Studio: international art (34.1905)

Recent Designs for Domestic Architecture

this, with the north light and a small window by papering, which entirely spoils the beauty of the
the fireplace, completes the lighting of the studio, grain and leaves a velvety, obscure surface, which
The idea of the semi-top north light was suggested " takes " the dirt; whereas the plane leaves a hard,
by Mr. A. G. Bell, the well-known artist, who built translucent surface, showing the full beauty of the
a similar one in his studio with great success, the wood. The friezes throughout the house are white-
advantage being that the light can be brought down washed the same tint as the ceilings down to the
from a greater altitude than the height of the room, picture rail, and cornices, which are usually ugly
The south window is a segmental bay of five lights, and always dust-traps, are entirely absent. The
It will be seen that by unhanging the doors from handles on all the doors are at a comfortable
the studio and nursery into the dining-hall the height; that is to say, at about the height at which
whole floor space can be made available, if neces- one naturally shakes hands, and not as on the
sary, for entertaining a large number of people. ordinary door, so low down that all but children

The dominant factors in the studio are low-toned have to stoop to turn them. That the common

oak, copper, and grey-green, with which colour the position of the lock on the ordinary builder's door

walls are papered. The paint throughout the house is due to custom, which has its origin in the obsolete

is mostly white or cream ; that is to say, real cream, past is obvious when the derivation of the position

not the dirty stone colour which usually passes for is traced. In the nine or ten-feet doors of the fine

cream. This cream is made almost entirely of old mansions of other days the upper panels were

yellow ochre and white. When first put on it looks necessarily longer than the lower, in order to allow

pale yellow, but within a week or two the yellow the lock rail to come at a comfortable height for the

goes in, leaving a full, rich, permanent cream. handle. Thus, in the dawn of the villa era, when the

The doors have the panels left unpainted, the door had to be reduced to six or seven feet, villadom

sequah wood being left clean from the plane, and must needs ape the mansion and keep the panels

oiled. Carpenters, as a rule, are too fond of sand- in the same proportion, thereby bringing the lock

" LIMNERSLAND," SOUTHBOURNE

MESSRS. J. H. BREWERTON & SHEPHERD, ARCHITECTS

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