Designing a really good small house presents so many difficulties that even the most stouthearted architects quake when tackling the job. The real problem lies in the fact that no matter what size of a house you plan, there are certain basic pieces of equipment necessary for its proper functioning. Unfortunately, none of this apparatus is plastic enough to be squeezed into areas of smaller dimension. Therein lies the rub! And herein is an example of sound minimum planning produced by one of the West Coast's most important architects, Paul Thiry. We congratulate Mr. Thiry for his ingenious solution in the Huntington home shown on these pages. Here's a house, not ten minutes from downtown Seattle, so cleverly integrated into its steep, deeply wooded plot that there's nary a hint of the big city.

It's a house taking full advantage of its topography. Entrance is on the street level where living-dining room and kitchen are located; two bedrooms, bath, and utility room are on a lower level. Because of the steep slope, the bedrooms receive plenty of light and ventilation.

One unusual feature of the house-one of its most attractive details-is the glass-enclosed kitchen which faces the open terrace. With this innovation, supervision of youngsters is an easy matter and, at the same time, the outdoors actually seems to be brought right into the house.

Extremely interesting combinations of material and color are found everywhere. The exterior is partly cedar clapboard, partly white-painted brick. Soffits and trim are cream, and there's a gay tile-red entrance door. This bright color finds its way inside, where it is used on the convenient storage wall, running at right angles to the front wall. This unit, most unusual in a house so small, is invaluable for storing such household equipment as vacuum cleaner, brooms, clothing. The living-room walls are of natural Philippine mahogany, and, in this room, we find special interest focused on the brick fireplace with its adjoining built-in desk and bookcases. The ceiling is of acoustical material, painted blue, the color also found on the kitchen door. All floors are of hardwood, and except for the wood sash in living-dining room sashes are of steel, painted tile-red. When checking the plan, notice the curve garage wall which follows contour of the road.

When the William Deans received this attractive red-and-white Cape Cod house as a wedding present from the bride's father, they became the owners of what is, beyond a doubt, the most popular type of house in the country. There are two bedrooms and bath on the ground floor with room for two extra rooms on the floor above. When the time comes and extra sleeping quarters are needed for the two Dean offspring, upstairs they'll go, and their first-floor room will be transformed into a playroom. From the start, Mrs. Dean insisted on minimum upkeep; delicate fabrics and flimsy antiques handicap youthful energies. A screened breezeway off the dining room connects house with garage and acts as a summer dining room.

THERE are many of us who, while appreciating the warm charm of traditional things, just cannot reconcile ourselves to a life that includes nothing but reminders of things past. Neither can we go overboard for everything modern, in spite of the excitement and logic behind much modern thought. In other words, we like compromise, realizing that there's plenty to be said for both sides. The gray clapboard house-called transitional design for lack of a better name-seems a pretty successful solution to our problem. Its lines are clean and trim. Certainly, there's a recollection of many of its New England forebears in the gabled ends and refined detail. But there's a difference, too. It borrows from the past without being an unimaginative carbon copy, and thereby satisfies the dual yearning for something that is partly old, yet offers something new. White trim and dark green shutters add spice to the exteriors. The simple entrance treatment is as modern as a well-thought-out Mondrian painting, with its inspiration taken from many an Early American farmhouse doorway. It brightly lights the small entrance hall which so efficiently brings living room, kitchen, and powder room within a few feet of one another.

The south wall of living and dining room is continuous, allowing both rooms to flow together with only the projecting fireplace as division. Mrs. Bohenblust is an artist, and so the north-lighted studio is a most necessary feature of the house plan. A study, too, is located on the first floor-a feature that might well be turned into a guest room, since the lavatory is very conveniently located and, with the addition of a connecting door, would afford any privacy desired. Privacy has been added to the drying yard by the happy location of the garage and its connecting, high board fence. This fence, almost self-effacing in its simplicity, forms the background for some interesting ground planting, and becomes an attractive and complementary feature of the front elevation of this charmingly dignified house.

The second floor is very compact, and doesn't cover as much area as the floor below. Here we find two bedrooms, each with cross-ventilation, one bath and plenty of closet space. Directly over the first-floor porch is an open deck which may be used for lounging or sleeping during warm summer nights. Throughout the house, we find wasted space at a minimum; every square inch has been drafted into useful and attractive service.

Building on sloping property always offers a challenge, especially for those who prefer a two-story house. One of purely conventional design too often effects an attenuated, rigid look completely alien to the land around it. That's why the Singley house, shown here, should point the way to more functional planning of such houses and, in the long run, save dollars for future owners. For the slope of the lot was drafted into action and helped keep excavation costs down to a minimum.

Horizontal siding and wide overhanging eaves give the Dewees Singley home the appearance of a small modern cottage, yet it surprisingly contains four ample bedrooms. The hillside slopes to the south with easy access to the public highway, so important to the minister owner, from the north. In designing the house, easy maintenance and low cost were guiding factors. Stock lumber sizes were used everywhere. Though flues were installed for a fireplace, this item was left to the indefinite future when the budget is more expansive. On both floors principal rooms face south and are given welcome shade by the wide-eave and balcony overhangs. Some exceptional features of Its design are the wide balcony and well-protected terrace facing south. These add greatly to the flexibility of plan and make outdoor living an integral part of the house's make-up. Ample closet space, so often neglected in a small house, is found in each and every room. With a minimum of excavation a large utility room was built into the hill itself. These lower walls are of cinder block, solid contrast to the completely insulated frame construction above.

IT's always interesting to find out what kind of a house an architect chooses for himself. Kenneth Swift, for instance, likes Colonial design as a background for the many old pieces of furniture he and his wife have collected over a period of years. Yet, when he built his own house, he believed that many liberties could be taken with the traditional Early American plan to make it better suited to the informal Californian way of living. Therefore, his house turned out to be an excellent example of modification to fit present-day living needs.

Before analyzing the floor plan and its departure from the Colonial norm, let's examine the exterior treatment. The house is located on the west side of a pleasant street which skirts a country club. Because of the street traffic with its resulting noise, only the dining room and one bedroom were located on this side of the house. Natural stone combined with weathered gray shingles were used as wall covering on this elevation whose low eaves practically touch the sloping lawn of English ivy. Facing the street side, the shingle roof was left unbroken and, extended, forms protection for the generous entrance porch.

Now let's step into the entrance hall, a charming little pine-paneled room with wide oak flooring, oval braided rug, and an old marble-topped chest against one wall. To the right is the dining room with its old walnut furniture, yellow wallpaper which contrasts nicely with the plain brown rug, and crisp white lawn curtains which are capped by yellow percale, checked valances. Not a large room, but ample for the Swift family, with its pleasant windows facing east and north. Across the hall is the master bedroom, gay with lush rose-covered wallpaper. The furniture here consists of four-poster bed with quilted top and ruffled bottom, a handsome curly butternut chest and an old-fashioned rocker. Note on the plan that from this bedroom there's a small hall leading to bath and daughter's room in the rear. In the latter, the foot-board of an old bed has been converted into a low headboard for the daughter's bed, which has a boxed bedspread of floral chintz. Scenic wallpaper, crisp Dutch curtains with a band of matching floral hintz, shelves for books and toys, and a low pine rocker made this a colorful room for a small girl. Now back to the entrance hall and straight ahead to the living room, which is planned with emphasis on Californian living. The entire end is opened by floor-to-ceiling windows with a French door on either side leading to a garden terrace. Everything about the room speaks of informal family living and comfort. On two walls there's cream-and-red wallpaper of an old-fashioned scenic design, while on the fireplace wall we find vertical pine paneling stained a warm honey color. Exposed ceiling beams against the white plaster ceiling give the room a cozy Early American look. A red tile fireplace hearth runs the entire length of the room and gives interesting contrast to the oak flooring and woven rugs in soft tones of red, tan, and yellow. The red in hearth and wallpaper is picked up again in the soft pink-tan draperies. Near the fixed window, a charming furniture arrangement makes an ideal spot for games. The love seat is leaf-green color, warm against the pine background. There is an old pine rocker by the fireplace. Gay pieces of colored china and pottery march across the mantel. Wherever one sits in the room, there's a pleasant vista of either garden or the pine-paneled entrance hall. A small door near the fireplace leads into the bedroom hall and makes for unusually good circulation.

THOUGH dwarfed by the majesty of the towering royal palms about it, this low-eaved stucco house with its bright lemon-yellow shutters is a complete individual, a happy combination of dignified formality and warm hospitality. It's a rambling house, around a spacious patio, built to take full advantage of the temperate Florida climate. An outdoor fireplace at one end is flanked by low walls-walls which give definition to the patio without being too confining. In the house plan, itself, the living room forms the main focal point. It is reached directly from the small entrance foyer which, with the ample, well-lighted porch, forms the connecting link between the two wings. The foyer, too, leads directly into a bedroom hall from which two rooms, each with private bath, can be reached. The master bed- room is entered through a dressing room which has many convenient built-in features. Another bedroom, also with adjoining bath, is located at the other end of the living room and is convenient to the side entrance hall. Balancing the bedroom wing, we find the dining room, pantry, and kitchen. The dining room, with its corner window overlooking the patio, may be entered from either living room or porch so that the latter, with its compact, efficient bar, may be drafted into service when entertaining is on a grander scale. A great convenience is the direct approach from the two- car garage into the main quarters of the house, introducing a welcome note for guests during inclement weather. Quarters for one maid, plus a small service porch, complete the plan. Outside, the thin, wide overhang of the eaves and low-pitched roof gives a frank, modern air, while many well-placed casement windows take care of the much desired ventilation. It's a house for good living, fitting naturally into its flat, attractively landscaped plot- a logical reflection of the semitropical location and modern planning.