February, 1909 
standing coupled columns in the center, the latter being a 
device that is an essential feature of the external loggia. 
The curtains are red, and the same warm color is the pre- 
vailing note in the furniture and rugs. The woodwork of the 
furniture is painted white both here and, in a general way. 
elsewhere in the main rooms, thus conforming with the wood- 
work of the various apartments. The effect of this hall, with 
its greined and vaulted ceiling, has distinctively the character 
of a salon of an Italian villa. 
The dining-room is at the north end of the hall, and oc- 
cupies the whole of the house here, reaching from front to 
front. The walls are again French gray and the woodwork 
white. A low flat rounded vault covers the room from side 
to side. It is divided into great panels by flat bands that 
rise from the pilasters, and is decorated by floral borders in 
relief. The walls are paneled throughout, with pilasters 
between the windows and at the corners of the chimney 
breast, which fills the center of the north end. The curtains 
are pink, and the rug and furniture covering are pink and 
white. At the far end is the door to the butler’s pantry, and 
beyond is an extensive suite of service rooms. Very great 
care has been taken to render this portion of the house at 
once comfortable and serviceable. Provision has been made 
for the performance of the kitchen work out of doors, and 
every pains has been taken to make this department as com- 
plete as possible. 
The south end of the house is occupied by an immense 
room that is both living-room and library. The walls are 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 49 
simply paneled by small moldings in a design that pro- 
vides an inclosing panel for each window and door, with 
smaller or larger panels for the intervening spaces as may 
be required. ‘The ceiling is supported by a deep cove, that ° 
rises to a flat central rectangle, decorated with a vast oval 
wreath in low relief. The walls, as elsewhere, are French 
gray, and the woodwork white. The curtains are yellow, 
and this hue gives the prevailing note to the rugs and furni- 
ture coverings. The many windows and the special color 
of the room make this an apartment of immense cheer and 
charm, a cheerfulness that is inhanced by the low bookcases 
with their comforting contents with which the base of much 
of the walls is lined. This room connects with a screened 
and vaulted porch on the extreme south of the house, which 
forms an agreeable shelter from the east winds. 
It is interesting to note that while this house is very 
modern in its building, the estate has been a productive farm 
for many years. The land, in a general way, consists of roll- 
ing green fields, broken by pond and brooks, and is strongly 
reminiscent of many parts of rural England. 
Yet thoroughly modern and quite new as this house is, it 
fits into the landscape, forms a part of the great estate, in a 
thoroughly natural way. In many senses this is the supreme 
test of success in exterior design. A house needs not only 
to be good, but to be suited to its environment. Mr. Searle’s 
quiet house, with its extensive dimensions and handsome 
aspect, surely accomplishes this in a thoroughly charming 
and satisfying way. 
The dining-room has a low flat vaulted ceiling, and walls of French gray with white woodwork 
