June, 1911 
HOUSE AND GARDEN 
439 
A new flight of stairs was put in at one end of 
the living-room—the latter combining the 
old parlor, sitting-room and hall 
adde d, changing 
the stiff, chunky, 
plain appearance of 
the original house 
to one of pleasing 
lines and diversified 
surface. The exten¬ 
sion contained the 
kitchen, laun d r y 
and servant’s room 
on the ground floor, 
and a bathroom and 
bedroom upstairs, 
thus making the 
advantageous 
arrangement of a 
small house with the 
kitchen department 
somewhat separate 
from the living- 
rooms. A tank was 
put in above the 
upstairs hall, where 
it rested upon the 
rafters, and was 
supplied with 
water pumped by a 
hot-air engine installed in the cellar. Over the clapboards an ad¬ 
ditional covering of shingles was put. They were dipped in a 
silver gray stain made of kerosene with white lead, toned with 
black and Indian red, mixed thin like a wash. This gave a beau¬ 
tiful weather stain. To harmonize with this the old solid-wood 
outside shutters were painted a blue green. 
With the room scheme few alterations of a difficult character 
Mere necessary. The parlor with its inviolate gloom, the “settin” 
room, and the hall were shorn of their partitions, making a big, 
airy, inviting place, really meant to live in. Two windows of ordi¬ 
nary size in the western end of the room were joined together, giv¬ 
ing a wider outlook and heightening the cheerful, outdoor “feel" 
of the place. At 
one end of this 
living-room a new 
flight of steps was 
built to take the 
place of those 
taken out of what 
was formerly the 
hall. Filled with a 
well proportioned 
balustrade they 
had a decidedly 
decorative effect. 
The dining-room 
with its screened 
veranda, which in 
season is used for 
meals, the small 
den opening out 
of it — sometimes 
used as an over- 
fl 0 w bedroom — 
and laundry, ser¬ 
vant’s room and 
kitchen, com¬ 
pleted the ar- In the gardening end of the remodeling activi- 
rangement of the ties a ^ m to Preserve the informal and 
1 a simple flavor of the garden that surrounded 
lower floor. the home long ago 
The new kitchen is one of the most attractive 
parts of the remodeled house, with its 
rough gray plaster and stenciled frieze 
The kitchen, as 
it appears now, is 
the really unique 
corner of the house. 
It is blue and 
white; a grayish- 
white rough plaster 
with a frieze of 
blue flamingoes and 
trees, stenciled 
upon it. The wood¬ 
work is a china 
blue, the closets 
blue with tree de¬ 
sign in white, and 
the floor-covering 
blue and white tile- 
1 i n o 1 e u m. The 
pump at one end of 
the sink, and the 
draining-board for 
dishes at the other 
end next to the 
closet, simplify the 
work and save 
steps. Lately a fire¬ 
less cooker has 
been added, likewise painted blue, and rolled under the draining- 
board to be out of the way. 
The decorations also showed the same selection, first of utility 
and then beauty. The rough plastered walls of the living-room 
were treated with a neutral greenish tone that would not tire one. 
The chimney was left in the original rough brick and the floor 
painted a harmonious dull-red tile color. The dining-room, being 
small, was painted white, and had its Colonial character increased 
by old articles taken from other parts of the house — a corner-cup- 
board made of sheathing, and shelves for dishes around the top 
of the room, which were formerly the little old wooden mantel¬ 
shelves. The colored plates and jugs now rest on these, forming 
the most fitting 
kind of decora¬ 
tion. Over the 
mantle is a mir¬ 
ror, the panels 
on the side 
painted directly 
on the glass. 
The curtains in 
this room, as 
well as through¬ 
out the house, 
are made of un¬ 
bleached cotton 
and stenciled 
with water-color 
mixed with 
white of egg and 
then ironed. This 
sets the color 
and it never 
comes out, even 
in the wash. 
Since the strict¬ 
est economy had 
to be maintained, 
(Continued on 
page 470) 
The addition of dormer windows in the front 
roof was and always will be a difficult prob¬ 
lem. It was, however, the only way of 
lighting the bedrooms adequately 
