202 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



May, 1908 



Seven Hundred Old Railway Ties Transformed Into a Bungalow 



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Ties in Their Natural Silver Gray and Posts and Trim Painted Green 



A Bungalow Mad 



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By Mi 





The Porch Above the Creek 



HE comfort and convenience of livim 3 

 in a bungalow can only be appreciatec 

 by those who have experienced it 

 There is something delightfully in 

 formal about bungalow life, and every 

 thing tends to keep expense down, a: 

 not only can the simplest kind of furni 

 ture be used, but often the services of a maid can be 

 dispensed with, and a simple life can be enjoyed wher 

 the house has been planned to entail only a minimurr 

 amount of labor. 



Birchwood bungalow is very ac- 

 cessible, being within a stone's 

 throw of the trolley line at Ridley 

 Park, one of the beautiful country 

 places near Philadelphia. There 

 are many points of interest about 

 this bungalow. One is, that it was 

 designed without the help of an 

 architect, the original owner, Mr. 

 Sloane, and a builder, planned it together. 

 They have succeeded in building a very artis- 

 tic and practical bungalow. 



It was built out of 700 old railway ties 

 which cost five cents a piece and the hauling. 

 The ties were laid one upon another, spiked 

 and cemented with the round side for the ex- 

 terior, and the flat side for the interior walls. 



The foundations consist of stone piles 

 sunk three feet in the ground. The roof is 

 made of a wooden frame which was white- 

 washed. This was then covered with tin 

 which was afterward painted with cold wa- 

 ter paint. The ties were left the natural 

 color, the silvery gray of these forming an 

 admirable contrast to the rough posts and 

 trims, which were painted green. 



There is something quite Japanese in the appearance 

 of the bungalow, and the choice of location is a particu- 

 larly happy one. One side overlooks a deep ravine 

 through which the picturesque Ridley Creek flows. The 

 porch is built almost entirely round the house, and on 

 the south and west sides branches of trees spread over 

 the piazza, giving it a most beautiful bowery appear- 

 ance. This can be seen in looking at one. of the small 

 illustrations taken before the leaves were fully out, so 

 as to get a glimpse of the bungalow. 



The present owners, Mr. and Mrs. Albert B. Mears, 

 have furnished the bungalow appropriately, and in per- 

 fect taste. They made several valuable changes which 

 considerably improved it. 



The door opens into a small square hall which pre- 

 sents a charmingly rustic appearance with the flat side 

 of the ties painted a dull, soft green. Originally the 

 walls were orange, but when Mr. Mears bought it, he 

 painted the walls green, putting two coats of green cold 

 water paint over the orange. This has accidentally given 

 a most artistic appearance to the walls, as there is a 



