December, 1908 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



485 







House Built for F. Murray Forbes, Esq., Wellesley, Mass. 



By Francis Durando Nichols 



HE delightful house of Mr. Forbes, at 

 Wellesley, Mass., was designed and built 

 after plans prepared by Mr. James Pur- 

 don, of Boston, Mass. 



To obtain an attractive exterior in stucco 

 construction, and a spacious and well ar- 

 ranged interior, is to achieve a great success 



in house building at 

 the present time, 

 and the house, as il- 

 lustrated, herewith, 

 shows what the ar- 

 chitect has been able 

 to do along these 

 lines. It is built on 

 a promontory over- 

 looking the valley 

 of the Charles 

 River, and is about 

 three miles from 

 Wellesley Station. 

 The grounds in- 

 clude many acres of 

 land extending back 

 of the promontory, 

 and on one side fol- 

 lowing the wooded 

 land and on the 

 other the contour of 

 the river. Below 

 the house and across 

 the river is a stor- 

 age dam which 

 holds in reserve a 

 water supply, pre- 

 senting the effect of 

 a chain of lakes, 

 which are formed 

 by the contour of 

 the river bank. 

 Only a part of the 

 ground which is in 

 close proximity to 

 the house is culti- 

 vated; the remain- 

 ing portions being 

 so thickly wooded 

 that only a clearing 

 up has been done to 



The house clings close to the ground as shown by the entrance porch 



what was really a primeval forest. The house clings close 

 to the ground upon which it is built, and its broad sweeping 

 lines follow the contour of its site. The rear of the building 

 is shown in one of the illustrations with the living porch fac- 

 ing the south, and is planned so that the view up and down 

 the river is unobstructed from any portion of it. 



An idea of the interior of the house is best conveyed bv a 



look at the ground 

 plans, which show 

 the arrangement of 

 the various rooms 

 and the entrance, 

 which is reached by 

 the carriage drive- 

 way. The style of 

 the house exhibits 

 an Italian feeling, 

 and the outside 

 walls are of frame 

 construction covered 

 with a heavy coat of 

 stucco mortar and 

 cement. 



The roof is cov- 

 ered with shingles 

 and stained a moss 

 green, blending well 

 with the tall pine 

 trees which over- 

 hang it. All the 

 woodwork, includ- 

 ing the sash, is 

 painted white. The 

 p r c h floors are 

 only one step above 

 the ground level. 

 As will be seen by 

 a look at the floor 

 plan s, the living- 

 room at the south 

 side of the house 

 extends the full 

 depth of it. Both it 

 and the dining-room 

 open on to the porch 

 at the south side or 

 the building. The 

 service and servant 

 quarters are given 



