January, 1907 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



Notable American Homes 



"THE BLOW- BY-THE- SEA" 

 How a Woman Built An Italian Villa Without the Aid of an Architect 



By Tomaso Cambiaso 



R. JOHN W. MCDONALD'S villa, at Mon- 

 mouth Beach, N. J., is a very unusual type 

 of country house. It is built of stucco with 

 a copper green roof; the whole of the exte- 

 rior being of white and green, with the ex- 

 ception of the Roman reliefs at the cornices, 

 shields, and panels, which are of ivory white and raw sienna, 

 even the awnings being of copper green. If the style of ar- 

 chitecture should be named it would unquestionably be called 

 Roman. It is a most unique bit of architecture designed and 

 carried out entirely by Mrs. McDonald herself. No archi- 

 tect could have permitted these quaint archaisms to remain 

 unmodified, for much of the charm of Mrs. McDonald's 

 house, as it stands, would have departed. 



It might have gained a higher architectural quality than 

 that of a quaint and exotic charm, but that charm evidently 

 depends upon the spacious area of blank wall, the barred 

 windows, the shut-in prison effect of the verandas and log- 

 gias which look as if they had been cut after the walls had 

 been built. 



One can hardly recommend this example of house as a 

 good one to follow, but the owner has, nevertheless, been 

 most successful in obtaining the particular effect she sought, 

 which is most unique. 



The enclosed piazza is the chief pride of its owner, and 

 the crowning distinction of the house, for it is really a sumptu- 

 ous living-room or conservatory. It is the real center of the 

 McDonald house and gives that importance and interest 

 which few houses have. It is enclosed with lattice, the whole 

 being carefully screened. The walls are of stone, set with 

 panels reproducing the "Nymphs," by Jean Goujon, from 

 the Fountain of Innocence, Paris, and statuary is placed amid 

 trailing vines and palms. Most luxuriant Roman swings and 

 benches are piled with exquisite foreign looking cushions. 

 A reproduction of a Pompeian table from the house of Cor- 

 nelius Rufus occupies one end of the piazza; it is covered 

 with an antique Persian rug, upon which stands a Moorish 

 lamp in green, as are all other outside lights. 



The floors are covered with Oriental rugs in old pinks and 

 raspberry reds, giving the desired background for the ivory 



"The Sheds" is a Small Building Built on the Grounds and Used for Bachelor Quarters 



