4o6 



AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 



November, 1907 



The Water Front Is Supported by a Balustraded Terrace Behind Which Rise Two Spacious Porches 



indeed, is the point at which the real immensity of the house 

 is most realized. 



And the artistic qualities of the house are quite as notable 

 as its dimensions. Its architects, Messrs. Howells and 

 Stokes, of New York, have handled their subject with great 

 skill. Their obvious aim was to build a large house simply 

 and well, and at the same time give it an interesting archi- 

 tectural expression. Their success is amply testified to by the 

 illustrations; but it should, perhaps, be pointed out that the 

 artistic success of this house is purely architectural, or that 

 of building, if a more comprehensive word be desired. Of 

 ornamental features as ordinarily considered there is scarce 

 anything at all, nothing, in short, but the great pilasters of 

 the entrance pediment. 7 he windows are without external 

 frames, the large ones being sunk within unprojected arches 

 of brick. It is true that some of these have inner architec- 

 tural frames, but the carved ornament is of the rarest sort. 

 There is no breaking up of the wall surface anywhere, the 

 simple bay windows on .the sides, the quoining of the 

 walls corners, the plain pilasters on either side of the water 

 front porches, are hardly more than the simplest of archi- 

 tectural devices, anci give mobility to the wall surfaces rather 

 than diversify it. 



Yet with all it is a thoroughly artistic house. If its walls 

 are plain and its ornamentation slight, it is not without in- 

 terest. On the contrary, it possesses interest of a very high 

 order, the interest of good architecture, well applied, skil- 

 fully combined, and detailed in a thoroughly workmanlike 

 manner. It is a house beautifully adapted to its situation 

 directly upon the water, and, as we shall immediately see, 

 quite as beautifully adapted to the demands made upon its 

 interior. 



A short flight of steps conducts one to the entrance door- 

 way, by which one is immediately ushered into the main 

 hall. This is a beautiful apartment running the full length 

 of the house from the center of each wing, where it is joined 

 to passages and alcoves at either end. The prevailing colors 

 are green and white, colors which are given to most of the 



rooms on the ground floor, but quite varied in their combina- 

 tions and thoroughly individual in each apartment. The 

 hall has a high wainscot of paneled wood, painted white, with 

 Ionic pilasters on each side of the central door and columns 

 of the same fine order at the ends. The plainly detailed 

 cornice is white, as is the ceiling. The latter is perfectly 

 plain except for the encased rafters which divide it into 

 panels, and which are supported by the pilasters and columns. 

 The walls above the wainscot are covered with paper in two 

 rich shades of green, and on it are hung family portraits in 

 gilded frames. The hardwood floor is covered with green 

 rugs — plain centers and simple borders. The window cur- 

 tains are of two shades of green, and at the central doorway, 

 which leads to the living-room, are portieres of green and 

 white. Along each wall is stood a fine collection of old fur- 

 niture, many of the pieces being richly carved, and all of 

 great artistic interest. 



Beyond the columns to the right is a fireplace and mantel. 

 This is of wood, painted white, with facings of mottled 

 green marble. This space serves as an anti-chamber to the 

 stairhall, which is at right angles to ftie main hall, and is 

 thus completely hidden from the entrance doorway. Its 

 decorative treatment Is identical with that of the main hall, 

 save that the walls around the stairs are completely paneled 

 in wood above the wainscot. The balusters are of a delicate 

 Colonial design and the handrail of mahogany. 



The living-room occupies the whole of the center of the 

 house. The main door is directly opposite the entrance door- 

 way of the hall. On either side is an old Italian alabaster 

 column, very slender in design, now converted into an elec- 

 tric light standard. The floor is two steps below the level 

 of the main hall, and standing on them, within the room, one 

 on each side, is a brass church candlestick. The hardwood 

 floor is laid in small squares, and is covered with three large 

 green rugs, with plain centers and simple borders. There is 

 a shallow baseboard around the foot of the walls, which are 

 faced with green striped paper in two shades. There are 

 columns and pilasters on each side of the entrance door, and 



