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AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



December, 1908 



The Summer Home of Mrs. C. J. Mills 



Bridgehampton, Long Island 

 By Paul Thurston 



;ESSRS. Mann & MacNeille, of New York, 

 accepted a simple and inexpensive form of 

 construction when they designed the summer 

 home of Mrs. Mills, at Bridgehampton. 



The soil upon which the house is built 

 is very dry and sandy, consequently it was 

 permissible, since it was a house to be used 

 only in summer, to eliminate the usual excavations and stone 

 cellar and build the house on brick piers. The house is 

 raised considerably from the ground, and the intervening 

 space is enclosed with lattice work, thus insuring plenty of 

 ventilation under the house. The superstructure is of frame, 

 and the exterior is covered with shingles stained a silver gray 

 color. The trimmings are painted ivory white. The roof is 

 also covered with shingles and left to weather finish. It is 

 planned with a large living-hall extending across the entire 

 front of the house, from which the stairs ascend to the second 

 floor. A large living-hall, with ample piazza space, is all the 

 general living-room required for a summer home. The re- 

 mainder of the main floor is utilized for a separate dining- 

 room, which is far more preferable than having the living 

 and dining-rooms as 

 one apartment, 

 which is sometimes 

 used in houses of 

 this class. 



The kitchen is off 

 the dining-room, be- 

 yond which is the 

 servants' hall. This 

 servants' hall is in- 

 closed with lattice 

 work, thereby form- 

 ing a screen from 

 the outside and at 

 the same time an 

 openness that in- 

 sures perfect venti- 

 lation. 



The studs and 

 ceiling joists of the 

 living-hall are ex- 

 posed to view and 

 are stained a soft 

 brown. The outside 

 sheathing is put on 

 in a smooth finish, The studs and floor joists are exposed to 



the same as the dressed studs, and is stained and finished in 

 a similar manner. The fireplace, built of red brick laid in 

 red mortar, gives a pleasant note of contrasting color to the 

 living-hall. The staircase, which is at one end of the 

 hall,' is screened with turned and twisted balusters. A group 

 of three windows, in front of which is placed a window seat, 

 is on the main landing. The windows have soft white mus- 

 lin curtains, hung from white enamel rods and pulled back 

 with white silk cords. The other windows in the living-hall, 

 as well as those throughout the house, have similar curtains 

 at the windows. . 



The dining-room is finished off the same as the living- 

 hall, with exposed studs and joists, but is stained with a 

 forest green effect. 



Just off the dining-room is the kitchen, which is finished 

 the same as the lower floor. No butler's pantry is provided, 

 but there is ample cupboard room for all utensils and pro- 

 visions. The rear stairs to the second story are in combina- 

 tion with the front stairway. Beyond the servants' hall, 

 which is placed back of the kitchen, is a shed for the storage 

 of wood and coal. The upper story has the same wood- 

 work and color 

 scheme as the lower. 

 In all the bedrooms, 

 five in number, the 

 timber work is 

 exposed. The. third 

 floor contains the 

 servants' quarters 

 and ample storage 

 space. 



There is a quiet- 

 ness and sobriety in 

 this house — in its 

 design and furnish- 

 ing, both within and 

 without — that is ex- 

 tremely satisfying 

 and entirely rest- 

 ful; it is a house of 

 distinguished mod- 

 esty and quiet, and 

 yet entirely ample 

 both as a dwelling 

 and as an architec- 

 view and are stained a soft brown color tural study. It is, 



