Various - The Complete Home
V >>
Various >> The Complete Home
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15 [Frontispiece: A $3,400 House.]
The COMPLETE HOME
EDITED BY
CLARA E. LAUGHLIN
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
NEW YORK
1907
Copyright, 1906, by
D. APPLETON AND COMPANY
_Published November, 1906_
CONTENTS
CHAPTER I
CHOOSING A PLACE TO LIVE
By OLIVER R. WILLIAMSON
Taste and expedience--Responsibilities--Renting, buying or
building--Location--City or country--Renunciations--Schools and
churches--Transportation--The butcher, the baker, and the candlestick
maker--The home acre--Comparative cost in renting--The location
sense--Size of lot--Position--Outlook and inlook--Trees--Income and
expenditure--Style--Size--Plans for building--Necessary rooms--The sick
room--Room to entertain--The "living room"--The dining room and
kitchen--The sleeping rooms--Thinking it out
CHAPTER II
FLOORS, WALLS, AND WINDOWS
By OLIVER R. WILLIAMSON
The necessity of good floors--Material and cost of laying--Ornamental
flooring--Waxed, varnished, and oiled floors--Carpets, linoleum, and
mats--The stairway--Rugs--Oriental rugs--Kitchen and upper
floors--Matting and cardoman cloth--Uses of the decorator--Wood in
decoration--Panels and plaster--The beamed ceiling--Paint, paper, and
calcimine--Shades and curtains--Leaded panes and casements--Storm windows
CHAPTER III
LIGHTING AND HEATING
By OLIVER R. WILLIAMSON
Necessity of sunlight--Kerosene--Gas and matches--Electric
light--Pleasing arrangement--Adaptability--Protection--Regulated
light--The two sure ways of heating--The hot-air furnace--Direction of
heat--Registers--Hot water and steam heat--Indirect heating--Summary
CHAPTER IV
FURNITURE
By OLIVER R. WILLIAMSON
The quest of the beautiful--Ancient designs--The Arts and Crafts--Mission
furniture--Comfort, aesthetic and physical--Older models in
furniture--Mahogany and oak--Substantiality--Superfluity--Hall
furniture--The family chairs--The table--The
davenport--Bookcases--Sundries--Willow furniture--The dining
table--Discrimination in choice
CHAPTER V
HOUSEHOLD LINEN
By SARAH CORY RIPPEY
Linen, past and present--Bleached and
"half-bleached"--Damask--Quality--Design--Price and size--Necessary
supply--Plain, hemstitched, or drawn--Doilies and table
dressing--Centerpieces--Monograms--Care of table linen--How to
launder--Table pads--Ready-made bed linen--Price and quality--Real
linen--Suggestions about towels
CHAPTER VI
THE KITCHEN
By SARAH CORY RIPPEY
The plan--Location and finish--The floor--The windows--The sink--The
pantry--Insects and their extermination--The refrigerator and its
care--Furnishing the kitchen--The stove--The table and its care--The
chairs--The kitchen cabinet--Kitchen utensils
CHAPTER VII
THE LAUNDRY
By SARAH CORY RIPPEY
Laundry requisites--The stove and furnishings--Irons and
holders--Preparing the "wash"--Removing stains--Soaking and
washing--Washing powders and soap--Washing woolens--Washing the white
clothes--Starch--Colored clothes--Stockings--Dainty laundering--How to
wash silk--Washing blankets--Washing curtains--Tidying up and
sprinkling--Care of irons--How to iron
CHAPTER VIII
TABLE FURNISHINGS
By SARAH CORY RIPPEY
Dining-room cheer--Stocking the china-cupboard--The groundwork--Course
sets--Odd pieces--Silver and plate--Glass--Arrangement--Duties of the
waitress--The breakfast table--Luncheon--Dinner--The formal dinner--The
formal luncheon--Washing glass--Washing and cleaning silver--How to wash
china--Care of knives
CHAPTER IX
THE BEDROOM
By SARAH CORY RIPPEY
Light and air--Carpets versus rugs--Mattings--Wall covering--Bedroom
woodwork--Bedroom draperies--Bedroom furnishing--Careful
selection--Toilet and dressing tables--Further comforts--The
bedstead--Spring, mattress, and pillows--Bed decoration--Simplicity--Care
of bedroom and bed--Vermin and their extermination
CHAPTER X
THE BATH ROOM
By OLIVER R. WILLIAMSON
Plumbing--Bath room location and furnishing--The tub--The lavatory--The
closet--Hot water and how to get it--Bath room fittings
CHAPTER XI
CELLAR, ATTIC, AND CLOSETS
By SARAH CORY RIPPEY
The cellar floor--Ventilation--The partitioned cellar--Order in the
cellar--Shelves and closets--The attic--Order and care of
attic--Closets--The linen closet--Clothes closets--The china
closet--Closet tightness--Closet furnishings--Care of closets and contents
CHAPTER XII
HANGINGS, BRIC-A-BRAC, BOOKS, AND PICTURES
By SARAH CORY RIPPEY
The charm of drapery--Curtains--Portieres--Bric-a-brac--The growth of
good taste--Usefulness with beauty--Considerations in
buying--Books--Their selection--Sets--Binding--Paper--Pictures--Art
sense--The influence of pictures--Oil paintings--Engravings and
photographs--Suitability of subjects--Hanging of pictures
CHAPTER XIII
THE NICE MACHINERY OF HOUSEKEEPING
By SARAH CORY RIPPEY
Monday--Tuesday--Wednesday--Thursday--Friday--Saturday--House
cleaning--Preparation--Cleaning draperies, rugs, carpets--Cleaning
mattings and woodwork--Cleaning beds
CHAPTER XIV
HIRED HELP
By SARAH CORY RIPPEY
The general housemaid--How to select a maid--Questions and
answers--Agreements--The maid's leisure time--Dress and personal
neatness--Carelessness--The maid's room--How to train a maid--The daily
routine--Duties of cook and nurse--Servant's company
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS
A $3,400 House. . . . . . . . Frontispiece
A Unique Arrangement of the Porch
A Homelike Living Room
An Attractive and Inexpensive Hall
An Artistic Staircase Hall
An Oriental Rug of Good Design: Shirvan
Good Examples of Chippendale and Old Walnut
A Chippendale Secretary
The Dining Room
The Kitchen
The Laundry
Wedgwood Pottery, and Silver of Antique Design
A Collection of Eighteenth-century Cut Glass
The Bedroom
The Bathroom
The Drawing-room
THE COMPLETE HOME
CHAPTER I
CHOOSING A PLACE TO LIVE
Blessed indeed are they who are free to choose where and how they shall
live. Still more blessed are they who give abundant thought to their
choice, for they may not wear the sackcloth of discomfort nor scatter
the ashes of burned money.
TASTE AND EXPEDIENCE
Most of us have a theory of what the home should be, but it is stowed
away with the wedding gifts of fine linen that are cherished for our
permanent abode. We believe in harmony of surroundings, but after
living, within a period of ten years or so, in seven different
apartments with seven different arrangements of rooms and seven
different schemes of decoration, we lose interest in suiting one thing
to another. Harmony comes to mean simply good terms with the janitor.
Or if (being beginners) we have some such prospect of nomadic living
facing us, and we are at all knowing, we realize the utter helplessness
of demonstrating our good taste, purchase any bits of furniture that a
vagrant fancy may fasten upon, and give space to whatever gimcracks our
friends may foist upon us, trusting that in the whirligig of removals
the plush rocker, the mission table, and the brass parlor stand may
each find itself in harmony with something else at one time or another.
Some day we shall be freed from the tyranny of these conditions and
then----!
RESPONSIBILITIES
But when the time comes to declare our independence of landlord and
janitor, or at least to exchange existence in a flat for life in a
rented cottage, we find that freedom brings some perplexing
responsibilities as well as its blessings. Even if our hopes do not
soar higher than the rented house, there is at least the desire for a
reasonable permanency, and we have no longer the excuse of custom-bred
transitoriness to plead for our lack of plan. Where the home is to be
purchased for our very own the test of our individuality becomes more
exacting. A house has character, and some of the standards that apply
to companionship apply to it. In fact, we live with it, as well as in
it. And if we have a saving conscience as to the immeasurability of
home by money standards we are not to be tempted by the veriest bargain
of a house that does not nearly represent our ideals. To blunder here
is to topple over our whole Castle of Hope.
RENTING, BUYING OR BUILDING
But the test is most severe of all when good fortune permits us to
choose locality, site, and building plans, and to finish and furnish
the house to suit our tastes, even though less in accordance with our
full desires than with our modest means. Now we may bring out our
theory of living from its snug resting place. It will need some
furbishing up, maybe, to meet modern conditions, but never mind!
Whether we mean to rent, to buy, or to build, the problem of where and
what and how is before us. As folk of wholesome desires, we insist
first of all upon good taste, comfort, and healthfulness in our
habitats; and since we may agree upon the best way to attain these
essentials without ignoring our personal preferences in details, we may
profitably take counsel together as to what the new home should be.
LOCATION
Thought of a location should begin with the birth of the home idea,
even if the purchase-money be not immediately available. We should not
only take sufficient time to study conditions and scheme carefully for
the home, but must sagaciously bear in mind that where real estate is
in active demand anxiety to purchase stiffens prices. To bide one's
time may mean a considerable saving. However, life, as we plan now to
live it, is short enough at most, and we should not cheat ourselves out
of too much immediate happiness by waiting for the money-saving
opportunity.
The question of neighborhood, if we decide to remain within city
limits, is a difficult one. In most of the larger places no one can
accurately foretell the future of even the most attractive residence
district. Factories and business houses may not obtrude, but flats are
almost sure to come. Few cottages are being constructed in cities,
partly because of lack of demand, but principally because they do not
pay sufficient income on the investment. Consequently the houses that
are to be had are seldom modern. Sometimes they pass into the hands of
careless tenants and the neighborhood soon shows deterioration. Still,
if we are determined to remain in the city and take our chances, it is
possible by careful investigation to discover congenial surroundings.
Many of the essential tests of the suburban home that we shall discuss
hereafter will apply also to the house in a strictly residence district
of a large city; practically all of them to the house in a smaller town.
CITY OR COUNTRY
The chances are, however, that we shall choose the suburb. But before
we desert J 72, or whatever our shelf in the apartment building may be,
we may well remind ourselves that we are also to desert some of the
things that have made city life enjoyable. For one thing, with all our
growling at the landlord, we have been able to cast upon him many
burdens that we are now to take upon ourselves. Some of our sarcasms
are quite certain to come home to roost. The details of purchasing
fuel, of maintaining heat, of making repairs, are now to come under our
jurisdiction, and we shall see whether we manage these duties better
than the man who is paid a lump sum to assume them.
RENUNCIATIONS
Living in a flat, or even in a city house, we do not know, nor care to
know, who the people above or next door to us may be; and they are in
precisely the same position with regard to us. Mere adjacency gives us
no claim upon their acquaintance, nor does it put us at the mercy of
their insistence. Our calling list is not governed by locality, and we
can cut it as we wish without embarrassment. Choice is not so easy in
the suburb. There, willynilly, we must know our neighbors and be known
by them. Fortunately, in most instances they will be found to be of
the right sort, if not fully congenial.
The theater, too, must become rather a red-letter diversion than a
regular feature of our existence, if it has been so. Whatever
enthusiasm we may possess for the opera, an occasional visit, with its
midnight return, will soon come to satisfy us. Our pet lectures, club
life, participation in public affairs, frequent mail delivery,
convenience of shopping, two-minute car service, and freedom from time
tables--these suggest what we have to put behind us when we pass the
city gates.
It is also the part of wisdom not to forget that, though the country is
alive with delights for us when all nature is garbed in green and the
songbirds carol in the elms and maples, there cometh a time--if we are
of the north--when fur caps are in season, the coal scoop is in every
man's hand, the snow shovel splintereth, and the lawn mower is at rest.
Then it is that our allegiance to country life will be strained, if
ever--particularly if we have provided ourselves with a ten-minute walk
to the station. Wading through snow against a winter wind, we see the
"agreeable constitutional" of the milder days in a different light.
We should think of all these things, and of some sacrifices purely
personal. It is better to think now than after the moving man's bill
has come in. Reason as we may, regrets will come, perhaps loneliness.
But the compensations, if we have chosen wisely, will be increasingly
apparent, and we shall be the very exceptions of exceptions if, before
the second summer has passed, we are not wedded beyond divorce to the
new home.
Once determined upon forswearing urban residence, a multitude of
considerations arise. First of these is "Which place?" Our suburban
towns have been developed in two ways. Some are "made to order," while
others were originally rural villages but have come under metropolitan
influence. Living in the latter is likely to be less expensive, and
local life may have more of a distinctive character; but the husk of
the past is almost certain to be evident in the mixture of old and
modern houses and in a certain offish separation of the native and
incoming elements. The "made-to-order" town is likely to exhibit
better streets and sidewalks, to be more capably cared for, to be freer
from shanties, and to possess no saloons. Land and living may demand
greater expenditure, but they will be worth the difference.
SCHOOLS AND CHURCHES
With ninety-nine out of a hundred families the deciding argument in
favor of going to the suburb has just got into short dresses and begun
to say "Da-da." Already we see pointings to the childish activities
that we would not check. No one who stops to think about it chooses to
have his children play in the city streets or be confined to a flat
during the open months. For the children's sake, if not for our own,
we turn to the country, and one of our first thoughts is for the
children's school.
I called on a young business acquaintance recently and found him
engrossed in examining a pile of college catalogues. "Going in for a
post-grad?" I inquired. "Why, haven't you heard?" he responded. "It's
a boy--week ago Saturday. Er--would you say Yale or Harvard?"
This was preparedness with a vengeance, to be sure; but almost before
we realize that infancy is past, the boy and girl will be ready for
school, and it is important to know that the right school will be ready
for them. Happily, the suburban school is usually of special
excellence, and the chief thought must be of distance and whether the
children will need to cross dangerous railroad tracks.
We shall, of course, wish to be where there are strong churches, with a
society of our chosen denomination, if possible. It may be that the
social life which has its center there will provide all the relaxation
we require; if we seek outside circles, it is desirable to know whether
we are likely to please and be pleased. Always there is the suburban
club; but not always is the suburban club representative of the really
best people of the town.
TRANSPORTATION
On the practical side a question of large importance is that of
transportation. The fast trains may make the run in twenty minutes,
but we shall not always catch the fast trains, and the others may take
forty. Morning and evening they should be so frequent that we need not
lose a whole hour on a "miss." In stormy weather we must find shelter
in the station, comfortable or uncomfortable. On the husband's monthly
ticket the rides may cost only a dime; when the wife and her visiting
friends go to the matinee each punch counts for a quarter, and four
quarters make a dollar. To the time of the train must be added the
walk or ride from the downtown station to the office, and the return
walk from the home station. A near-by electric line for emergencies
may sometimes save an appointment. None of these things alone will
probably give pause to our plans, but all will weigh in our general
satisfaction or disagreement with suburban life.
THE BUTCHER, THE BAKER, AND THE CANDLE-STICK MAKER
Not every suburb is blessed with a perfectly healthful water supply.
We must make sure of that. We want to find stores and markets
sufficient to our smaller needs, at least, and to be within city
delivery bounds, so that the man of the house shall not be required to
make of himself a beast of burden. We hope, if we must employ a cook,
that the milkman, iceman, and grocery boy will prove acceptable to her,
for the policeman is sure to be a dignified native of family. We want
the telephone without a prohibitive toll, electric light and gas of
good quality at reasonable rates, streets paved and well cared for,
sidewalks of cement, reasonable fire and police protection, a
progressive community spirit, and a reputation for our town that will
make us proud to name it as our place of abode.
THE HOME ACRE
All these things may be had in scores of American suburbs and smaller
cities. But when we have selected the one or more towns that may
please us, and get down to the house or lot, our range of choice will
be found rather narrow. In the neighborhoods we would select, it is
probable that few houses are to be rented. Most of them have been
built for occupancy by their owners, who, if forced to go elsewhere,
have preferred selling to renting. There is no prejudice against
renters, but the sentiment is against renting, and this sentiment is
well grounded in common sense. Still, some families find it advisable
to rent for a year or so, meanwhile studying the local conditions and
selecting a building site. This plan has much to commend it, though it
makes a second move necessary. Others, who do not feel assured that a
change in business will not compel an early removal, wisely prefer to
rent, if a suitable house can be found for what they can afford to pay.
COMPARATIVE COST IN RENTING
The proportion of income that may be set aside for rent depends on what
that payment covers. In a steam-heated city flat with complete janitor
service, for instance, the rent at $40 is really no higher than the $25
suburban house, for heat and water rent are included. With the former,
perhaps as much as a third of one's income could be spared for the
fixed charge of rent; but in the country the proportion cannot with
safety be greater than a fifth. Few satisfactory suburban houses can
be rented under $35, and to this must be added the cost not only of
coal and water, but of maintenance. On the whole, we are pretty sure
to decide that it is better and cheaper to buy than to rent.
THE LOCATION SENSE
There is some advantage in being able to secure a lot in a square
already built up. If present conditions are satisfactory we may feel
reasonably sure that they will remain so. We know who our neighbors
are to be, the sort of houses and other improvements that will affect
the sightliness and value of our own property, and the surroundings
that should in some degree govern the style of our abode. There is
little of the speculative in such a choice, but we shall have to pay
something extra for our assurances.
In a well built-up town, however, we are likely to find a more eligible
natural site at less cost if we are not too insistent upon being close
to the railway station. The best sites in the older sections are
already occupied or are held at a premium. If we have an eye for
location and the courage of our convictions, we may chance upon an
excellent lot that can be had for a comparatively small price because
of its detachment. It may be so situated that the approach is through
the choicest part of the village, affording us much of the charm of
suburban life without additional cost. Provided sewer, water, light,
sidewalks, and paving are in, a little greater distance from the center
may be well repaid by the beauty of the site, and after the family
becomes accustomed to it the distance is scarcely noticed. Where there
are telephones and local delivery of mail and groceries, occasions for
going uptown are not frequent.
SIZE OF LOT
The lot should have at least 50 foot frontage; and be from 150 to 200
feet in depth. Many subdivisions are now platted without alleys, which
are not desirable unless scrupulously maintained. The site should, if
practicable, be on a plateau or elevation that gives an outlook, or at
least make natural drainage certain. A lot below street level means
expensive filling to be done.
POSITION
There can be little question as to the special desirability of an east
frontage. With this exposure the morning sunlight falls upon the
living room when least in use, while the afternoon glare finds the
principal work of the kitchen accomplished. The indispensable veranda
on the east and south is also usable for a maximum portion of the day,
while the more solid side of the structure, being opposed to the
prevailing winter winds, makes the heating problem easier.
[Illustration: A unique arrangement of the porch.]
OUTLOOK AND INLOOK
Though we should not pay too much premium for an east front, it is
always most salable, and the difference will come back if we should
dispose of the property later. Outlook and protection against being
shut in should be assured. Our own property may be "gilt edge," but if
the man across the way has backed up a barn or chicken yard in front of
us our joy in life will be considerably lessened. Our home is both to
look at and to look out from, and we do more of the latter than of the
former. There are only two ways to make sure of not being shut in,
unless the adjacent lots are already improved. These are to buy enough
ground to give space on either side, or to secure a corner. Sometimes
a corner at a higher price is the cheaper in the end.
Certainly it is advisable, even though our own house be not
high-priced, to discover if there is a building restriction to prevent
the erection of cheap structures near by. This is regulated usually by
a stipulation in the deeds from the original subdivider. Without this
guaranty even a high price for lots does not insure that some fellow
who has put most of his money into the ground may not put up a woodshed
next door and live in it until he can build a house. We shall not find
it amiss either, to know something of the character of the owners of
the adjoining property, for if they are real-estate men there is a
probability of their putting up houses built to sell. Non-resident
owner may be expected to allow their vacant lots to remain unkempt and
to object to all improvement assessments.
TREES
Trees on the lot are a valuable asset, though dislike for sacrificing
them, if carried too far, may result in shutting out the sunlight that
is more essential than shade to health. Cottonwood, willows, and even
the pretty catalpa are to be shunned in the interest of tidiness. On a
50- or even 100-foot lot we cannot have many trees without
overshadowing the house. A few away from the building, not crowded
together, will give more satisfaction than a grove and be less a
detriment to health. Ordinarily grass will not grow to advantage where
there is much shade; and a beautiful lawn, though open to the sunlight,
is not only more attractive but much more serviceable than ground in
heavy shadow and covered with sparse grass.
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE
Prices of vacant property in different sections vary so greatly that
one cannot safely approximate the cost of a building lot. It is safe
to say, though, that if values are figured on a proper basis, a
satisfactory site for a moderate-priced home can be purchased for
$1,000 in the town of our choice.
We have made it clear to ourselves that a home--anyone's home--should
be much more than a house plumped down upon any bit of ground that will
hold it. When we come to consider the house itself, we are confronted
by the knowledge that here the tastes and habits, as well as the size
and resources of the family, must govern the decision of many problems
considered. Numbers alone are not always a fair guide, for sometimes
the man or the woman of the house, or the baby, counts for much more
than one in figuring space requirements.
We have in mind here that we are a family of four, that we have an
income of from $1,500 to $2,500, and that we are prepared to spend or
obligate ourselves to spend from $2,000 to $3,500 for a house to go on
a lot to cost $1,000. The house we think of would be not too large for
two and certainly would comfortably accommodate five or even six,
depending upon their relations to one another. The extremes of income
mentioned would scarcely affect our plans, and the difference in cost
is accounted for by the choice of nonessentials and not by differences
in the principal features of the house.
Pages:
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
11 |
12 |
13 |
14 |
15