November, 1918 
13 
Tebbs 
South view oj a cottage on 
the estate of J. S. Phipps at 
Old Westbury, L. I., a re¬ 
modeled work by Peabody, 
Wilson & Brown 
rooms with large closets and a 
bath. There is no attic. The 
woodwork is painted white and 
the house decorated with old-style 
Colonial papers. 
The Restored Cottage 
Restorations and additions were 
made in the case of the J. S. 
Phipps cottage at Old Westbury, 
L. 1. The architects were Pea¬ 
body, Wilson & Brown and their 
work started with a cottage that 
was erected some time during the 
18th Century, altered from time 
to time, and finally allowed to 
deteriorate to such an extent as to 
become objectionable. Mr. Phipps 
determined to remodel and recon¬ 
struct to such a degree as to make 
the building sufficiently modern, 
as required for living purposes, 
and at the same time keep within 
the spirit of the original structure. 
The surrounding ground is 
rolling in character, full of fine 
big trees, lakes, etc., which gave 
a natural and interesting setting 
for such a project. 
The architects’ problem, there¬ 
fore, was to take the house as 
found, use as much as possible 
of the old work, including wings 
which had been previously added 
to the original building, and try 
to accomplish the desired results, 
at the same time enlarging the 
building so as to make it of suffi¬ 
cient size to be rentable for this 
section of the country. 
The results shown in the illus¬ 
trations were obtained by using 
the original portion of the old 
house as the guide for the exten¬ 
sion of the roof lines, the changes 
The big chimney and wing 
were added, following the 
lines of the original structure 
Along the front was built a 
brick terrace with a balus¬ 
trade and step lead.ng down 
to the lawn 
The entrance is in the rear. 
An arched portico pro¬ 
nounces the entrance and 
long dormers the roof 
in the wings, new chimneys, terrace, entrance 
porch, etc., and in that way was obtained a 
finished building which entirely harmonizes 
with the surrounding country. 
The interiors were carried out in the same 
spirit as the exterior—all in the style of the 
18th Century Colonial farmhouse. 
The landscape work in the immediate vicin¬ 
ity of the house materially assists in giving 
it a proper setting. This was executed under 
the direction of Mr. Paul R. Smith, land¬ 
scape architect, of Boston, Mass. 
The Spirit of the Past 
In these last two examples the work of the 
architect was to preserve the feeling of the 
past and still serve the needs of the present 
—the first was a frankly remodeling piece of 
work—making quite a different house from 
the one that originally existed. In all three 
cases and in the Colonial restoration on pages 
40 and 41 the originals were a direct chal¬ 
lenge to the sympathy and understanding of 
the architects—and in each case the results 
are eminently livable and satisfactory. 
It is almost an axiom that any archi¬ 
tect can build a house, but 
not everyone can remodel and 
restore, because restoration places 
upon both the architect and the 
owner the singular heritage of 
the past. That is why remodeling 
and restoration are a pleasant by¬ 
way of architecture—a path off 
the beaten track that can be taken 
leisurely and is abundant with 
possibilities. And because it is 
a leisurely process, it can be rec¬ 
ommended in these days when 
domestic building has practically 
ceased. 
Plan today to build or remodel 
tomorrow. The delay will have 
compensations: you will be able 
to study your subject longer and 
in more detail, and the house will 
consequently bring more satis¬ 
faction. 
