HOUSE AND GARDEN 
September, ign 
house that is merely a curiosity 
— a house to be pointed out with 
a shrug and a smile by all the neigh¬ 
bors. 
Probably the architect will, at 
the outset, look for a piece of prop¬ 
erty that, because of its steep 
grade, or other ap¬ 
parent difficulties, 
has remained un¬ 
sold, though in a 
good locality. There 
are opportunities of 
this kind in every 
town, and the archi¬ 
tect, by reason of 
his knowledge that 
such difficulties are 
easily overcome, is 
quick to see that he 
is not only securing 
a bargain, but also 
one of the most im¬ 
portant elements to 
give his home in¬ 
dividuality -— an ir¬ 
regular site. 
Mr. Ernest F. 
Guilbert’s house, in 
Forest Hill, N. J., 
is one that im¬ 
presses upon you 
its individuality as 
The great living-room, 21 x 31 ft. without the bays, and 
18 ft. high, is the focal point around which the whole 
house has been built 
In approaching the house one comes up a rather steep hill and passes the side of the 
house before turning a corner at the right to find the entrance at the far end of the 
plot on the side street. The large opening in the near corner indicates the tile-paved 
porch which is screened in in summer and glazed in winter 
soon as you get the first glimpse 
of it, up under the shelter of its 
great trees, on a steep hill. There 
is a house you want to know 
intimately, and which, once known, 
will have a lasting place among 
your house friends. 
Mr. Guilbert’s de¬ 
sire was to have a 
large living room, 
but otherwise to 
keep the house as 
small as possible. 
The property is 
level — 100 x 117 
ft. — is from eight 
to fifteen feet 
above the sloping 
streets. The en¬ 
trance was there¬ 
fore placed on the 
less important 
street to minimize 
the steps, also to 
allow the principal 
frontage to be 
occupied entirely 
by the dining-room 
and the large 
family porch open¬ 
ing upon the lawn, 
as will be seen 
in the accompany- 
The narrow gallery leads to the two 
guest rooms on the second floor 
One of the two large “guest rooms” 
may be adapted to use for billiards 
Mr. Guilbert has indicated in a little pencil sketch the treatment of 
a property adjoining his own house 
r 
In another sketch the garage appears at the right-hand side just 
beyond the entrance steps and joined to the house by an arch 
