. Houses for town or country. must inevi-tably express superabundant wealth. Americans doeverything with their wealth except forget result is that there is too much of everything—too much gilt, too much furniture, too much uphol-stery, too much space, too many styles, too muchceiling. What these houses and grounds require is nota negative refinement, but a thoroughgoing simplifi-cation. In many cases comparatively simple archi-tectural schemes have been smothered by a multitudeof irrelevant and unnecessary trappings; in othercases the design itself needs simplifying. Whereverthe over-ri
. Houses for town or country. must inevi-tably express superabundant wealth. Americans doeverything with their wealth except forget result is that there is too much of everything—too much gilt, too much furniture, too much uphol-stery, too much space, too many styles, too muchceiling. What these houses and grounds require is nota negative refinement, but a thoroughgoing simplifi-cation. In many cases comparatively simple archi-tectural schemes have been smothered by a multitudeof irrelevant and unnecessary trappings; in othercases the design itself needs simplifying. Whereverthe over-richness and elaboration comes in, the greatnecessity with which every collection of these housesimpresses the observer, is this necessity for moresimplicity; and in houses built by the better Ameri-can architects for well-to-do people who are notinebriated by their opulence one is much more aptto find designs that are simple without being atten-uated. The most interesting contemporary American 78 THE AMERICAN COUNTRY ESTATE. AN EXAMPLE OF TRUE STYLE country houses are apt to be those which cost be-tween tAventy thousand and one hundred and fiftythousand dollars. When their owners spend lessthan twenty thousand dollars, it is rare that an archi-tect in good standing is employed, because his feesare proportionately larger for an inexpensive thanfor an expensive job. The small house-builder has an 79 HOUSES FOR TOWN OR COUNTRY impression, not altogether erroneous, that the modesthouse does not get its fair share of attention in thebig office; and even in those offices which do givetheir best services to the small client it is unusual thata really complete house and garden design can berealised for twenty thousand dollars. On the otherhand, as already pointed out, the owner of a countryplace that costs several hundred thousand dollars ormore, generally wants his money to make a big show,with a result, which, however admirable and inter-esting in certain respects, betrays its hybri
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