“HILLSIDE” 
A Country Residence at Greenwich, Connecticut 
GEORGE E. McELROY, Architect 
T he country house we illustrate is of unusual 
and special interest, since it was in a way built 
about the furniture which it contains, these 
interesting pieces having been collected by the archi¬ 
tect of the house and his wife. 
In discussing the planning of this Mr. McElroy 
says,—“In designing this house I had in mind the 
furniture to be used in it, and the color scheme for 
each room was carefully arranged at the time the 
plans were on the boards. I had well in mind the 
effect produced by the color of one room on another; 
thus when we determined upon green for the living- 
room, green and brown were chosen for the dining¬ 
room and yellow for the hall. “ 
d he living-room, as the plan shows, is about 
twenty feet square, and among its best features are 
the large fireplace and window seats. The walls 
are covered with green hurlap, with an upper third 
treatment of tapestry paper representing a woodland 
scene showing some of the green of the lower wall. 
Most of the pieces of furniture in this room are really 
old and of carved oak and mahogany; some of this is 
upholstered in rich red. The coloring of the rugs 
shows soft green and dark red. 
The dining-room, which opens off the living-room 
by means of double glass doors, is large enough to 
comfortably seat a dinner party of ten or a dozen 
without crowding. The furniture here is of mahog¬ 
any and of specially good design, and the one large 
rug used shows browns and greens, almost covering 
the floor. 
In the hall is used much old mahogany furniture 
and Oriental rugs. • The wood trim and balusters 
are white enamelled, while the walls are yellow. 
Of the two large verandas which add to the de¬ 
lights of this house, one connects directly with the 
hall and gives out upon the driveway. The other on 
the opposite side of the house has doors leading from 
both living-room and dining-room, an arrangement 
which is found most convenient for out-of-door 
luncheon or afternoon tea during the summer. 
Of the service department on this floor there is a 
good sized butler’s pantry with a service stairway (a 
somewhat unusual feature) leading to the cellar and 
laundry, and up to the servants’ bedroom on the attic 
floor. 
The kitchen is very large, with separate ice closet 
and servants’ porch adjacent. The walls and trim 
throughout this part of the house are painted a light 
clean yellow. 
In considering the bedrooms the architect says 
that he felt the most important thing was to make 
them light, airy and cheerfu], so it was determined 
that the trim as well as the doors on this floor should 
be enamelled white, and the furniture treated to 
match. Reference to the plan will show that two of 
these rooms and one bath-room are arranged in 
suite form. Throughout these the same coloring 
is used. The walls are covered with a paper 
showing wreaths of resida green and pink flowers 
against a white background. There is a charm¬ 
ing open fireplace, the tiling used about it repeat¬ 
ing the shade of green seen in the wall-paper, and 
the same color is again shown in the floor cover¬ 
ing. At the windows are two sets of curtains. Next 
the glass dainty draperies of white swiss are used with 
over curtains of shell pink and white madras. These 
inner curtains are hung from a wooden cornice. The 
same madras is used for bed covers and cusbions. 
Shell pink silk shades are used on the electric lights. 
The f urniture in both rooms being of white enamel 
with an exception of the beds which are of brass, and 
one or two chairs of wicker which are cushioned in 
the pink. On the door of one of the large clothes 
closets (of which there are two) there is set a long 
mirror. The fireplace is fitted with a brass fender, 
andirons, screen and fire tools. The bath-room has 
floor and wainscot of pure white tiles, the walls above 
painted shell pink. This room is supplied with open 
plumbing, porcelain fixtures, plate glass shelves and 
rods for towels, and all the woodwork is of white 
enamel. 
On the walls of the bedrooms and boudoir are 
hung some charming old prints and plaster casts, 
as well as an antique mirror. 
The guest-room on this floor is done in Dresden 
blue and white. Here also the furniture is of white 
enamel and brass beds. The large double wash- 
stand is fitted with Dresden blue and white china. 
The bureau and chiffonier wear covers of blue and 
white. The wall-paper is in a deep shade of Dresden 
blue flowers on a ground of cream white. Of the two 
sets of curtains used, the ones next the glass are of 
swiss, the over-draperies are of cream net showing a 
border of Dresden blue to match the paper. The 
floor is covered with a Dresden blue and white woven 
carpet. 
The third bedroom has the same enamelled furni¬ 
ture and the walls covered with a cartridge paper of 
soft green. The green and white scheme is carried 
out in the floor covering. The swiss curtains are 
hung next the glass with over-draperies of an old 
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