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.