, 2 by 6 inches, every third one 2 by
8 inches, into which is gained the side girt, it being
nailed to the others. On this rests one end of the
temporary floors, the gallows frame supports the roof,
and the rafters are secured to it, so that they become
ties. The side of this building is like a floor turned
on edge, and is firmly secured by the floo"r joists at the
bottom and the rafters at the top.
166 WOODWARD'S COUNTRY HOMES.
Warehouses, depots, and other buildings of a very
large size, can be made stronger by using the Balloon
Frame, instead of the heavy timber frame. Those
who prefer to err on the right side, can get unneces-
sary strength by using deeper studding, placing them
closer together, putting in one or more rows of bridg-
ing and as many diagonal ribs as they like. In large
buildings there is no saving in timber, only the sub-
stitution of small sizes for large the great saving is
in the labor, which is quite important.
The following are some of the advantages claimed
for the Balloon Frame :
1. The principal labor of framing is dispensed with.
2. It is a far cheaper frame to raise.
3. It is stronger and more durable than any other
frame.
4. Any stick can be removed, and another put in
its place, without disturbing the strength of those
remaining in fact, the whole building can be renewed
stick by stick,
5. It is adapted to every style of building, and bet-
ter adapted for all irregular forms.
6. It is forty per cent, cheaper than any other known
style of frame.
7. It embraces strength, security, comfort and
economy, and can be put up without the aid of a
mechanic.
Established in 1846.
"THE HORTICULTURIST,"
AND JOURNAL OF RURAL ART AND RURAL TASTE.
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Forming an annual volume of 400 royal octavo pages handsomely
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The Author of My Farm of Edgewood.
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Rev. Dr. CBESCT,
and others of the best practical talent and ability, both East and
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Back Volumes and Numbers supplied.
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Price $35 and upioards according to size and finish. Samples at
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