224 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



June, 1908 



There is so much to 

 see without this house, 

 so much of interest in 

 the structure itself, so 

 much that is charming 

 in its immediate en- 

 vironments, in the gar- 

 dens and outlooks, that 

 one may well hesitate 

 before going within, 

 lest some outward joy 

 be overlooked or not 

 sufficiently enjoyed. Yet 

 an agreeable exterior 

 presupposes an equally 

 agreeable interior, and 

 the anticipations raised 

 by the outside of this 

 house are speedily real- 

 ized within. Here a sur- 

 prise awaits one — al- 

 though what house in- 

 terior is without its 



surprises 



? — in the fact 



that it contains but one 

 room. Not literally, of 

 course, for there is the 

 inevitable butler's pan- 

 try, and the equally 

 quite essential and in- 

 evitable kitchen; but 

 aside from these rooms 

 the whole of the first 

 floor is given up to one 

 large apartment, which 

 serves the double pur- 

 pose of living-room and 

 dining-room. 



And what more can 

 one want? The house 

 is a summer home, used 



in the summer only. The demands made upon its structure 

 are, therefore, of the briefest. A place to sit and rest in, a 

 place to eat in, and sleeping-rooms on the. floor above con- 

 tain all the essential requirements of the country home. Walls 

 and passages, doors and corridors form quite secondary fea- 

 tures in such houses, and all have been omitted here, with a 

 great resultant advantage in space and arrangements, in con- 

 venience and in effects. 



The one great room has, of course, its own special parts. 

 One end serves as a living-room, the other as the dining-room. 

 It is paneled throughout in rough plaster of rich old brown 

 color, separated by frames of wood, which, as a matter of 



A Reminiscence of Italy 



fact, are strips of yel- 

 low pine stained Flem- 

 ish brown. This wood 

 and this treatment is 

 used throughout the 

 first floor, and forms a 

 fine harmony with the 

 rich brown body color 

 of the walls. At the liv- 

 ing end of the rooms is 

 a concrete fireplace. A 

 circular panel in relief 

 is let in above the open- 

 ing, and on either side 

 are great antique Italian 

 supports of carved 

 wood which carry the 

 mantel shelf. The rug 

 is Oriental, in red, blue 

 and green, and window 

 curtains are of a golden 

 green net; and the fur- 

 niture is what may be 

 looked for in any mod- 

 ern home of the better 

 sort, partly old, partly 

 new, but in every article 

 comfortably adapted to 

 every-day use. 



The further end con- 

 stitutes the dining-room, 

 if a portion of a room 

 set aside for dining pur- 

 poses may be so de- 

 scribed. Just behind 

 the dinner table, is a fine 

 piece of old tapestry, 

 and the table and chairs 

 here, as well as the side- 

 board and serving table, 

 are good types of the 

 antique. The room is actually entered toward this end, a 

 partly inclosed space serving as a vestibule, with stairs rising 

 at one side, and partly open to the dining-room. Above are 

 the sleeping-rooms and bathrooms. The woodwork of the 

 second story is painted white throughout, and the walls are 

 rough plastered. The hall is colored mustard yellow, while 

 a charming individuality is given in the treatment of the bed- 

 rooms and their appointments. Nothing has been neglected 

 here to give charm and variety to this beautiful country home, 

 that is at once so agreeably situated and to which so much 

 special interest is due to the design and equipment of the 

 house. 



^^€ 



