The first requirement of a satisfactory farmhouse is adequate size to provide needed working area, storage space, and living and sleeping quarters. For the average family at least three sleeping rooms are needed,[2] one for the parents, one for the boys, and one for the girls.

All the space may not be needed at the time the house is built, but the chances are that it will be needed before many years. On the other hand, many families find that after the children have grown up and left home it is not necessary to use the entire house. For this reason it is desirable to have it arranged so that part of the rooms may be closed off or may be rented to tourists.

COMFORT AND CONVENIENCE

Adequate, well-used space for both the family and the furniture is a large factor in farmhouse comfort. The proper number, size, and placement of windows, doors, and stairs, and good construction are important. These matters have been carefully worked out in the plans shown in this bulletin. Comfort also depends to a large extent on good heating, plumbing, lighting, and screening. Information on some of these subjects is given in Farmers' Bulletin 1698, Heating the Farm Home; 1448, Farmstead Water Supply; 1426, Farm Plumbing; 1227, Sewage and Sewerage of Farm Homes; Department Circular 405, The Domestic Oil Burner; and in U.S. Department of Commerce bulletin, Insulation on the Farm, price 10 cents.

The convenient arrangement of the farmhouse begins with its relationship to the other farm buildings and to the highway. Unlike the city house, the farmhouse has its main line of communication through the back or side door. Therefore outside doors and porches should be located so as to give convenient entrance from the farm driveway and the path to the barn, and wherever possible should be on the sheltered side of the house.

If possible, there should be a convenient place near the rear entrance for men to leave their outer wraps and to wash before going into the house. These facilities are often provided in a washroom or in one corner of the workroom, but if there is no washroom or workroom in the house, there should at least be clothes hooks and a bench and washbasin for summer use on the back porch.

It is also desirable that the work portions of the house, where the housewife spends much of her time, look out over the farm buildings and the entrance roadway. Most farm women like also a glimpse of the highway from the kitchen window.

Preferably the traffic way from the rear entrance to the main portion of the house should not lead through the kitchen. If the kitchen must be used as a passageway, the doors should be so arranged that the traffic does not cross the work area. This not only decreases the possibility of interference with household activities but also makes possible a more compact and convenient arrangement of work equipment. An important factor is a workroom or porch, on about the same level as the kitchen, for laundry, canning, care of milk, and other farm activities and for supplementary food storage. This saves much clutter in the kitchen itself and contributes to more efficient arrangement.

At least one bedroom should be provided on the first-floor of the farmhouse, not too far from the kitchen, so that small children or sick persons may be cared for conveniently. The bathroom should be convenient to both downstairs and upstairs bedrooms, but preferably on the first-floor. A space for a bathroom is very desirable even if the fixtures cannot be put in at once.

Ample storage space should be provided for clothing, bedding and linen, wraps, food, dishes and utensils, cleaning equipment, toys, and fuel. In general, these needs have been met in the plans given in this bulletin by closets in halls and bedrooms, kitchen cabinets, shelves or pantries, and cellar storage. Closet, cabinet, and shelf space adds greatly to the convenience and comfort of a house and should not be omitted.[3]

In the smaller plans shown here, an alcove or an end of the kitchen is indicated for use as a dining area. In the larger plans, either a dining room or a space for dining in the living room is provided, and in most cases there is also space in the kitchen for "hurry-up" meals.

The following points have been kept in mind in planning the kitchens.

A sink in every house is recommended. Even when water must be carried into the house, the sink and drain add much to the convenience of the kitchen and may be installed very cheaply. Where running water is not available, a pump may be installed beside the sink. However, running water, hot and cold, adds more to the convenience of the farm-home than almost any other factor.

The sink should be well-lighted, with windows over or at one end of it. Windows over the sink should have the sills higher than the back of the sink. Such windows will need to be shielded from sun glare unless on the north side of the house. The sink should have a drain board at the left end, at the right a flat shelf for stacking dishes if there is no drain board there. Dish storage should be near enough the left end of the sink for the dishes to be put away without unnecessary steps.

The cookstove should be conveniently near the sink, preferably against the side wall, or across from it if the kitchen is narrow.

A small food-preparation surface, table or shelf, should be placed next to the stove at the same height as the cooking surface. There should be cupboard space near the stove for the storage of cooking utensils. A worktable should be provided for long mixing jobs; it should have knee space and toe space. Staple supplies should be stored near this table and, if possible, should be near the refrigerator and not too far from the stove.

The refrigerator should, for convenient use, be as near as possible to the worktable and stove; however, the higher the surrounding temperature the greater the cost of operating the refrigerator. If an ice refrigerator is used, a location near the outside door lessens the tracking of dirt into the house. A ventilated cupboard near the worktable is convenient for storing the less perishable foods and reduces the season during which ice is needed.

RELATION TO OTHER BUILDINGS AND HIGHWAY

A house designed for the south or west side of the highway should be reversed if it is to be built on the north or east. For example, plan 6521 (p. 23) would fit nicely on either the south or the west side of the main road. If it were south of the highway, with the drive as shown, the kitchen would be on the east where it would have the advantage of the morning sunlight and in most localities the screened porch would be sheltered from the coldest winds. If the house were on the west side of the road, the kitchen would still get morning sunlight, and the porch would protect it from the afternoon sun. On the other hand, if the house were to be built on the north or east side of the road, the kitchen would be badly sheltered and lighted, but reversing the plan so that the kitchen would be on the right instead of the left side of the house would remedy these conditions.

Before deciding to build any house the plan should be studied carefully to see how it will best fit the location and the arrangement of the rest of the farmstead.

APPEARANCE

Attractive appearance of a farmhouse is to be obtained by:

Good taste in its proportions and exterior design.

Materials chosen to suit the local environment and type of house, effectively employed.

A pleasing color scheme for the house, in harmony with its surroundings.

Proper planning with relation to the natural features of the site, the other farm buildings, and the highway.

Grading the site and planting trees, shrubs, and flowers.

If the homes shown in this bulletin are carefully built according to the drawings, they will be satisfactory with respect to the first two points.

Proper location of the house is exceedingly important and must be worked out on the ground. Farmers' Bulletin 1132, Planning the Farmstead, and 1087. Beautifying the Farmstead, will be found helpful in this and in the planting of trees and shrubs around the house. Farmers' Bulletin 1452, Painting on the Farm, discusses kinds and uses of paints. Other bulletins on these subjects are available from several of the State agricultural colleges.

SAFETY

Safety in the farmhouse depends first on good construction for protection from damage by wind, fire, decay, and termites. Safety is promoted also by planning to avoid hazards from low beams, steep or unguarded stairways, or badly placed doors and windows. The working drawings for the houses illustrated herein embody good practice in these matters. The welfare and convenience of the occupants will be further permanently safeguarded through rat-proof construction, which eliminates "rat harbors", and denies easy entrance of the rodents to the building. Additional safety may be secured at slight cost by following the recommendations in Farmers' Bulletins 1590, Fire Protective Construction on the Farm; 1638, Rat Proofing Buildings and Premises; and 1649, Construction of Chimneys and Fireplaces; Leaflet 87, Wind-Resistant Construction for Farm Buildings, and Leaflet 101, Injury to Buildings by Termites.