Jasper Republican, Volume 1, Number 20, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 29 January 1875 — How to Design a House. [ARTICLE]

How to Design a House.

Suppose that the builders of locomotives were always trying to make their machines look like old-fashioned stagecoaches! But locomotives are given a form that is suitable to their purpose, and are |ar from being unsightly. Suppose that sea-going ships were built with both ends alike for symmetry! But Bhips are the most perfect type we have of a strictly utilitarian thing; every line is the result of careful experiments repeated century aftgr century by generations of builders seeking speed and capacity and seaworthiness; and “the lines of a boat’s bow are the most beautiful that I know,” says Mr. Buskin, “ after divine work." If, then, the designers of buildings were to consider solidity, perfect material, the best forms and coverings for roofs, the best profile of cornice to protect the walls, the right disposition of openings to give light and entrance as required, and the best means of spanning them by arch or lintel—if these considerations alone were kept in view there is every reason to believe that our buildings would be vastly more interesting and beautiful than they are. But it is not meant that the designer should keep nothing else in view. Let him be accustomed to care for abstract beauty, and let him be self-trained to design fresh and natural decorations for everything that can be ornamented. Then as he lays out his windows and determines the angle of his roof the question “ How is this going to look?” will always be present in his mind, and utility will be modified sometimes for the sake of greater beauty of proportion, and sometimes sparingly-applied ornament will soften or even hide a harsh habit of utility that will not give way.— The Housekeeper.