December, 19 13 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



423 



trance-court, surrounded by 

 a simple iron railing and 

 grille. Against the iron rail- 

 ing were planted box-trees, 

 clipped in formal shapes. 

 Over the entrance door is a 

 small iron balcony, excellent 

 in design, resting on iron 

 brackets, and on this are 

 placed more of the clipped 

 box-trees. The solid wooden 

 entrance-door, painted a 

 green-dark, and having a 

 large bronze knoh in the 

 centre, opens into a cool and 

 stately entrance-hall, which 

 is paved with blocks of black 

 and white marble. The flat 

 wall-surface is broken up by 

 moldings forming rectangu- 

 lar panels, and the whole 

 treated with paint, ecru in 



color. To the right and left, as you enter, in each centre 

 panel, is a shallow niche, in each of which stands a terra- 

 cotta allegorical figure on a pedestal. At the back, be- 

 tween the doors leading to the stairway-hall, is a beautiful 

 Louis XIV, white marble wall-fountain, set in the wall, and 

 clustering about its base are some green, growing plants. 

 In the elongated panels are simple, gold-bronze lighting fix- 

 tures with empire shades. Two green enameled Louis XIV 

 tabourets and a small table, holding the visitors' book, 

 complete the furnishings of this entrance-hall, and its air 

 of quiet elegance is but a 

 forerunner of equally beau- 

 tiful rooms to follow. One 

 passes through the door at 

 the rear to the staircase-hall, 

 which leads to the floors 

 above. The walls are 

 painted deep ivory and on 

 the landings the walls have 

 been paneled with rectangu- 

 lar pieces of mirror. In fact, 

 a great many mirrors have 

 been used in this "house, not 

 to reveal one's reflection, 

 but for their decorative 

 value, and to give an appear- 

 ance of greater width to the 

 rooms, as the house is only 



twenty feet in total width. 

 The drawing-room, on the 

 second floor, is a restful 

 room with a pervading sense 

 of quiet ease. The simple 

 paneling suggests the Louis 

 XVI period, and is a striking 

 example of the manner in 

 which the French period 

 styles can be adapted to 

 rooms of small dimensions, 

 without having that frigidly 

 formal appearance which 

 period rooms are apt to pos- 

 sess. The walls are painted 

 a beautiful tone of grey, 

 which makes a harmonious, 

 neutral background for the 

 collection of old gold and 

 painted French furniture of 

 different periods, some tapes- 

 The entrance is just below the street level try covered, which combined, 



nevertheless, in a harmonious whole. Over the little writ- 

 ing table, in a small glass case, is a little collection of minia- 

 tures, watches, fans and pieces of quaint jewelry. 



One may digress, for a moment, to refer to the wall 

 treatment of the various rooms. No wall-papers have been 

 used in the entire house. Instead, the walls have been 

 painted and stippled, so as to remove all trace of brush 

 marks and impart a flat, dull finish. In the case of the 

 entrance-hall, the drawing-room and the dining-room, the 

 flat wall-surfaces have been agreeably broken up into panels, 



by the simple expedient of 



nailing wooden moldings to 

 the walls and then painting 

 the whole surface. In this 

 manner a paneled room can 

 easily be attained. The in- 

 itial expenses of painted 

 walls over wall-papers is 

 greater, but they can be eas- 

 ily cleaned and are undoubt- 

 edly more sanitary. 



The original drawing- 

 room was long and narrow, 

 but in the course of remodel- 

 ing, the hall has been taken 

 away, and this space incorpo- 

 rated in the drawing-room, 

 which has resulted in a room 



The dining-room, library (looking towards mantelpiece), and library showing cabinet 



