TODAY you hear a lot of talk about “outdoor, indoor” living, which simply means that more thought is being given to the development of house plans that will gracefully combine the best features of the outside terrace, passages and the lawn with the inside of the house. It is a type of plan particularly well suited to our climate and mode of living in the South.

The house shown here would fit best on a corner lot, or a 100-foot inside lot. Behind the garage is the main terrace, partially covered by the roof of the garage. The living room is quite sizable and is well lighted and ventilated by large windows. In the dining area, all the wall space not actually required for furniture is given over to windows. The kitchen is large and arranged for easy preparation of meals. Next to the kitchen is a combination entrance and laundry room and next to that space is the bath. The bedrooms are large and both of them have considerable closet space.

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source: The Progressive Farmer – Distinctive Southern Homes | 1950

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WHILE this house is designed primarily for the comfort and convenience of the family, there are few homes of its modest size that are so well arranged for entertaining.

There is a good-sized guest bedroom on the first floor with its own bath and ample closet space. The living room is large and opens onto a porch that makes a pleasant outdoor sitting or dining room in summer. The kitchen is conveniently located in relation to the living room, dining room and porch. The basement recreation room provides a wonderful place for informal entertaining and for children’s indoor games.

The exterior of the house, with its long windows and its attractive doorway framed by wrought iron trellises, has individuality and charm. The roof drops down to form dormer windows in the second story. This adds to the interest of the exterior design and it also effects a saving in money because it cuts down the amount of exterior wall and framing material.

As you enter the house from the front you come into a foyer that has openings leading to the living room, dining room and to the stair hall. The living room is large and attractively designed. On the inside wall opposite the entrance is a Colonial fireplace.

On the other side of the house is the dining room—which is ample in size—and the kitchen, breakfast area and utility room. Beyond the utility room is the garage, which is attached to the house for convenience and economy.

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source: The Progressive Farmer – Distinctive Southern Homes | 1950

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IN THE best tradition of the Southwest, this low, spreading house has the air of informal hospitality that is making the ranch-style home increasingly popular in every section of the South. The long front porch extends a welcome and the overhanging eaves give a sheltered effect. Vertical board is used on the side walls of the porches, and the large chimney, which extends to form a flower box, is of field stone.

A foyer makes it possible to enter or leave the living or sleeping section of the house without disturbing activities of the other section.

The living room, with its fireplace, built-in book shelves, and corner picture window has a great deal of character. It is intimate and comfortable—a pleasant center for family life or for entertaining. It is planned with a minimum number of doors, which leaves more free wall space for furniture arrangement. The adjoining dining room has a bank of windows overlooking the garden.

The corridor-shaped kitchen is compact, placing everything within easy reach. The sunny breakfast nook makes a convenient setting for quick meals, or an ideal place for young children to prepare homework under Mother’s supervision. The laundry room is located adjacent to the kitchen.

The garage and driveway are well placed in relation to the outside entrances to the house, which saves steps for the family and also for anyone making deliveries to the home. The service entry has a handy storage closet. An additional closet in the laundry will accommodate cleaning tools and supplies.

The bedroom wing is separated from the main portion of the house by groups of closets which help to minimize noise, in addition to supplying generous storage space. Each bedroom features a distinct type of window arrangement. The bathroom is located between the two bedrooms and is provided with a linen closet.

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source: The Progressive Farmer – Distinctive Southern Homes | 1950

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This plan offers charming possibilities for either formal or informal living. A study of each room will reveal that no detail of comfort or convenience has been overlooked—even to details usually found only in much larger homes.

Entering the house from the covered porch you find a door flanked by sidelights in the traditional manner. In the foyer, space is provided for the storage of guests' coats. Close by, but not opening directly off the foyer, is the bath, which in the small home serves the dual purpose of family bath and powder room.

In the living room, across from the foyer, is a handsome picture window which makes the outdoors part of the room itself. On the opposite side is a fireplace, finished in keeping with the character of the room. In the dining room is a unique grouping of windows with built-in storage space underneath for linens and tableware.

The kitchen is designed with an eye for efficiency—with the working units arranged in a "U" and the breakfast nook at one side. A door leading from the kitchen to the terrace makes it easy to serve meals out of doors as well as in the dining room. The partially covered terrace affords a protected passage to the garage.

The sleeping unit has space and adequate clothing storage for four active persons. The bathroom is conveniently located in relation to all bedrooms. There is an extra storage closet in the hall.

The materials selected for the exterior bear out the Cape Cod effect.

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source: The Progressive Farmer – Distinctive Southern Homes | 1950

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THE person who is looking for a long, low, ranch-type house that can be fitted to a 75-foot front, will find this plan of unusual interest. A three-bedroom house with a two-car garage, it has all the convenience and charm usually found only in much more expensive homes.

The large picture window and the fireplace opposite offer a fine opportunity for attractive furniture groupings. The kitchen, breakfast room and dining room are well placed with relation to one another, so as to assure efficient operation and saving in footsteps. The kitchen is connected to the garage by means of a screened breezeway.

The bath is placed next to the kitchen to simplify the plumbing installation and has the advantage of being in the center of the plan where it is equally accessible to all the rooms in the house. The hall in the bedroom wing has a large closet for storage. From the hall you enter the master bedroom, equipped with a Mr. and Mrs. closet. Each of the other bedrooms has one large closet. All three bedrooms have generous wall space for furniture.

The convenient arrangement of the interior, coupled with the pleasing outside lines, makes this a simple, honest, livable house of which anyone might justly be proud.

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source: The Progressive Farmer – Distinctive Southern Homes | 1950

Gemini AI Rendering

There are many points to recommend this five-room plan, either to the confirmed city-dweller, or the suburbanite who has a sizable acreage. Its semi-rustic materials and long, low lines are definitely characteristic of the ranch-style house, but it can be easily and suitably corraled on a small city lot.

The exterior is interesting because of the balanced design and the unusual combination of materials. The projecting wing of random rubble stone forms a pleasing contrast to the shingle sides of the entry, breezeway and garage. A wood-shingled roof accents the spreading lines.

The sheltered entry leads to a foyer which effectively divides the house into service, sleeping and living areas.

Good wall space is an outstanding virtue of the living and dining rooms. Each has generous areas to cope with today's outsize sofas, breakfronts, and other pieces of furniture. The windows in these rooms are grouped to face a garden at the rear of the property. The living room features a fireplace which forms the partition wall between the two rooms.

The kitchen is given the increasingly popular forward position. It is blessed with generous cabinets and work space. It is close to the utility room and has access to the garage through the breezeway.

Adjacent to the kitchen—actually part of it—is the breakfast room. This is large enough to take care of the family meals, and such varied activities as study, sewing, or small children’s indoor play. Corner windows give it ample light. A closet opening from the kitchen houses the hot water heater and the central heating system. It is close enough to the fireplace chimney to arrange for venting the heating system through that channel.

Two corner bedrooms occupy one entire end of the house. Both are of a comfortable size and have well-placed windows which allow for plenty of fresh air and light. Each room has convenient closet space.

To serve the master bedroom, there is a full bathroom with built-in dressing table and linen closet. A lavatory, designed as a powder room for guests, also helps to relieve crowding in the family bath during rush hours.

One of the most outstanding features of this plan is the absence of major “traffic lanes” through any room. Foyer and halls permit easy access to every part of the house. Adequate storage space is furnished by closets in the hallway and by a large, out-of-season storeroom opening off the garage.

This house fulfills all the requirements of the casual, comfortable style of living that is gaining popularity with both city folks and suburbanites throughout the South.

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source: The Progressive Farmer – Distinctive Southern Homes | 1950

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