Modern habits have altered the uses of a drawing-room: formerly, the best room in the house was opened only a few days in each year, where the guests sat in a formal circle; but now, the largest and best room in a gentleman's house is that most frequented and inhabited: it is filled with books, musical instruments, tables of every description, and whatever can contribute to the comfort or amusement of the guests, who form themselves into groups, at different parts of the room; and in winter, by the help of two fire-places, the restraint and formality of the circle is done away. This has been often happily effected in old houses by laying two rooms together, preserving the fire-places in their original situations, without regard to correspondence in size or place; but two fires not being wanted in summer, a provision is made in this villa to preserve an additional window towards the fine prospect at that season of the year; and the pannel, which ornaments the end of the room, may be removed in winter, when the window will be less desirable than a fire-place; thus the same room will preserve, in every season, its advantages of aspects and of views, while its elegance may be retained without increasing the number of rooms for different purposes *.
*[This attention to the wants of different seasons has been too little studied in this country, whilst in France almost every large house has its Garcon tapissier, whose business it is to change the furniture of the apartments for summer and winter. Those who have compared the fitting up of rooms in France, with that of any other country of Europe, must, doubtless, give the preference to French taste, as far as it relates to the union of internal magnificence and comfort; but those architects who copy both the inside and outside of Italian houses, should at least provide for such occasional alterations as our climate may require. Another circumstance may be mentioned, in which economy has been consulted at this small villa. More rooms are generally required on the chamber than on the ground floor; yet, except the kitchen, there is no part of a house which ought properly to be so lofty as the principal rooms; instead, therefore, of increasing the quantity of offices, by what a witty author calls, "turning the kitchen out of doors for smelling of victuals," this offence is here avoided by the external passage of communication. The operations of landscape gardening have often been classed under the general term of improvement; but there are three distinct species. The first relates to places where the grounds are altered, and adapted to a house already existing; the second to those where the houses, by additions, having changed their original character, or aspect, renders it necessary to make alterations in the ground also; the third includes those places where no house previously exists, and where the entire plan of the house, appendages, and grounds, has sometimes been called a Creation. Of the first kind it is needless to enumerate examples. Among the second may be mentioned those, in which the entrance of the house being changed, new rooms added, or barns, stables, and kitchen-gardens removed, new arrangements have taken place, as at ABINGTON HALL, CLAYBERRY, WALLHALL, WEST-COKER, BETCHWORTH, HIGHLANDS, BRANDSBURY, HOLWOOD, &c. Of those places which may be called Creations, the number is necessarily small, yet I may refer to the following examples. In some, where new houses were built, I was consulted by the respective architects on the situation and appendages; as at BRACONDALE, MILTON HOUSE, DONNINGTON, BUCKMINSTER, COURTEEN HALL, BANK FARM, CHILTON LODGE, DULWICH CASINA, HOLME PARK, STREATHAM, THE GROVE, SOUTHGATE, LUSCOMBE, &c. In others, I gave general plans for the whole, with the assistance of my son only in the architectural department, as at BRENTRY HILL, COTHAM BANK, ORGAN HALL, STAPLETON, STRATTON PARK, SCARRISBRICK, PANSHANGER, BAYHAM, &c.]
