From the idea of the mountain house which fits so snugly into the countryside the design was chosen. By proper planning eight-foot railroad ties 
served for most of the timber and the stone work was taken from an old wall 
freak in prices, or perhaps on account 
of competition, were considered less 
valuable than other timber lengths. 
The stone not only for the foundation 
but the walls of the building, was 
found close at hand in an old stone 
wall which had for years divided the 
fields; these, with their beautiful 
lichens and their weather-beaten sur¬ 
faces, were most admirable material 
for our purpose. Again, they cost 
nothing, and often in the late twilight 
the wandering neighbor was surprised 
that we should be at work, selecting 
with care and attention stones from 
this old wall. 
The cellar completed, the main floor 
was made up of a large living-room, 
twenty by thirty feet, with a central 
fireplace. There was a guest-chamber, 
a pantry, a closet by the stairs, the 
servant quarters and a kitchen, large, 
light and roomy, facing the northeast, 
so as to be cool and livable in all times 
of the summer. 
As the building grew, the upper 
floor took shape—a large bedroom 
with numerous closets and windows 
looking not only to the north or south 
The garden depended upon foliage for its first beauty. 
There is much grace in the tall cedars, and the 
castor oil plants properly used for foliage mass 
effects in the background of the lawn border 
but also to the west, with its mag¬ 
nificent view of the Hackensack val¬ 
ley. This was right over the living- 
room. Behind it were other bed¬ 
rooms, and a bath, fitted with a 
shower, that looked from its little 
windows toward the woodland. Above 
these rooms was the attic, to be used 
not only for storage space, but as a 
protection from the heat of mid¬ 
summer weather. The window spaces 
throughout were not separated as is 
ordinarily the case, but clustered to¬ 
gether, with mullion, with casement 
sash and leaded glass. In nearly every 
case each wall contained but one 
group of windows, thus permitting 
the light to come but from one point. 
This, as everyone knows, is the most 
restful light. The windows were also 
arranged to take the best advantage 
of the breeze, no matter from which 
quarter it might come. 
The sloping roof, reminiscent of 
Switzerland, was extended to form the 
porch to the west, and the porch at 
the kitchen end, with its utilitarian 
possibilities. Under the porch at the 
front was found space for the storage 
