Greatly as must the site influence the external treatment of the house, its internal arrangement will be even more definitely dictated by it. The position of each room in relation to the points of the compass & the outlook should be determined on the spot. It is now pretty generally realised that no sacrifice is too great which is necessary to enable us to bring plenty of sunshine into all the main living rooms. In the South of England perhaps some moderation must be observed in applying this rule, there being no inconsiderable number of days on which a too sunny room may become unbearably hot; and, where the size of the house will allow of it, to have an east and west room is often a great boon. But over the greater part of our country, certainly in the Midlands and the North, the importance of arranging for the few days when the sun is oppressive is small indeed compared with that of planning to suit the many days when every hour of sunshine is of the utmost value. The general rule, then, would seem to be, so to contrive as to get the sunshine into a room at the time when it is most likely to be occupied. Let a study or breakfast-room be east or south-east, a general living-room or drawing-room south and south-west. A good western window in the room we most occupy during the latter part of the day, gives us many an extra hour of daylight; while the opportunity it affords us of habitually seeing the bright colour of sunset is a privilege which is worth some effort to obtain. A kitchen is best north-east or east, for the first coming down into the fireless house may well have its cheerlessness reduced for the servants by what sunshine is to be had at an early hour; later in the day, when the kitchen is hot with cooking, the heat of the sun should not be added. A bath-room and bedrooms, too, are pleasant with an eastern aspect, though some cannot sleep in a room into which early sunshine can come.
Next only in importance to such considerations of aspect, and certainly important enough to modify them somewhat, is the question of prospect; for a pleasant outlook is a boon only less great than a sunny aspect. We must not ignore a fine view even when it can only be had to the north, and much less must we allow any trivial conventions, like the old commonly accepted idea that the front of the house should be to the road, to betray us into sacrificing such solid advantages as sunshine and a pleasant view. In fact, to produce a good plan, one should go to the site without any preconceived conventions, but with a quite open mind, prepared to think out each fresh problem on the spot from the beginning, and to receive all the suggestions the site can offer. I hope you will pardon me if I seem to insist unduly on the importance of so elementary a principle as that of building to suit each site. But one sees the principle so commonly disregarded that it is needful to emphasize it. Not only do we find houses perched uncomfortably on the shoulder of a hill, or thrust into prominence one way or another regardless of their effect on their surroundings; but, in arrangement, the disregard of the site is carried so far that semi-detached houses are even built with their plans just reversed, so that a plan designed for the north end is made to serve for the south, or one arranged to suit the east side allowed to pass for the west. Before leaving the site one should be able to carry away not only detailed notes of drainage, water supply, levels, fine trees, views and aspects, but also a general idea as to the best arrangement of the rooms of the new house, an ideal plan to be aimed at, and a sort of mental sketch in block of the general form the new creation should take externally.