132 HOW TO MAKE A COUNTRY PLACE 



In the side wall to the left of hall entrance is a projecting 

 oriel window connecting library and dining room, and on the north, 

 as we have seen, over inglenook and butler's pantry, the little 

 den whose swinging casements of leaded glass open near ceiling height 

 into the dining room. 



Sky Rock. 



Just beyond Stonehenge and northwest of Storm King stands 

 Sky Rock. Its high cliff foundations and turreted outline silhouetted 

 'gainst the sky line make it true to name, fitting the cragged site as a 

 long low building fits a plain. 



The veranda view compasses a wildness of forest and ravine that 

 belong to a wilderness rather than to a property within one hour 

 of New York City. From the roof lookout is an unobstructed 

 horizon view. 



A desirable motif for a country house is a ten-foot wide fireplace 

 opening as seen in Sky Rock. The entrance hall is 20x30 feet, with 

 dining room a close second in size. One side of the latter is bayed, 

 overlooking forest and valley, through which winds a silver-threaded 

 river, merging into the waters of Long Island Sound. In the distance 

 are the blue-hazed sand banks of Oyster Bay. 



Settle in Stone Ledge. 



A broad entrance porch fronts the cliff on the west. In it 

 is a settle cut in the stone ledge on which Sky Rock is built. Cement 

 steps from the porch lead upward to an iron-banded-donjon 

 gate. Foot pressure on either metal door mat or old fashioned 

 scraper starts the clanging of a gong that doubtless in feudal times 

 called many a doughty warrior to don gasket and breastplate to repel 

 invaders, but today answering that summons, the gate swings 

 wide to greet the arriving guest, who steps into an ideal porch 

 room, one of the half dozen motifs that inspired the building 

 of Sky Rock. The marquise is formed by a curved extension of the 

 platform of the porch room, which is about 25x30 feet. Densely 

 headed rock maples and tall walnuts bar the western sun. 



Domed Hall. 



From the porch a wide Colonial door opens to the living room 

 from which in turn three steps lead to a broad stair landing, holding 

 a piano, a couch and a couple of chairs. On the west side of this 

 landing are two long leaded windows, each four by twelve feet, 

 while directly opposite is a stairway six feet in width leading to a 

 second story, circular, -vaulted hall twelve feet in diameter with coved 

 ceiling, centreing in a dome of colored glass. Inset in the floor above is 

 a sheet of translucent, extra heavy, floor wire glass. This entrance hall 

 is pierced by six doors and connects with a nine foot wide galleried 



