82 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



August, 1906 



The house being symmetrical both in plan and design, save 

 as regards the extension of the wings, as has been noted, it 

 only remains to note the significance of the entrance front 

 and the garden front. The sojourner in Newport is fortu- 

 nate in being able to obtain an excellent view of the entrance 

 front of the house from the gateway of wrought iron by 

 which the grounds are entered. The whole of this side of 

 the property is enclosed within a high stone wall, perfectly 

 plain, and interrupted at the center by lofty piers which sup- 

 port the great main gates. Very agreeable it is to stand here 

 and peer within, looking across the spacious lawn to the 

 main doorway with its splendid doors of bronze. The plant- 

 ing of this front has been somewhat simple and yet it is quite 

 sufficient. Groups of lofty evergreens stand at the corners 



forming an outdoor lounging-room. The brick floor is laid 

 in simple geometrical patterns. 



The plan of the house is quite well expressed by the dis- 

 position of its exterior. A hall runs through the center to the 

 terrace overlooking the garden. On the right is the dining- 

 room and on the left is the drawing-room. Beyond the draw- 

 ing-room is the card room and in the left wing are apartments 

 for bachelor guests. Beyond the dining-room is the pantry, 

 and in the right wing is the kitchen and servants' dining-hall. 



The entrance hall is treated in cream white plaster through- 

 out. The floor and stairs are of white marble. The walls 

 have a paneled wainscot; above them the surface in alter- 

 nately large and narrow panels, the former being perfectly 

 plain within the enclosing molding, while in the latter the 



The Floor and Stairs of the Entrance Hall are of White Marble. The Walls are Paneled in Plaster 



of the outer pavilions, while trees of lesser growth are planted 

 near them. The ground on either side is somewhat raised 

 above the central level which forms a shallow place, while 

 the house is thus, as it were, placed on a grassed terrace. This 

 heightens and emphasizes the central steps, which are but- 

 tressed on each side by pleasant groups of evergreens. 



The garden front looks upon a spacious flower garden 

 which occupies the center of the space immediately beyond the 

 house and which, like the center of the entrance front, is sev- 

 eral steps below the beautifully kept lawn that surrounds the 

 house on all sides. It is a sunken formal garden, with paths 

 radiating from a central flower bed, and surrounded, on all 

 sides, by a brilliant bordering of flowers. An elevated ter- 

 race adjoins the house here and is covered with an awning. 



whole surface is delicately decorated. The doors have 

 molded frames with decorated consoles to carry their crown- 

 ing member. Exposed beams divide the ceiling into panels 

 which are supported on decorated cornices. The stair rail 

 is of black iron with mahogany handrail. 



The walls of the drawing-room are in plaster toned a 

 cream white. The wainscot is plain without panels, and with 

 a base molding, and an egg-and-dart molding at the top. 

 Large panels fill the upper surfaces of the wall, whose size 

 and design vary somewhat according to the space they have to 

 fill. A rich cornice beautifully detailed supports the ceiling 

 of plain plaster, undecorated save for the ornaments from 

 which the chandeliers depend. The mantelpiece is of white 

 marble. The curtains are old rose and determine the color 



