April, 1909 
PVESRT CAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
The Artistic Expression of the Small Country House 
By Francis Durando Nichols 
long felt want, and we now have that 
coveted fulfilment, for the layman not only 
demands it, but architects have come to 
realize the fact that they must keep abreast 
of the times, and in consequence are now 
putting forth their best efforts toward meeting this end. The 
day for the “hammer and saw” house is fast disappearing and 
the elimination of the “square box,” once so frequently seen 
in suburbs, is becoming a 
thing of the past. 
The man with twenty- 
five hundred up to five 
thousand or seven thousand 
dollars, which he wants to 
put into a house, must have 
something in its design and 
its plan that will express 
his own individuality, and 
in order to meet this end he 
immediately below. To reach the level of the first floor, 
some fourteen feet above, and without either too long a 
single flight or too monotonous a series of steps, a four- 
foot stone wall was set along the drive, then a short path 
and then a grass terrace two feet high. Another short 
path leads to the main terrace eight feet high, along which 
the steps were carried and partially hidden by a steeped 
parapet. 
The exterior of the house (Fig. 1) is covered with rough 
plaster in its natural color, while the trimmings are painted 
a grayish green. The roof 
is shingled and stained a 
soft grayish green, blend- 
ing well with the trees 
which form the background 
to the site. 
The house is approached 
trom the main terrace (Fig. 
2) to a small covered en- 
trance (Fig. 6) opening to 
the hall. This is divided 
demands that the architect 
into two parts, one serving 
selected by him shall in- 
for communication to the 
corporate some of his ideas 
and suggestions in the gen- 
eral scheme so far as they 
may be feasible. 
The plans must be ar- 
ranged for the needs of the 
family, and the designs 
must be influenced by the 
site upon which the house 
is to be built. Having set- 
tled these two points, the 
restrictions lie only in the 
materials which are to be 
selected for the construc- 
tion of the house and the 
amount of money to be 
spent upon it. 
The illustrations shown 
in this article are represen- 
tative of the best type of 
small houses built in the 
vicinity of New York. 
The house of Walter 
Robb Wilder, Esq., at Bronxville, New York, which forms 
the subject for the cover and also for the first house illus- 
trated in this article, is a unique expression of the architect’s 
character and taste. It shows a house of marked individu- 
ality, and is essentially the creation of a cultured and artistic 
mind requiring congenial surroundings. 
When Mr. Wilder selected a foothill on which to place 
his house he chose it with a foresight for great possibilities. 
The lot has a forty-foot difference in grade from the front 
to the rear, as shown by the topographical map which was 
made of it as soon as the property was purchased. A tenta- 
tive floor plan was made, and with that as a basis the 
grounds were laid out to determine by what means this slope 
could be overcome and the approach to the house and the 
grounds harmonized. The northeastern corner of the plot 
being the highest, and giving the best outlook, was chosen 
for the location of the house, with the drive brought in 
1—The Wilder house rises up from the hillside as if it were a part of it 
various rooms and the other 
raised two steps, forming a 
little informal reception- 
room (Fig. 11) overlook- 
ing the main terrace, and 
from which the main stairs 
to the second floor ascend. 
The hall is paneled and 
painted white, while the 
walls are covered with a 
pea-green linen. 
To the right of the hall 
is the living-room (Fig. 9), 
with a great open fireplace 
at one end and the entrance 
to the main porch (Fig. 7) 
at the other, and opposite 
the hall a long bay (Fig. 
12) overlooking the lower 
garden. This room is fin- 
ished in oak with a beamed 
ceiling and Japanese grass 
cloth on the walls stained a 
dull gold. The fireplace has facings and hearth of dull 
green Grueby tile and a mantel of simple design, with book- 
cases built in at either side. The color scheme of the room 
in autumnal browns is most delightful. The windows have 
soft draperies over which are hung softer ones of brown silk. 
At the end of the hall is the dining-room (Fig. 10), also 
trimmed with oak and finished with a dark brown stain. 
The walls are covered with a green forest paper carried 
down in the panels of a skeleton wainscot. ‘The ceiling is 
stuccoed with a rough plaster in an effective manner. The 
corner fireplace with tile facings and hearth is the feature 
of the room. The floor is covered with a plain moss-green 
rug, and the furniture is a very black-brown, harmonizing 
well with the color scheme of the room. 
The second floor of the house contains three bedrooms, 
overlooking the terrace and lower garden. The bathroom 
has a wall covering of latticed paper with large pink roses 
