Furniture & Furnishings

The golden rule in furnishing the cottage home is to remember the simple principle that there shall be no more articles than are really required for practical purposes. Of late years a marked improvement has taken place in the furnishing of our homes ; but there is still a tendency to overcrowding with the trivial and useless. The keynote of all schemes should be simplicity. Let us make the most of a little and good, and exclude anything that favours the accumulation of dust, or interferes with free ventilation.

Naturally, old cottage furniture looks the best in a cottage. But if we cannot afford this, it is far more advisable to acquire, instead of imitation antique pieces chairs, tables, and cabinets, etc., of good modern design, such as those produced by Arts and Crafts or Craftsman furniture makers. These are the work of trained artists, and are beautiful and honest in workmanship. Ostentation and poor construction are faults commonly found in the goods turned out by large furnishing firms.

As to floor coverings, the "over-all" carpet, which is the greatest dust-trap known, and which can never be moved without shifting all the furniture, should never be allowed in the house. Rugs and mats are far preferable, as they can be taken out and beaten in the open without much trouble.

Curtains are also dust collectors, and should not be hung in flounces. The best kind are in small sections, and are hung loosely from light metal rods, so that they may be easily removed for cleaning.

Ceilings & Upper Floors

Cottage Ceilings
A plain plaster treatment is generally as cheap and as satisfactory as anything for ceilings, and moulded cornices should be avoided, since they form dust traps and are expensive.

The ordinary lath-and-plaster ceiling can often be omitted, leaving the floor joists openly doing their work, instead of being hidden in a casing in which dust and dirt can accumulate. If this simple and charming method of treating the ceiling is adopted, the usual deep, narrow timbers should be made shallower and wider to give an effect of strength when viewed from below ; but special precautions should be taken to prevent the passage of sound from the room above to that below. The picture below illustrates how this may be done ; and also how the total amount of timbering required can be reduced by the use of quite small joists strengthened by beams spanning the width of the room at intervals.



Wider and shallower timbers than usual should be used to construct these floors, in order to give an effect of strength when viewed from below.

Upper Floors
There are many kinds of fire-resisting floors. One of the best, which, however, generally costs rather more than the usual wooden floor, consists of steel joists placed from 2 ft. to 3 ft. apart, and the space between filled up with concrete. These floors are extremely sanitary. The upper surface may be treated similarly to those described under the preceding heading, and the soffit is most often plastered to form a ceiling.



Roofing being cheaper than walling, the upper portion of this cottage is entirely in the roof. A large living room, parlour, scullery, and the usual offices are provided on the ground floor, and upstairs there are two good bedrooms with cupboards. Materials : Brick chimneys, brick and roughcast walls, and a tiled roof.

Floors & Flooring

Cottage floors and flooring advice.

Solid ground floors have many advantages over the ordinary joisted and boarded variety. They are secure against dry rot, vermin, and dirt; and save in excavation, walling and sleeper walls. For comfort, the living room floors must be of wood as a rule, and can be of boards with tarred undersides nailed direct on breeze concrete ; or they may be of wood blocks laid in mastic on ordinary concrete. With boards, the seasoning difficulty crops up again ; and frequently, even when properly cramped up, they will shrink and disclose ugly gaps. However, if the boards are laid in narrow widths and perhaps tongued, this problem can be prevented ; and they look quite nice if stained and polished.

Kitchen Flooring
As the kitchen must generally be counted as a living room, for one person at least, a floor of cement or tiles while being so cheap and suitable for such places as the scullery and larderwill have to give way to something less hard and cold, and fatiguing. There are many jointless floor compositions now sold which are fairly cheap and non-absorbent, and quiet and warm to walk upon. Linoleum or cork carpet finished directly on a concrete surface also makes a satisfactory floor, and effects a great saving in the cost. It looks best when of a plain colour without any pattern, and may take the place of a carpet, though a few rugs may be added if desired.

Tiles
Large tiles up to 12 in. square give a pleasant appearance almost anywhere; and for porches and verandas we shall find it difficult to improve on brick-on-edgelaid in a "herring-bone" pattern if it pleases us. The artistic person will vote for stone flags, provided they are in random sizes and not too accurately jointed ; but in the house nothing will make a colder floor. Much of the charm of brick, tile, or stone paving will be lost if they are laid tight; wide joints, about half-an-inch thick, add immensely to the interest of these floors, showing up each member as a separate piece of construction.

Interior Walls & Wallpaper

Tips and advice on decorating cottage walls with wallpaper.

The problem of cleaning cottages and homes in general would be largely solved if all elaborate mouldings, ledges, and other resting places for dust and dirt were banished from the house. Glazed and washable surfaces should be introduced wherever possible, as they can be so easily cleaned ; and great care should be exercised to choose materials that are really suitable for their purpose and position, and not readily dirtied or damaged by wear.

Choosing Wallpaper
It is not advisable to paper new walls, as they take some months to dry thoroughly ; but a cool-toned distemper gives an inexpensive and satisfactory surface. There are many good patent distempers on the market, and most of them are sanitary and washable, and can be renewed inexpensively. When it comes to wallpaper, we are wary of high colours and intricate patterns, which spoil the appearance and reduce the apparent size of cottage rooms. Red wallpaper does not suit hot rooms, but warm up north ones charmingly. A striped pattern will increase the apparent height of the walls ; while one with any kind of horizontal lines, or checks, will diminish it. If a plain "lining" paper is chosen, the effect will be quiet and homely, and we shall have more money to spend elsewhere.

A picture-rail fixed low down just above the top of the door is as good a level as any while costing little, saves the plaster of the wall from being damaged and makes an excellent stop for the wallpaper or distemper below, while the space above it can be whitened just like the ceiling. This arrangement saves a large part of the cost of wall treatment, and reduces the need for plaster cornices, which are expensive, dust-catching, and often unsightly.

In the kitchen and scullery no wallpaper, however sanitary and hard-wearing it may be, is really satisfactory ; and glazed bricks or tiles, even only up to dado level, can rarely be afforded. The next best way is to paint the walls about 4 ft. high from the floor with a hard enamel, as this is grease-proof and non-absorptive ; and a cheaper method still is to use a washable distemper, and renew it every year or two when the ceilings are whitened. The woodwork should be well varnished, so that it may be washed when required.

Floors & Flooring for Cottages

Living Room Floors
Solid ground floors for cottages have many advantages over the ordinary joisted and boarded variety. They are secure against dry rot, vermin, and dirt; and save in excavation, walling and sleeper walls. For comfort, the living room floors must be of wood as a rule, and can be of boards with tarred undersides nailed direct on breeze concrete ; or they may be of wood blocks laid in mastic on ordinary concrete. With boards, the seasoning difficulty crops up again as in cottage woodwork ; and frequently, even when properly cramped up, they will shrink and disclose ugly gaps. However, if the boards are laid in narrow widths and perhaps tongued, this can be prevented ; and they look quite nice if stained and polished.

Kitchen Flooring
As the kitchen must generally be counted as a living room, for one person at least, a floor of cement or tiles while being so cheap and suitable for such places as the scullery and larderwill have to give way to something less hard and cold, and fatiguing. There are many jointless floor compositions now sold which are fairly cheap and non-absorbent, and quiet and warm to walk upon. Linoleum or cork carpet finished directly on a concrete surface also makes a satisfactory floor, and effects a great saving in the cost. It looks best when of a plain colour without any pattern, and may take the place of a carpet, though a few rugs may be added if desired.

Tiles
Large tiles up to 12 in. square give a pleasant appearance almost anywhere; and for porches and verandas we shall find it difficult to improve on brick-on-edge, laid in a "herring-bone" pattern if it pleases. The artistic person will vote for stone flags, provided they are in random sizes and not too accurately jointed ; but in the house nothing will make a colder floor. Much of the charm of brick, tile, or stone paving will be lost if they are laid tight; wide joints, about half-an-inch thick, add immensely to the interest of these floors, showing up each member as a separate piece of construction.

Doors in Cottages

One of the greatest offenders in the way of splitting of doors in cottages is the ordinary four-panelled foreign-made door. The old-fashioned ledged doors, with Norfolk latches, overcome the warped panel difficulty if well made, and look more suitable in cottages with their simple character. Strap hinges look well on these doors, and sometimes home-made latches, as shown in the picture on this page: Woodwork in Cottages, are preferred. Where it is desired to afford some means of throwing two or more rooms into one large apartment, doors that slide into the thickness of the walls are superior to folding doors, which are a nuisance when open. It should be remembered that as the wood framing is not soundproof, the loss of some amount of privacy goes to balance other advantages obtained.

A height of 6 ft. 6 in., and 2 ft. 6 in. for the width, is sufficient for any ordinary cottage door, and the lock-rail should be higher than is usual to prevent stooping when turning the handle. Many machine-made doors, especially those from Sweden, are very badly proportioned. If hung upside down, they are more convenient and look better ; and elaborate mouldings should be avoided, as the recesses soon become choked with dust. Care must be taken to hinge the door so that it screens the room when opened.

Outside doorways have a hospitable appearance if kept wide and low ; 6 ft. 6 in. is quite high enough, although lower than usual; and 3 ft. to 3 ft. 6 in. makes a good width. It is often convenient to have two folding doors, not necessarily equal, as shown in the picture below, as they take up much less room when open. All exterior doors should have a small paved space outside. If a paved path of stone flags can be provided in addition, it will prove more valuable in muddy weather than any number of scrapers, and give a delightful old-world effect.

Woodwork in Cottages

One of the most troublesome items in a modern cottage is the danger of woodwork splitting, shrinking, and warping. This problem was never greater than it is today, for never before has there been so much young and sappy wood on the market. On this account, as well as that of economy in first cost and future upkeep, we should avoid all unnecessary timber both inside the house and out.

Linings, window boards, architraves, and mouldings of wood are by no means a necessity on cottage doors and windows, or elsewhere, and deep skirtings are quite superfluous, besides being ugly and expensive. Where window and door frames are on the outer face of the walling, as is usually preferable, a good way is to make them project where roughcast or tile-hanging is employed - it is far more sanitary, and cheaper too, to plaster the deep reveals. The internal sills can very suitably be of brick or tiles, though some people object to the coldness of these materials.

As most of the rooms will have plastered walls, some kind of skirting becomes necessary. The small and plain skirtings do all that is required, and are less dust catching and expensive, and more in keeping with the cottage than large, heavily-moulded ones. Two varieties of cheap and simple skirtings are shown in the pictures below. They keep chairs and boots from damaging the walls, and leave no space for vermin or the collection of dust.

Pictures.

These sketches show two small skirtings that perform all the duties of the larger and dust-catching kind. The curved skirting illustrated on the left is useful as no angles are left for the collection of dirt.

Verandas & Balconies for Cottages

Verandas or loggias, which have become important adjuncts to the cottage home, need quite some effort on the part of the designer to make them look an integral part of the building. Unless the depth is enough to form a kind of open air living-room, a veranda is not of much use ; and adjoining rooms will be dark and dreary, unless independent windows are provided. To be of real value and to have a satisfactory appearance, the main roof should continue right over the loggia, no metal structures should be allowed, and a sunny position should be chosen.

Balconies are sometimes useful, especially when opening off a landing and taking in a good view. But when stretching in front of bedrooms, they may be embarrassing to the occupants. It is well to avoid anything of a brittle construction, and to steer clear of the amazing and uncomfortable looking fretwood treatment affected by some speculative builders.

Bay Windows for Cottages

Some of the prettiest and most comfortable rooms in old cottages have no bay windows, or irregularities of any kind. Although they often add much to the pleasantness and size of a room, and give interest to the design both externally and internally, bay windows require careful treatment in order not to appear as after-thoughts, or to detract from the strength and simple character of a building. There is no doubt that they are comparatively expensive features ; and rather than having insignificant and ill-proportioned windows projecting from all sides as may be seen in some of the newer suburbs it is better to avoid them altogether.