A ready-built house in Northbridge, California | Blue Ribbon Construction Co. Architects: Smith and Williams

8/25/2025 12:54:00 AM

Most young families are thoroughly aware that life is a great deal happier for both generations if parents and children can occasion- ally get away from each other. But such privacy costs money. This T-shaped house, however, is planned both for family fun and for privacy for both parents and children. Its floor plan is zoned four ways: (1) a centrally located kitchen and adjoining family play- room; (2) two children's bedrooms directly off the family room; (3) a quiet living room at the opposite end; (4) a master suite in a wing by itself. All this in 1,400 square feet, at a price of $16,500, shows that even a small, low-cost house need not be crowded and boxy.

To provide this comfortable, spread-out living, and still keep costs down, the architects applied skillful planning. For example, they did away with the usual bedroom hall, separate breakfast nook, and closet-size laundry, and combined all of this space to make the big family room. A snack bar doubles as pass-through to the kitchen; washer and dryer are concealed behind doors opening on the play room. They also made good use of native materials (siding is California redwood). They increased the feeling of spaciousness by roof-high ceilings, large glass areas. Since the houses are set on 77′ x 135' lots and surrounded by a grove of walnut trees, there is considerable shade and privacy for living out-of-doors as well as indoors.

The typical young families who have bought these houses in Northbridge, California, find them practical for family living as well as easy on the budget. The family room has a multitude of virtues, not the least of which is the fact that it joins kitchen to children's rooms (highly logical for supervised play and for the frequently expected cookies and milk). The living room, with its handsome brick fire- place wall on one side, and window-wall opening to terrace on the other side, can easily be kept tidy because it is out of the main line of comings and goings. The master-bedroom wing, set apart from the rest of the house, leaves parents undisturbed by the boisterous activities of the young.