A SOUND house plan is fundamental to the economics of the home. A common impulse toward rational living has made it necessary to simplify the paraphernalia of existence; to eliminate useless tasks and trappings and to arrange the remaining necessities into an orderly scheme of household life. The arrangement of the modern house is a direct expression of this point of view. The snug, compact dwellings of the present day are eloquent records of the scientific trend in home-making.
Theoretically, the administration of a household under conservation methods implies a perfect dwelling—one in which there is an exact adjustment between the worker and the workplace; where there is no friction between the housekeeping and the house structure; where the interior space and equipment fit perfectly the operations of the home. The gap that exists between an effective scheme of work and a poor arrangement of space represents a permanent element of inconvenience or waste; hence the value of a well-considered floor plan.
The comfort demanded by modern standards of living has brought into the erection of the house many new materials, many new trades and a great deal of fixed equipment in the way of heating, plumbing, and lighting systems, hardwood floors, and various types of built-in closets and furniture. The modern house is accordingly a different and a more costly product than the dwellings of our fathers. This increase in the cost of a cubic foot of the house of to-day, together with the necessity to build, heat, and maintain the home economically, has had a marked effect on the size, shape, and arrangement of dwellings. Small housekeeping units, square floor plans, small halls, condensed stair arrangements, compact kitchens, grouped chimneys, and grouped window treatments are the natural results of straightforward planning to meet modern conditions. Intensive housekeeping and intensive house-planning are the tendency of the times.
AERANGEMENT OF THE HOUSE
The plan of the house must be above all a direct and businesslike arrangement. Every foot of space must be made to count, must contribute either to the smoothness of the housework or to the effectiveness of the whole interior. There should be no waste nor stagnant space, no idle nor undefined areas.
The organization of the floor plan should fit the organization of home activities. The thre
