AMERICAN ESTATES AND GARDENS 



terminates in the valley below, at the edge of a winding and beautifully clear lake, and on 

 the other hill of the slope are the dense forests of a neighboring Country Club. It would seem, 

 therefore, that the wild features of the landscape must be always preserved. 



As one passes through the gateway and approaches the house, which is placed on 

 a stone terrace with almost menacing abruptness, one can hardly realize that scarcely two years 

 sufficed to bring the land immediately around one to a fine state of perfection and growth. 

 Rows of cedar trees of great age and size, as may be seen in the frontispiece of this book, have 

 been transplanted for the creation of the formal approach, and have been so ably blended 

 with the natural beauties of the place as to form an integral part of one of the most 

 elaborate and extensive schemes of its kind ever carried out in America. 



The driveway, after it passes through the gateway and up the gentle slope, turns at 

 the foot of the steps abruptly to the left, and thence onward to a level plateau of considerable 

 extent, at the extreme end of which is located the mansion itself. The road encloses a green- 

 sward with an ample water basin, filled with lilies and tropical plants, which reaches almost 

 to the doorway. On turning to the right and approaching the house the formal treatment 

 has been again very happily carried out ; while on the left the natural wildness of the mountain- 

 side has been retained in all its primitive beauty a fine touch of genius that enhances the 

 contrast between nature and art which has been so completely attained in this beautiful 

 estate. 



The house is built of red brick and Indiana limestone, and is designed in the style of 

 Louis XIII. It is two stories in height, with a third story in the high pyramidal roof. It 

 is simple and stately, the main doorway being contained within an ornamental stone frame- 

 work, supporting a low pediment carried by double pilasters. The general plan is rectangular, 

 with projecting wings at each end, the shorter side facing the entrance roadway, and the longer 

 overlooking the valley immediately below and the hills beyond. 



The spacious interior is extremely elegant, with reception-room, library, drawing-room, 

 breakfast-room, dining-room, and music-room opening out of the great central hall. The 

 hall, with its ornamental staircase, is entirely of Caen stone. The dining-room, at the end of 

 the hall, is paneled throughout with oak and has a coffered ceiling. The hangings are green 

 and gold, and the carving on the oak is also gilded, with a very successful introduction of 

 color. 



The library is in Italian walnut, and, like the dining-room, is wholly paneled. The 

 ceiling is plaster, and the mantel of marble. The tone of the living-room is gray. This is 

 a charming room, delightfully finished with the decorative materials taken from an old draw- 

 ing-room in Second Avenue, New York, the ornamental features of a fine old New York 

 room being thus utilized in this modern New Jersey home. The billiard-room is treated in 

 the Renaissance style with good detail. 



The upper floors of the house are given over to bedrooms, arranged singly and en suite, 

 and with many bathrooms. Bright, cheerful colors are used in the bedrooms, and a tour 



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