66 
House & Garden 
A COLONI A L FARMHOUSE RESTORED 
Much of the Charm and Atmosphere of a Vanished Era are to be Found in 
The Week-end Cottage of Evangeline Adams at Yorktown Heights , New York 
P ERCHED on the top of a hill, quite 
hidden from the winding road below 
by masses of shading elms, and over¬ 
looking wide, gently rolling land once the 
site of the American trenches during the 
Revolution, stands what served a hundred 
years ago as a Friends’ Meeting House. 
Since then, during the slight remodeling 
necessary to transform it into a delightful 
week-end cottage, there was plenty of time 
to modernize, decorate and, in the end, 
thoroughly spoil it. None of these things 
happened, however, for Miss Adams and 
those who assisted her in the process of re¬ 
storing were wise enough to see that success 
lay in preserving as much as possible the 
atmosphere of that vanished period. Today 
the tiny cottage is not only immensely liv¬ 
able but its gay and amusing interiors, 
filled with quaint relics of Revolutionary 
days, possess an interest quite apart from 
their decorative value. 
Mellow old mahogany, with here and 
there a piece of maple, lovely gilded mir¬ 
rors, old portraits and silhouettes, colorful 
glass and countless accessories of the period 
combine to make the little living room a 
spot of very real charm. This has the 
added interest of walls done in a gray 
scenic paper, a reproduction of one found 
in an old house in Deerfield, Mass. In 
delightful contrast are the hangings of 
glazed chintz, deep Burgundy in color with 
a design of pink roses. 
The house is lit by candles, in graceful 
brass sconces on the walls, in sturdy 
pewter candlesticks on mantel and table. 
Over the fireplace in the living room 
hang two old lanterns, weather-beaten 
Although the ve¬ 
randa is a modern 
addition it is in 
character with the 
robust lines of 
the original meeting 
house. Unpreten¬ 
tious and yet un¬ 
usually pleasing are 
the steps of rough 
stone with their 
graceful curved rail¬ 
ings, painted white, 
as is the rest of 
the house 
This simple bed¬ 
room with its 
sturdy, mahogany 
furniture has 
Venetian blue walls 
and woodwork, a 
black window trim 
and colorfid rag 
rugs on the floor. 
Grover Cleveland 
and John Randall 
were the decorators 
The wall paper 
in the dining, 
room is bright yel¬ 
low sprinkled all 
over with blue and 
rose butterflies 
This makes a de¬ 
lightful background 
for the old chairs 
and cupboard- paint¬ 
ed shiny black and 
lined in yellow 
