AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
August, 
Igi2 
A view of the Pikeaeroan 
eventually restored the framework to its original strength. 
In the wonderfully interesting and beautiful country house 
which now looks out upon the lake it is dificult to recognize 
the outlines of the old mill; the outlines are there but care- 
ful remodeling has done much to correct and beautify 
them. ‘The result of the alterations.is a house of rough 
cast upon metal lathing which was applied directly to the 
strong frame of the original building. The old stone work 
has been retained and material from the same quarries, laid 
in the same manner, has been used in the chimneys and else- 
where where additional stone work was required, and so 
carefully has this been done that it is impossible to tell 
where the old ends and the new begins, which is, after all, 
one of the hardest tests of really successful restorations. 
The mill as the architect found it presented many serious 
difficulties, the chief being that it was exceedingly lofty for 
the amount of ground which it covered, for upon one side 
it was five stories high. This produced the effect of its 
rising abruptly into the air, and reducing this apparent 
height without decreasing the amount of space within the 
building has been cleverly done by laying all possible em- 
phasis upon the horizontal lines of the house and its im- 
mediate surroundings and by retaining as far as possible 
the unbroken skyline and broad expanse of roof. 
The main entrance to this little country estate is marked 
by a low wall and simple piers of native stone, and a tiny 
lodge which is being rapidly covered with ivy is placed near 
the gate. This little building is garage and chaufteur’s rooms 
as well as entrance lodge, and its being arranged to serve 
a practical as well as a decorative purpose is part of the 
careful planning which has made these alterations so inter- 
esting. From the entrance a broad drive winds through 
the grounds, crossing the mill stream upon a bridge of the 
same stone of which the old foundations of the mill were 
built, and terminating in a sweeping circle before the en- 
trance. The service-yard and steamer dock are reached 
through another entrance and from the house walks lead 
to a tennis court, a vegetable garden, a sandy beach and a 
cove where the brook flows into the lake, and the small inlet 
which is outlined by a low wall of stone and forms a harbor 
for rowboats and motor launches of light draft. 
The house is planned with two fronts, one facing the 
approach and another overlooking the waters of the lake. 
Near the service entrance is a small building used for stor- 
ing ice and connected with the house by a low wall in which 
panels of lattice work are inserted. This forms a drying- 
yard and unifies what would otherwise be a group of several 
buildings by creating a strong horizontal dimension. ‘This 
purpose is further served by the use of wooden panels, 
One end of the living-room 
trellises, arches and screens which are used elsewhere, by 
the retaining wall of stone near the entrance to the house 
and by the low wall which encloses a grass terrace at the 
point where the height of the house is the greatest. At this 
same side of the house there is built up a paved terrace or 
pergola upon high stone walls. A toolroom occupies the 
space below, and the heavy timbers above, upon which vines 
are being trained, accentuate the general “‘lowering”’ effect, 
which is also helped by the use of window boxes and by the 
placing of windows in broad horizontal groups. 
The main entrance to the house is into a small square hall 
divided from the hall proper by fluted columns and pilas- 
ters. ‘To the left of this little hall is a small reception-room 
furnished very simply with cane furniture, wall and floor 
coverings of plain gray, and curtains and chair cushions of 
flowered taffeta; upon the right of the hall is the stairway 
to the floors above. Tall white columns open into the long 
hall which extends through the house and opens at the far 
The pergola is set upon the high stone walls of the old structure 
