October, 1906 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



225 



Transformation of an Artistic House into an 



Italian Villa 



^a«« 



By Francis Durando Nichols 



HEN Mr. John Cheney Piatt purchased the 

 simple, artistic house on the Eagle Rock 

 Way, Montclair, New Jersey, he observed 

 in its outlines the possibility of transform- 

 ing it into a modified "Italian Villa," and 

 the paramount suggestion which was pre- 

 sented to express this scheme was the addition of the tower 

 at the corner of the house, which not only gave three addi- 

 tional rooms, but also added dignity to the exterior. The 

 grounds contain over two acres and the house is placed edge- 

 wise to the street, with the approach quite close to the north 

 line of the property. The main entrance to the house is 



which extends around the hall at the intersection of the 

 wall and ceiling. 



To the left of the hall is the reception-room, which has 

 paneled walls, ivory-white painted trim and frame-work, 

 and tapestry wall-covering. 



To the right of the hall is the old dining-room, which is 

 now used for a study for the children. 



The drawing-room, which is also the living-room, occupies 

 the main part of the house, and is built at a lower level than 

 the floor of the rest of the first story. The color-scheme is 

 green and ivory-white. The walls are paneled, with the 

 spaces between hung with green velour, of a soft shade. 



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from this side, leaving the broad expanse of lawn and garden 

 to the south side, of which broad vistas are obtained from 

 the living-rooms. 



The approach to the house is from the main road, pass- 

 ing in a straight line to the front door, beyond which, sepa- 

 rated by a latticed screen, it extends to the service-court and 

 to the stable. 



The exterior of the house is covered with hewn shingles 

 of the old-fashioned type, treated with whitewash, while 

 the trim throughout is painted white, except the blinds, 

 which are painted an apple-green. The roofs, which are 

 doubled with air-space between, are covered with canvas, 

 painted gray. 



The hall is octagonal in plan. The woodwork is of 

 handsome design, the trim of the door and the parts formed 

 by the octagon rise like pilasters to a massive carved frieze 



while the frame to the panels is painted ivory-white. The 

 length of the room is broken into three divisions by the 

 groups of columns placed at intervals along each side of the 

 room. The columns have composite capitals and were 

 taken from one of the beautiful Italian villas near Florence. 

 There are eight of these columns ; four on each side of the 

 room. At one end of the room is a broad, open fireplace 

 with facings of Indiana limestone. 



The new dining-room, which is in the tower, is reached 

 from the living-room by a short flight of steps. The walls 

 are paneled to the height of eight feet, above which they 

 are covered with a rough-plaster coat, left in its natural 

 state. This panel-work and the beamed ceiling is of butter- 

 nut, a wood seldom used — and is treated with a wax finish, 

 very effective, and brownish in color, like French walnut. 

 The fireplace has Roman brick facings and hearth, and a 



