Page:An Encyclopædia of Cottage, Farm, and Villa Architecture and Furniture.djvu/160

 136 COTTAGE, FARM, AND VILLA ARCHITECTURE. 259. General Estimate- Cubic contents of the two houses, 1 5,868 at 6d. per foot, £'396 : 14s. ; at 4rf., £264 : 95. : M. ; and at 3d., £198; 7s. 260. Remarks. Looking at the elevation, we should say that this is a simple and somewhat elegant Design ; and at the plan, that it appears convenient. When we examine it critically, however, we perceive that the windows are not sufficiently high for the pur- poses of ventilation ; and that their proportions are not such as are commonly received as elegant. On examining the section, it will be found, that the heads of these windows are not near so high as the ceiling, and that the window sill is more than the usual height from the floor. We must, therefore conclude that the designer of this cot- tage intended it for a warm climate, where it would be desirable to exclude the light; but even if that were the object, it might have been effected better, by having windows of the same form close under the eaves. The interior of such a cottage, in Britain, would be gloomy, and the ventilation bad ; but its appearance, as well as comfort, would be improved by changing the proportions of the windows. There is one great fault in delineating the elevation of this Design, which must not be passed over. It consists in representing the two false windows in the principal front exactly in the same manner as the real ones. Let the reader make a sketch without these false windows, or cut out a bit of white paper, and place it over them in our elevation, and he will see how different an effect will be produced. Wlienever the effect of any design depends mainly on any thing not essential to its use, the critic may always be certain that there is something wrong. In general, also, when imitations of the effect of time on buildings are introduced in architectural designs, they are to be looked on ith suspicion ; as well as all accompaniments of trees, clouds, and figures. A design for a building should always have a distinct and independent beauty in itself; a beauty which can be conveyed by lines in correct perspective, without any reference to either shading, colouring, or accompaniments. Examined by these tests, some of the most showy works on Cottage Architecture, of the present day, will be found to be little better than pictures for tlie eye ; or, as some would express it, to gratify the sense of the picturesque. The Design before us is capable of very great improvement; and, by altering the ground plan, as in fig. 249, two most comfortable 249 dwellings, of two rooms and two bed closets, with a back kitchen, pantry, and privy, to each, might be obtained under a very handsome exterior. Fig. 250 shows the perspective elevation of the principal front, in which a close porch, with square columns, is shown instead of an open one, with round columns. It is intended that the door shall be placed on whichever side of this portico may best suit the prevailing winds of the given situ- ation. If the building wtre to stand east and west, the door of the porch ought to be on