DOI issue:
No. 229 (May 1912)
DOI article:Recent designs in domestic architecture
DOI Page / Citation link: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21156#0323
Recent Designs in Domestic Architecture
and rough-cast building of the sixteenth century.
The exterior view shows an addition on the south
side of the house, comprising a large playroom on
the ground floor, with a bedroom, bathroom, &c.,
over. It was found possible by much care in
propping to retain the old brick-and-stone chimney-
stack, the remainder of the work taken down being
of no architectural interest. The new work was
carried out in harmony with the old, in rough-
cast and timber, the interior being simply treated
with the oak beams and floor joists exposed and
plastered between, the windows with wood frames
filled in with steel casements and lead quarries.
The music-room, of which an interior view is
shown, was an extension on the west side of the
house, and was planned as a one-story addition to
avoid any interference with the long and low pro-
portions of the existing buildings. The additional
height necessary for a room of the required size
was obtained by ceiling half-way up the rafters, the
plaster being simply treated with moulded ribs.
The woodwork was all finished white, the walls
being divided into panels by plain wood ribs, the
spaces being filled in with apple-green “ Fabrikona,”
the floor being of oak parquet. The architect was
Mr. Arthur McKewan, A.R.I.B.A., of Birmingham.
The provision of a building in which laundry
operations can be carried on away from the house
is a question which no doubt often arises between
architect and client when plans are discussed for
the erection of a country residence. A generation
ago, when labour was plentiful in country districts
and efficient laundry-maids were not so scarce as
they are now, washing at home was the rule; but
with the drift of the rural working population into
the towns and the multiplication of trade laundries
equipped with elaborate machinery the tendency
has been more and more to dispense with the
private laundry as part of the regular domestic
establishment. The change has not been an
unmixed benefit; no doubt a good deal of trouble
is saved by handing over all the household linen
to a big laundry, and possibly there is in many
cases a pecuniary saving as well if the work is done
at contract rates, but against this has to be set the
deterioration of the linen itself as a result of the
methods pursued in these so-called “up-to-date”
laundries, with their undiscriminating mechanical
CI.AVERDON HAI.I., WARWICKSHIRE: THE MUSIC-ROOM
3°°
DESIGNED BY ARTHUR MCKEWAN, A.R. I.B.A.
and rough-cast building of the sixteenth century.
The exterior view shows an addition on the south
side of the house, comprising a large playroom on
the ground floor, with a bedroom, bathroom, &c.,
over. It was found possible by much care in
propping to retain the old brick-and-stone chimney-
stack, the remainder of the work taken down being
of no architectural interest. The new work was
carried out in harmony with the old, in rough-
cast and timber, the interior being simply treated
with the oak beams and floor joists exposed and
plastered between, the windows with wood frames
filled in with steel casements and lead quarries.
The music-room, of which an interior view is
shown, was an extension on the west side of the
house, and was planned as a one-story addition to
avoid any interference with the long and low pro-
portions of the existing buildings. The additional
height necessary for a room of the required size
was obtained by ceiling half-way up the rafters, the
plaster being simply treated with moulded ribs.
The woodwork was all finished white, the walls
being divided into panels by plain wood ribs, the
spaces being filled in with apple-green “ Fabrikona,”
the floor being of oak parquet. The architect was
Mr. Arthur McKewan, A.R.I.B.A., of Birmingham.
The provision of a building in which laundry
operations can be carried on away from the house
is a question which no doubt often arises between
architect and client when plans are discussed for
the erection of a country residence. A generation
ago, when labour was plentiful in country districts
and efficient laundry-maids were not so scarce as
they are now, washing at home was the rule; but
with the drift of the rural working population into
the towns and the multiplication of trade laundries
equipped with elaborate machinery the tendency
has been more and more to dispense with the
private laundry as part of the regular domestic
establishment. The change has not been an
unmixed benefit; no doubt a good deal of trouble
is saved by handing over all the household linen
to a big laundry, and possibly there is in many
cases a pecuniary saving as well if the work is done
at contract rates, but against this has to be set the
deterioration of the linen itself as a result of the
methods pursued in these so-called “up-to-date”
laundries, with their undiscriminating mechanical
CI.AVERDON HAI.I., WARWICKSHIRE: THE MUSIC-ROOM
3°°
DESIGNED BY ARTHUR MCKEWAN, A.R. I.B.A.