AN IDEAL ENGLISH HOME

Evening Star, Issue 19772, 24 January 1928, Page 2

AN IDEAL ENGLISH HOME

SUNSHINE FOR MAIN ROOMS [Written by L. D. Coombs, for the ‘ Evening Star.’] M. H. Baillio-Scott is one of the English architects whoso work I. have lor many years admired. In looking through ‘Academy Architecture, 19d7,’ I came across the plan oi a house at Rnspit Hill, Kent. It is what wo consider a fairly largo house, but it is not the matter of its size, hut the features of tho plan, which attract attention. The living rooms, of course, lace the sun and the garden. The main entrance is on the other side. The hying room is very large, of an L shape, alien a room would accommodate either a large number of people or a few without in either instance looking unsuitable. Opening off tho living room is a sun room or conservatory. A most useful feature is a small flower room situated between the living room and the study. It has doors to the central hall or “gallery,” as it is marked on the. plan, and to the garden. This room'is fitted with a bench and a sink, and one can easily imagine how useful it must he. An important feature is made of the “gallery.” It is more than an ordinary hall. It is long and comparatively narrow, a feature evidently inspired by the galleries of the mansions of the Elizabethan period, but, ol course, on a much smaller scale. The stair is off the gallery, and docs not interfere with its regular shape. An inferior designer may have placed it partly in the gallery, and so have spoilt tho effect. Upstairs there is another gallery exactly above tho one below. There arc seven bedrooms and three large bathrooms, and each bathroom has a bath, basin, and w.c. The living room is large, with cupboards on all sides, and the wardrobes aro small rooms approximately square in shape. The elevations are kept most simple, with just one or two portions half timbered or to remove monotony and add interest. The roof is pitched at an single slightly more than 45dcg. The windows are all in small panes. Although the planning appears to bo liberal, by which I mean that all rooms and places have plenty of floor area, tho ceiling heights are but Bft (jin and Bft. This has not been done for the sake of economy, but in order to make the house as warm and cosy as possible, and also to give the effect of warmth and cosiness. High ceilings would give the opposite effect. For the walls a liberal use has been made of oak panelling.