Remodeled Farmhouses Part 12

[Ill.u.s.tration: As Remodeled]

After careful examination, however, various possibilities were discovered indicating that there was a very good chance to make it attractive. Originally the house was built for one family only; in architecture it was square-framed, containing two stories and an attic, with ells at the rear and one side and a deep, sloping roof broken by two chimneys. In the old house there were nine rooms on the first floor and five rooms and a hallway on the second. Some of these on the first floor have been combined by removing part.i.tions to make a living-room and dining-room, together with a hallway.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Pergola-Porch]

In the living-room were found some hand-hewn, second-floor joists, and it was decided to leave these exposed and plaster in between them, instead of bringing the ceiling down to its original level. In practically every room the plaster was in good condition and needed only to be treated in places. The chimneys were touched up wherever needed, but on the whole very few repairs were necessary. In the lower story to-day there are four rooms and a good-sized hall, while the second story is divided into six rooms and a bathroom. Five additional windows were added down-stairs and two in the second story, in order to secure proper light. Very little new material was put into the house, the work consisting chiefly of tearing out old material and patching woodwork and plaster. At the rear of the house, on a line with the larger ell,--the smaller kitchen ell having been torn down,--a rustic pergola was constructed and a covered veranda, over which grape-vines were trained for shade. The roof was partially res.h.i.+ngled, and the house was painted light gray with white trim, with green for the blinds. At the front a Colonial porch was added with latticed sides and a settle, which is in direct keeping with the architecture of the house. In its remodeled condition, with its setting of closely cropped lawn, it bears little resemblance to the ugly farmhouse of a few years ago.

There was no plumbing in the old house, so a single bathroom was put in, a hot-water boiler was added in the kitchen, and a hot-air engine and pump were installed in the cellar which furnish water under pressure from a thousand-gallon supply tank. Later on, a hot-water heater was installed, so that with the modern improvements the house was made very comfortable for habitation all the year round if desired.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A First-floor Vista]

The original parlor on the left has been utilized for a morning-room; the bedroom, dining-room, and pantry have been combined into a living-room. The part.i.tions between the old hallways have been removed, converting them into one good-sized hall. The remaining portion of the old dining-room has been made into a large pantry. The kitchen in the main ell has been left practically unchanged as to size and shape, although the shed opening from it, as well as the kitchen itself, have been entirely renovated and equipped with up-to-date improvements.

Paint and paper and rugs have effected an interior transformation that is most attractive. There are no doors in the house, wide openings making it appear as though it were one large room.

The hallway is entered from the Colonial porch and is unique because of its s.p.a.ciousness. The stairs are at the further end, opposite the door.

The Colonial atmosphere has been maintained in the wall hangings, the braided rag mats, and the old furniture.

At the left of the hall is the morning-room with its wide, open fireplace, its Colonial paper, and Oriental rugs which are in color tones to correspond with the paper.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Living Room]

Opening from this room is the living-room, where the same kind of rugs are laid on the hardwood floor. In this room, after the house was purchased, a fireplace was discovered hidden away behind the part.i.tion.

It was opened up and restored to its original size. At one side a closet was gla.s.sed in, while in either corner cosy, built-in settles give an inglenook effect that is very interesting. The furnis.h.i.+ngs are wholly Colonial and in keeping with the general character of the apartment.

Here the low stud, the beamed ceiling, the depth and lightness of the room, are most attractive. From the long French window one steps out on gra.s.s land which commands a most attractive vista of shrubbery and trees.

In the planting around the house, great care has been taken to secure shade and picturesqueness, so that in its new life the remodeled farmhouse is surrounded by charming effects.

On the opposite side of the hallway one enters the long dining-room. It is finished in red and white, with one-toned hangings; at the farther end is a quaint corner cupboard; a handsome fireplace has been introduced at one side. Many of the pieces in this room are very rare, especially the Hepplewhite sideboard, the chair-table that was once owned by Governor Bradford, and the rush-bottomed chairs. Long gla.s.s windows open on the side veranda and combine with attractively grouped windows to make this room light and cheerful.

Opening out of this is the pantry, conveniently equipped with cupboards and shelves, and beyond is the kitchen and shed which have been made entirely modern in their appointments.

The chambers up-stairs are large, square, and fitted up with furniture of the period. In taking a "secret" cupboard out of a closet, there was discovered some paneling that had been plastered and papered over.

On removing the plaster, it was found that the whole side of the room was paneled. By the restoration of this old-time finish, the chamber became even more indicative of the period in which it was built. Here the wall hangings are all Colonial in design.

Few houses, even among the many that are being restored, have retained the old-time atmosphere throughout as completely as has this farmhouse.

Each room has been made comfortable and given an air of s.p.a.ce, and consistency has been shown in the furnis.h.i.+ng, thus securing a result that is perfectly harmonious and in the best of taste. By comparing the appearance of the old house at the time of its purchase with the results that have been obtained, one realizes how much thought and care have been put into its every part. The lines remain the same but have been extended by the introduction of the pergola at one side and a porch which are very attractive features in themselves. The combination of old and new, correctly treated, has done much to make a harmonious whole.

CHAPTER XIX

THE GEORGE D. HALL HOUSE

Fortunate is he who, on opening up the old fireplace in the house he intends to remodel, finds hidden away behind plaster and paper a pair of old andirons and possibly a shovel and tongs, indispensable furnis.h.i.+ngs for the fireplace. No old farmhouse but what has in almost every room some kind of an open hearth, and these are useless for the burning of wood without fire-dogs or andirons, as they are commonly known.

To the inexperienced house owner who is looking for economy in his house furnis.h.i.+ng, reproductions are tempting, and most attractive sets of fire-dogs are to be found in almost every store. In choosing a set, however, one must exercise judgment. Many of the reproductions are low in cost but are really merely lengths of bra.s.s piping, showing bra.s.s b.a.l.l.s that are lacquered and strung together on invisible wire frames.

They are in reality the cheapest kind of spun-bra.s.s andirons. If one with a knowledge of the weight of bra.s.s handles them, he will realize their flimsiness, but thousands of people do not recognize the difference. Poor fireplace accessories such as these detract greatly from the charm that surrounds a good hearth and mantel.

It is no longer easy to pick up original, cut-bra.s.s andirons at the antique and junk shops,--that is, at a reasonable price. It is in the country places, old farmhouses, and from people who have not yet learned to gage their worth, that one can get a good bargain, bringing often only three or four dollars a pair, and being of the best material. In reproduction there are on the market to-day plenty of good, cast-bra.s.s andirons, but they are expensive and cannot be purchased at less than seven dollars, ranging from that to a hundred dollars a pair, while the spun-bra.s.s kind may be purchased for two dollars and a half a pair.

Andirons come in a great many heights, and in the olden times two sets were used, the one holding the forestick, and the other the backlog. In addition to that, in the earliest American houses, creepers were used; they were, in reality, of iron, small enough to be placed between the andirons, and they helped out in holding the sticks. The first material used for andirons was iron, and we find to-day occasional specimens of this kind, many of them not particularly graceful, while others are very ornamental in design. There are the Hessian andirons which are found either in plain iron or decorated with bright paint; these came into use about 1776 and were used to caricature the British soldiers who were very unpopular in our country.

The most interesting of these old andirons show unusual shapes, a great many of them having artistic ornamentation; occasionally we find them with bra.s.s tops. It was fitting to use this metal, on account of the fire frame, which was of cast-iron as well, and while many of these were of foreign manufacture, yet not a few were fas.h.i.+oned by the village blacksmith. In the choice of andirons, the size of the fireplace should be considered; the small ones should not have the steeple tops but small, ball pattern or some other design that is low enough not to crowd the fireplace and thus give the impression of bad taste. The large fireplaces need the high andirons, of which there are so many different kinds. The modern adaptation of the Colonial has brought these furnis.h.i.+ngs into vogue, so that to-day it would be almost impossible to tell the old from the new.

Shovel and tongs were much used during the early period, but a poker never accompanied the set. These appeared after the introduction of coal and are found among the reproductions on the market to-day. Another bit of the furnis.h.i.+ngs is the fender, of which there are many designs, some being of simple wire painted black with bra.s.s top and b.a.l.l.s, while others are entirely of bra.s.s. The warming-pan is an appropriate accessory for this part of the room; it should be hung on a peg at one side of the hearth. In addition to that, we find the bellows, some of which are most decorative in their design. The proper selection of this furniture gives an air of refinement to the room.

There is a most attractive farmhouse situated in Dover, Ma.s.sachusetts.

It is owned by Mr. George D. Hall, and shows a series of remodelings, rather than a complete work, for each year an addition has been made which has bettered the initial scheme. The original farmhouse, for instance, which was built in 1729, was a small, unpretentious building that was very dilapidated in condition, but whose situation appealed to its present owner. It was his desire to obtain an old house that could be used if need be for an all-the-year-round home; plenty of land, picturesque views, good landscape effects, and ample elbow room were what he especially desired.

[Ill.u.s.tration: LONE TREE FARM]

The house stands back from a winding country road in one of the most picturesque situations it would be possible to find. An old stone wall, built over a century ago by the original owner, still forms a boundary line to protect the grounds. Few estates show so many beautiful trees; they add greatly to the pictorial effect of the place. Graceful elms with swaying branches are on every side, while on the opposite side of the road pine trees are in evidence, and on either side of the stone wall wild shrubs have been planted. There has been no attempt at formal arrangement of the grounds, not even with the garden which is at the side of the house. There has been built simply a picturesque lattice that separates house from barn and over which have been trained attractive vines.

[Ill.u.s.tration: As Finally Remodeled]

In 1907 a wing was thrown out to the south, with an enclosed, tiled porch and a sitting-room above. A small eyebrow window was placed in the roof to light the stairway, while the original porch on the west and south was carefully retained. Two years later this porch was removed, and a smaller entrance one was subst.i.tuted. This showed a brick walk extending from carriage block to covered loggia at the south. Again in 1914 the eyebrow window was removed, and dormers inserted in the roof.

An open, tiled platform was built outside the enclosed loggia, and a sleeping-porch was added to the east sitting-room. A garden and pond were laid out to the south of the loggia, with a vista framed by two huge elms that were some thirty feet south of the house. These improvements have converted the old farmhouse into one of the most interesting and beautiful houses that can be found.

Within the last few years the planting and garden effects have been more carefully considered; the grounds have been enlarged, and at the left of the house an old-fas.h.i.+oned garden has been laid out with a gazing-globe for the central feature. The name "Lone Tree Farm" was given at the time of purchase from the fact that a single tree guarded the house at the front. This tree still stands but has been enhanced by the careful planting of shrubbery on either side the driveway, which has now grown until it has become a partial screen for the lower floor of the farmhouse. Other trees have been added, and in order to obtain the seclusion desired, extensive grounds have been purchased on the opposite side of the road, so that no neighbors may come near enough to detract from the quiet.

In remodeling this house, an ell has been added at the rear for the service department, and a sun-parlor has been thrown out at one side.

This makes a most attractive living-room in winter and, with windows removed, a cool sleeping-porch in the summer. The Colonial porch which has been added at the front is much more attractive than the former long veranda which is replaced by the sun-parlor. In painting the house, white has been used with green blinds, so that it is in reality a symphony of green and white, and as it stands in the center of the lot, surrounded on three sides by pasture land, gardens, and meadows, and on the front by hundreds of acres of woodland, it is one of the most interesting studies in house remodeling to be found.

The small hallway is simply an entrance with narrow, winding staircase that leads by easy treads to the second-story floor. In 1914, in ripping out these front stairs to secure the s.p.a.ce above them for a small room, it was discovered that the old smoke-house, where in olden days hams were cured, and the back of the bake oven behind it had not been torn out. The former consisted of two Gothic arches, the taller of which was twenty feet in height; the shape was dependent on the two fireplaces in adjoining rooms. The smoke-house is about five feet deep and when discovered was enclosed with an inch of greasy soot. An oak cross-beam with hand-wrought nails indicated where the hogs were hung. It had been left in its natural state after being cleaned out, and as it looked crude to one entering the front door, it was shut off with an old, paneled door, so that the hall, with stairs removed, is now shaped like six sides of a hexagon, the front door remaining where it originally was placed.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Living Room]

The living-room, which is at the right of the hallway, has been made from two rooms. In this the old woodwork has been carefully retained, and the walls have been hung with a soft green that is a fine background for the many pictures and which brings out the beauty of the white woodwork. The furniture here does not follow the Colonial lines, for comfort has been the first consideration. It is shown in the large, roomy davenport piled with sofa pillows and the comfortable armchair at one side of the open fireplace. Here the owner has supplied the correct fireplace accessories, the andirons being low with bra.s.s ball tops, and the shovel and tongs having the same finish. The mantel, while not elaborate, shows hand-carving and paneling. Bookcases are a feature of this room and are found everywhere.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Sun Parlor]

Opening from the living-room is the gla.s.s-enclosed sun-parlor which has been tiled, and in which is a modern fireplace of bricks laid in white mortar. Over it is a bas-relief. The andirons are high, of modern type, showing fleur-de-lis design, and are in keeping with the fireplace.

Willow furniture is used in order to give the sun-parlor a light touch which could not have been done if the Colonial idea had been carried out. It is an ideal summer living-room, being sunny most of the day.

Then, too, its location is well chosen, as it overlooks the old-fas.h.i.+oned garden and commands vistas cut in trees and shrubbery.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Den]

The den, used extensively by the owner, is a typical man's room.

Built-in bookcases and window-seats give it a most livable look, while pictures of the hunt line the wall, and a hunting scene is used as a frieze. It is placed in a sunny part of the house so as to catch as much light as possible.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A Corner in the Dining Room]

The dining-room was made from a part of the old kitchen and strangely enough shows fine paneling of white pine, which has been carefully preserved and makes a background for the mantel ornaments. The mantel shelf is narrow and extends around the whole fireplace; the old chimney has been partly built in for modern use, while the andirons are very unique reproductions. The old crane has been retained, as have the pothooks and iron kettle, while the old brick oven, now never used, is a memento of the days when our grandmothers cooked with great logs of wood, heating the oven once a week in order to do the family baking. The furniture is of the Colonial type, while the rugs are modern but blend with the scheme color of the room. It is large, well-lighted by many windows, and divided by an alcove only from the living-room which adjoins it.

Every room in this house has been carefully considered with regard to view, and one can stand at any window and look out upon a different phase of country life, for trees and shrubbery are so arranged that the grounds lend themselves admirably to pictorial effects upon which no neighboring house intrudes.

[Ill.u.s.tration: The Sewing Room]