34 
House & Garden 
Although alterations had to be made to meet up-to-date requirements and differences in climatic demands, the trans¬ 
planting of this South African Dutch architecture to New England was highly successful. The walls are white, blinds 
green, roof gray slate. The topping is of dull copper. Formal planting has been purposely omitted 
/ 
CAPETOWN DUTCH ARCHITECTURE in NEW ENGLAND 
A Successfully Transplanted Style—The Residence oj Henry G. Vaughan, Esq., 
at Sherborn, Mass. George Porter Fernald, Architect 
MARY H. NORTHEND 
G IVEN the right setting, it is 
possible to transplant al¬ 
most any type of foreign archi¬ 
tecture to America. Perhaps a 
striking proof of this can be 
found in the residence of 
Henry G. Vaughan, Esq., at 
Sherborn, Mass. The idea for 
the house was absorbed through 
a study of South African Dutch 
architecture, and although alter¬ 
ations had to be made to meet 
modern requirements and cli¬ 
matic conditions, the spirit of 
the original has been success¬ 
fully preserved. 
One’s first impression after 
seeing the unusual roof lines is 
that of the color scheme—the 
whiteness of the walls broken 
regularly by green blinds. The 
topping shows dull copper trim 
and the roof is heavy gray slate. 
The projection of the walls and 
the arched entrance porch add 
shadow and variety of line. The 
house is set among cedars of 
unusual size and perfection, and 
in order to retain the natural 
beauty of these trees formal 
planting has been omitted. 
The entrance colonnade and 
doorway are characteristically 
Dutch. Bv the middle arch 
Each of the rooms on the first floor is unique in itself and dis¬ 
tinctive in its architectural background. The hall, for instance, is 
Italian with its mural decorations, Jacobean and Italian furniture 
and gray and black slate tile floor 
hangs a decorative bell-pull of 
wrought iron; unfortunately, 
modern requirements cause it to 
be supplemented by an electric 
bell. 
The first floor plan may be 
considered unusual, as it shows 
a different type of architecture 
in each room. Yet all are so 
happily combined that there is 
no discordant note. 
Pass through the Dutch door 
entrance and you come to the 
hall. Here the walls are cov¬ 
ered with Italian mural decora¬ 
tions. Italian and Jacobean 
furniture has been used. The 
floor is of large gray and black 
slate tiles. Through the round¬ 
ed Dutch windows shimmers the 
sunlight, softened by curtains of 
casement cloth edged with nar¬ 
row dark fringe. The staircase 
leading from the hall was found 
in an old house in Exeter, and 
its carving attracted the atten¬ 
tion of the architect who intro¬ 
duced it into this house. The 
kind of architecture and the 
kind of wood are both moot 
questions, but it is one of the 
most beautifully hand-carved 
balusters in New England. 
(Continued on page 60) 
