Designing a successful house for a growing family calls for a perfect meeting of minds. The architect must understand the family, and the family must understand itself. This house, built for a family with three children ranging from 5 to 12, is the product of such understanding. Placed on a sloping, wooded site, it is a pleasantly informal house whose rustic appearance derives from the use of local boulders for the fireplace and redwood boarding as exterior siding. But it is the T-shaped plan that tells the story of the family. At one side of the main entrance is a children's doorway which leads to a "mud room" and lavatory. From this point the children, now clean and presentable, may go directly to their wing consisting of four bedrooms, bath and a large (15'x21') playroom. Laundry equipment and a countertop separate the playroom and kitchen, thus making it possible to keep an eye on the children while cooking. Well removed from the children's domain are the living room, down six steps from the entrance level, and the master bedroom, study and guest room, up six steps from the entrance level.

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source: House and Garden Magazine | November 1957

Peering over the landscaped knoll shown above, the passerby has no doubt about the inspiration of the house just beyond. The slope of its shingle roof is classic Japanese. The site itself, only 100' wide by 130' deep, is plotted in the Japanese manner, with cleverly conceived gardens and terraces adjacent to all principal rooms. In the same mood, too, are the sliding screens, the varied textures, the waxed wood finishes and the finely wrought architectural details. Yet, for all its Oriental spirit, this California house is really contemporary U.S.A. The plan skillfully separates living and sleeping areas, and decorative screens and walls shut out the surrounding neighborhood. With only five main rooms the house seems spacious. Every foot of the small site is put to good use. Today's living demands such intensive planning,

Although the Florida development house shown here measures only 1,580 square feet, it bears many architectural refinements found in the designer's expensive custom-built houses. It looks far larger than its actual size because the plan integrates a 36' x 36' screened patio and a carport.

In the shape of a modified T, the house consists of one wing 76 feet long-study, living-dining room, kitchen, carport and storage wall-and another with two bedrooms and baths. The main entrance is centrally located between the two wings, and a minimum of space is lost on hallways. The closets form sound mufflers around kitchen and baths where mechanical equipment is installed. Kitchen, near the entrance, is only a few steps from both the dining area and the screened patio, which is accessible from both wings by generous window walls. Post and beam construction enabled the designer to expand interior spaces with partial walls. The plan is based on a system of 12' x 18' modular units which can be rearranged to produce varied designs for houses of smaller or larger size.

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source: House and Garden Magazine | May 1957

What the creative eye can see in unlikely material is illustrated in these views of designer-importer Lowell Groves' remodeled top floor apartment in a narrow old two-story house on San Francisco's Telegraph Hill. Until architect Roy Starbird and Mr. Groves went to work on it, the upper floor was a cramped railroad-type flat walled off from the Hill's matchless view. Now front walls of glass and a deck open it to San Francisco's hills and bay. The restrained decorating treatment of stark white walls and dark bare floors composes the most effective setting for the owner's fine collection of antique Dutch East Indian furniture and Far East art objects.

Of interest in the decorating scheme are the vertically striped blinds in navy and white to draw over the window walls at night, an accent of color in the simple living-dining room. Though the apartment is small, adroit use of niches and corridor and kitchen walls for storage contributes to the illusion of space. An uninterrupted view through the living area from the deck emphasizes both the dramatic qualities of the possessions Mr. Groves has collected and the serenity of the setting.

The interior walls are painted white, against which the dark woods and brass trim of the furniture stand out in sharp relief. The cool effect is reminiscent of colonial houses in India. Textured beige silk covers the sofa and natural linen is used on the chairs. The 18th century highboy was made in Ceylon by the Dutch and based on English designs of the period of William and Mary, modified with native Indian brass work. The dining table, a family heirloom, was once a sewing table. It is in perfect scale with the Regency chairs upholstered in navy blue tweed. Rickshaw lamps flank the 19th century Chinese oil painting of Park Street, Calcutta.

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source: House and Garden Magazine | November 1956

For those who like traditional atmosphere without too much formality, a simplified, one-story house of American Colonial styling is just about right. This pleasant small home in Kenilworth, Illinois, is a good example. The owners, whose children are grown, wanted a compact house with few but relatively large rooms. They also wanted graceful details and a picturesque quality. On both counts, this U-shaped house is an unqualified success. The exterior is brick, painted a clear, sunny yellow, with gray shutters and white trim. The front door is recessed and centered between two bay windows. Inside, the study is to the left of the entrance hall, the dining room to the right. The living room, at the rear, faces a small garden. Off the master bedroom is a sitting room that doubles as a nursery for two young grandchildren who come to visit on occasional weekends and holidays. The kitchen, perhaps the most-used room in the house, has a barbecue fireplace in one corner. In the winter months, it is a friendly place for breakfast, lunch and Sunday night suppers. Throughout, the house has fine architectural details, and makes a back- ground in character with the antique furniture. It suits the owners far better than their former large house, for it combines traditional charm with modern housekeeping efficiency.

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source: House and Garden Magazine | December 1956

Ingenuity can often substitute for money in today's kitchen planning. An unconventional design carried out in budget-priced materials produced this kitchen, a self-contained cooking and serving citadel that is the hub of a big modern living room. Structurally, this is a straightforward carpentry job that could be duplicated in other materials, either expensive or inexpensive. The walls are ash plywood attached to wood studding and the cabinets are birch plywood. Walls and cabinets were given a satin finish: a coat of 50 per cent white lead and 50 per cent turpentine rubbed down after 24 hours with a rag dipped in linseed oil. The circular countertop was custom-cut from a sheet of Formica. Vinyl tile covers the floor.

 The equipment is arranged so that the large pieces, refrigerator and wall oven, are at the flattened ends of the arc and the smaller appliances are fitted into the more confined space in between (a point to allow for when planning a circular kitchen). This floor plan saves on materials and makes it easier to prepare meals and serve them indoors or on the terrace (reached by a door opposite the open end of the kitchen). Two ceiling spotlights and strip lights over work surfaces illuminate the kitchen. Flame was chosen as an interior color because it goes well with soft wood tones and provides a surprise element of stimulating color when the pass-throughs are opened for meals.

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source: House and Garden Magazine | September 1956