PROOF that a small modern house can be a home full of old-fashioned romance and beauty is the four-room Albert pictured at the top of the page. Simplicity is the keynote of this Colonial dwelling, but so skillfully has the basic design been developed that it readily recreates all the quaint charm of pre-Revolutionary life.
Entrance hall, large living room with a log fireplace and a charming bay windowed dining area, expansion attic with an open stairway from the living room, and a long, attractive front porch help to make this home a joy to live in. And in these days of high costs, not the least of The Albert's appeal is its pleasing price-only $8,500, plus the cost of the land.
White clapboards cover the exterior walls. For colorful contrast, the front wall under the porch roof is finished with greenstained wood shingles. The roofing is a weathered-brown shingle.
As you walk across the long Colonial front porch and step through the entrance, you find yourself in a hallway that has two built-in closets-one that you can use for coats and hats, and another for linens or for umbrellas and playthings.
Turning to the left after entering the house you pass into the living room under an arch that spans both the hallway and the railed staircase to the attic. Two windows and a charming bay in the dining area provide lots of light and air. In line with modern practice of doing away with un- necessary inside walls, only a conversational grouping of furniture will separate your living room from your dining section. An open fireplace made of large stones adds real warmth and cheer to this living area.
Near the rear inside corner of the din- ing area a swinging door opens into the kitchen. The modern equipment has been laid out with the sink immediately under the kitchen window and other standard equipment in overhead wood cabinets, forming a letter L against the interior wall next to the bathroom. A special feature in this up-to-date kitchen is a drop-leaf table that you can fold flat against the wall after using it for serving breakfast or lunch.
Another door in the wall opposite the dining area leads into a central hall giving access to the bath and the two bedrooms. Although this hall also turns back into the living room, the sleeping area has been carefully planned so that noise from social affairs will not easily be heard in the bedroom. Both the foyer and the spacing of the closets help to insulate the bedrooms from the rest of the house. The bathroom also helps to deaden noise that might carry into the back bedroom. Both bedrooms, because of their corner location, have ex- cellent light and cross-ventilation.
The stairway down to the full basement is located off the hall under the stairway to the big attic. Five windows and the poured-concrete foundation give enough natural light in the basement to be made into an ideal playroom or workshop. There is ample space for such recreational facilities in addition to the laundry and the oil- fired, hot-water plant.
Among the attractions of The Albert that may not strike the eye of the casual visitor but mean real economy in home mainte- nance to the owner are leaders, gutters and plumbing of copper throughout the house; fully insulated walls, and carefully weather-stripped windows.
Landscaped with a few trees, colorful flowerbeds and a green lawn, The Albert not only will become a living picture of our romantic Colonial days but-perhaps even more important-will look like a home worth double its actual cost.
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