It may be said again that it takes no more money to make a beautiful detail--one which has been the development of experience and refinement--than it does something which is clumsy and coarse. It requires, however, a knowledge of what has been done,--a knowledge of the history of design. It requires the faculty of using intelligently the results of the past, not merely as they originally existed, but in their adaptation to the wants and conditions of the present.
Several years ago Mr. Charles Eastlake wrote a book entitled "Hints on Household Taste." The book accomplished a great deal, by merely leading people to think. To this day there are a great many architectural features which, in the builder's parlance, go under the name of "Eastlake" designs. There are so-called Eastlake doors, Eastlake frames, etc. In truth, Mr. Eastlake had little to say about architecture in a distinctive sense, and many evil things have been perpetrated in his name. The best thing that Mr. Eastlake did was to teach people that the furniture and other things which they had around them could be beautiful and not expensive. That it was not necessary to have a chair or a piece of wood-work loaded down with something called ornament, in order to be beautiful. After this people lost confidence in the furniture manufacturer, and did not depend solely on the price of his wares as a measure of their elegance or attractiveness. This was the sole work of Charles Eastlake, with the masses of the people. He was a missionary in his way. A man of no particular knowledge in regard to architecture or design, yet one who was the means of doing a great deal for architecture. He taught people to look for beauty in simple things.
After a time came a certain something in domestic architecture which was designated as the "Queen-Anne" style. We all know what it is, yet it is difficult to describe. The veritable Queen-Anne architecture meant something; the "Queen-Anne" architecture of a few years ago meant anything--particularly something that was pointed, erratic, and unusual. It, however, did a good work. It enabled the architects to get out of the old beaten paths. A great many beautiful houses were built, which, by the public, were said to be in this style. The name "Queen Anne" was the vehicle for the passage from an old conservatism, which had to do only with the commonplace, to something which was fresh and attractive. In this way a great many beautiful houses were built during this so-called Queen-Anne revival.