April, 1907 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



139 



"Phelcroft" 



The Residence of Professor A. C. Phelps, hhaca, New York 



By Francois Picard 



IHELCROFT," the home of Professor A. C. 

 Phelps, at Cornell Heights, Ithaca, N. Y., 

 is situated on the southwest slope of a hill 

 overlooking the valley and Cayuga Lake. 

 The idea of the owner, who designed the 

 house, was to build a simple, unostentatious 

 home, fitted to the surroundings and en- 

 vironments, and embodying, without affectation, something 

 of the home feeling to be found in the old Dutch Colonial 

 houses of Long Island and New Jersey. 



The site is conspicuous, being surrounded on three sides bv 

 public roads, and it seemed desirable to avoicf anything like a 

 "back-door" treat- 

 ment at the rear, but 

 without concealing 

 or disguising such 

 necessary parts of 

 the house as the 

 kitchen and rear en- 

 trance. 



The external 

 walls are built of 

 local stone, which is 

 a blue slatcy lime- 

 stone. The stone 

 employed was taken 

 from an old mill- 

 dam and laid so as 

 to expose as much 

 of the weathered 

 and water-worn sur- 

 f a c e as possible. 

 The joints were not 

 pointed, but raked 

 out with a blunt 

 stick at the time of 

 laying, so as to 

 avoid the appearance 

 of mortar with 

 which the stones 



A Simple Porch with Seats Forms the Entrance to the House, of Which the Walls 



Are Built of Field Stone 



were laid. The roof is covered with red stained shingles, 

 and the gables and dormers with white cedar shingles left 

 unstained to weather a silver gray color. A growth of Japa- 

 nese ivy has been effectively started on the stone walls- 



The house was planned to accommodate a small family. 

 7'he floor plan is twenty-eight feet by forty-four feet, ex- 

 ternal dimensions; the arrangement being shown in the ac- 

 companying drawings. The living-room, front hall, and 

 dining-room form practically one large room extending the 

 whole length of the house, with the study at one side, having 

 a separate entrance from the veranda. Sliding doors are 

 provided to shut oft one room from the others when desired. 



The effect upon en- 

 tering the front hall 

 is not that of a lack 

 of room, so often 

 felt in small houses, 

 but of the feeling of 

 spaciousness on ac- 

 count of the open- 

 ness of the plan. 

 The kitchen, though 

 small, is well lighted 

 and ventilated 

 and conveniently ar- 

 ranged. ^ 



The second story 

 plan explains itself. 

 The large family 

 chamber is toward 

 the lake. Besides 

 this there are four 

 rooms that can be 

 used as bedrooms, 

 but two of which are 

 occupied as a sewing 

 and store room re- 

 spectively. A large 

 linen closet opens off 

 from the bathroom. 



