394 AMERICAN 
people, native to the soil of this 
district, serve unconsciously to 
lend to its picturesqueness in the 
artist’s eye. 
In the earliest years of their ar-  ————_— 
rival in this particular valley, many ' 4 
of the natives looked upon the oo 
coming of the painter-folk with 
considerable distrust, but since it 
has been mutually agreed that the 
invaders shall not leave paint-rags 
in the cow pastures nor let down 
the bars of the grain fields, peace 
has been established, and if the 
masters or mistresses of the brush 
choose to wander out on moonlit 
nights in search of ‘‘motifs,” they 
may do so until the dawn of day, 
quite peacefully, with no fear that 
the farmer will fire a shotgun at 
them under the innocent guise of 
pretending to have thought them 
robbers or tramps. Apropos of 
either fraternity, one may say with 
happy heart that both shun the 
valley completely. 
The owner of “Laurel Lodge” did not have long to look 
before finding a bit of pasture land, well supplied with 
natural springs and large trees, on the rising slope toward 
the Overlook Mountain, which was bought for a small sum. 
To eyes accustomed to the shut-in vistas of city streets the 
price paid may have seemed “fair,” but to the new owner 
of these few acres it seemed ridiculously low for the wide 
prospect of the hills enfolding this happy valley, affording 
never-ending sources of pleasure. 
The second thought in the mind of the builder of this 
studio lodge, once the location had been decided on, was 
the size and proportion which a good working studio with 
the necessary living quarters attached should have, espe- 
cially taking into consideration its summer accommodations, 
for that was the season in which it was to be most in use. 
As the idea of having a large studio for summer work 
dominated the mind of the owner (who made her own plans, 
by the way), as little else as possible was included in the 
scheme of space allotment. 
Having placed the house (in imagination) just where the 
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HOMES AND GARDENS 
The studio-room is large, light and homelike 
November, 1911 
view of the valley toward the west 
was finest, and where it would be 
sheltered from the main high road 
by some large maple trees, the next 
consideration was the taking ad- 
oe | vantage of the peculiarities of the 
1] ache site, planning the house to fit the 
site chosen. This hillside spot was 
4 (a on a steep slope near the top of a 
: small ledge of rock where a quar- 
ryman had recently been excavating 
stone, which suggested to the home- 
builder the plan of erecting a house 
having a lower story opening on a 
level below that of the studio 
above. This plan worked out very 
well, as it kept the living-room en- 
tirely distinct from the studio above 
and yet covered them both with 
one roof. 
The studio floor extends some 
feet beyond the stone wall of the 
foundation, which forms the north 
side of the living-room below, 
making the studio floor consider- 
ably wider. The floor space is 
21x30 feet; the height 17 feet to the peak of the roof. In 
appearance it is a two-story house viewed from the south 
side, while from the north side it looks like a one-story 
bungalow, whose striking features are a big dormer window 
at the north side and a massive stone chimney on the west- 
ern end. 
In immediate surroundings, whose greatest crop till then 
seemed to be stone, it was not difficult to obtain from the 
banks of the creek and from the old stonewall fences 
enough ‘‘cobbles” to make this chimney almost wholly from 
big and little boulders. ‘The pride of the Scotch mason in 
his work while building it, and his canny remarks on the 
special lore required to produce a work of art of the sort 
of which he considered himself alone capable, was worth 
enduring his trying obstinacy at times. A brick chimney, 
perhaps, would have been far less expensive, but not half 
so delightful. 
Who ever knew an artist to hesitate to spend on the 
things that please the eye? 
Far rather would the artist who made this homelike little 
otis * 
These two views of the studio-room chimney corner at ‘‘Laurel Lodge” show the possibilities of rough cobbles used for interior building purposes 
