392 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



November, 19 13 



The living-room of the Collier house 



which greatly increase the size and the hospitable appear- 

 ance of the picturesque pile of rambling buildings. 



The frankly democratic and refined simplicity of the 

 exterior of the house is expressed again in the plan of the 

 interior and in the furnishing and decorating of the great 

 number of rooms which it contains. There could hardly 

 be found a more striking example of appropriate furnishing 

 for the interior, without departing for a moment from the 

 simple dignity demanded by a country house of this char- 

 acter presents, nevertheless evidences of the care which has 

 provided all of the tasteful refinement of surroundings 

 necessary for its enjoyment. True to its southern manor 

 house type, the house contains a main hall which extends 

 through the building opening at either end upon one of the 

 wide verandas. This hall is so exceedingly spacious that it 

 fulfils some of the functions of a living-room as a rallying 

 point for the household, for at one end about a broad study 

 table are drawn up many lounging chairs and a wide divan, 

 and the current magazines and books are spread out under 

 the bright glow of two study lamps. At the opposite end 

 of the hall the stairway leads to the upper floor in two 

 flights which meet upon a broad landing placed balcony 

 fashion midway between the two floors. The woodwork 

 throughout the house has been very carefully designed after 

 certain notable examples which still exist in the South. The 

 designing of the low-arched doorways which lead from the 

 hall into rooms upon either side, like the wainscoting which 

 extends up the stairs, and the little cupboards in the corners 

 of the hall, recall at once similar work in a certain great 

 house of Colonial times, although in this instance, possibly 

 as a concession to the very simple character of the house, 



the banisters of the stairs are plain and slightly tapered 

 rather than carved. The walls of the hall, where not cov- 

 ered by wooden paneling painted white, are hung with a 

 "scenery" paper in various tones of gray, and this creates 

 a fitting background for mirrors of gilt or mahogany which 

 are hung upon the walls. 



A great living-room has its walls covered with a paper 

 showing in very light colors a severely classical garden 

 scene in Italy or Greece. Against this rather cool back- 

 ground, richly figured curtains of linen taffeta hung at doors 

 and windows stand out with striking and beautiful effect. 

 Lighting fixtures with cut glass shades and crystal pendants 

 are placed upon the walls and here, as in many other rooms 

 throughout the house, the floor is covered with old-fashioned 

 rag carpet which accords delightfully with the quaint and 

 home-like domesticity with which the entire house has been 

 so consistently arranged. 



One generally expects to find in the dining-room of a 

 country home the most striking expression of the character 

 of the house and if one room of this New Jersey country 

 seat were to be selected for especial emphasis, th dining- 

 room would probably claim a particular descriptio 1. The 

 excellent proportions of the. room itself, the ver; simple 

 paper upon the walls, the rag rug upon the floor \d the 

 quaint fabrics used as hangings unite to form the mo sym- 

 pathetic of settings for the most graceful of old mah >gany 

 furniture in tables, chairs and sideboard. Against the 

 white paneling, without a shelf, above the fireplace, is hung 

 the original paintings of one of the wonderful pictures 

 drawn by Mr. Maxfield Parrish to illustrate the tales of 

 the Arabian Nights and the blues, grays and tawny yellows 



