A Country House that Was Originally Planned for a Mountain Camp

Although this house would serve anywhere as a country dwelling for people who like this style of building, it was originally intended for a camp in the Adirondacks, the object of the design being to build a house that would be permanent, and at the same time would have the openness and freedom of a tent, where the family could live out of doors and vet have immunity from flies, mosquitoes and kindred pests. Being a camp, it is naturally not an expensive building, as the plan is simple and the materials about the site would naturally be used. Our constant dwelling upon this point might seem superfluous, but the fact that not long ago a noted architect built a house of stone in the clay-bearing State of Virginia and another of brick in the granite-ribbed State of Maine.

The word camp is suggestive, causing the mind instantly to revert to a large parade ground, with the orderly arrangement of kitchens in the rear, the radial axis, and the sense of order and openness. Therefore the arrangement of this camp has been made with this in mind; the great hall serves for the place of general gathering, the place where, when the duties or g pleasures of the day are over, all may meet on common ground. This, with the kitchen and dining room in the rear, makes for convenience, largeness and economy of space. There is an upstairs; as sleeping rooms, if in direct connection with the rooms and arrangements already mentioned, would interfere and be interfered with seriously. Economy also has its part, for the roof which covers one story will serve equally well to cover two. In laying out the floors below, no account has been taken of privacy for the immediate family. Therefore on the upper floor there is a large room provided for with the sleeping rooms grouped about it.

The floor plans give a clear idea of the arrangement. The dropping back of the outside walls to form second story balconies or loggias takes up a good deal of the floor space on the second story, so that the bedrooms are rather small. This, however, is hardly to be considered a fault in a building of this kind, because the loggias are screened to serve as sleeping porches: It is also quite possible to screen or partition each loggia to make four separate outdoor sleeping rooms, or they could be divided in part and the rest used for an outside sitting room. These screens should be removable at will, so that they can be stored during the winter months.