H. Van BUREN MAGONIGLE and WILKINSON & MAGONIGLE, ARCHITECTS, NEW YORK
THE house that is here illustrated is the first of two houses which eventually will occupy the property, — an ordinary large corner lot of a suburban town. The problem of this particular house differs little from that of any corner house except in so far as the general layout of the garden scheme for two houses affects it. The average distance from the street of most of the houses in the vicinity is seventy-five feet, and the placing of this house fully one hundred and thirty-five feet back from the line of Ridgewood Avenue was the occasion of no little comment — not always favorable — on the part of the townspeople. But besides securing a greater degree of privacy it was possible to leave a sweep of unbroken lawn before both houses. This lawn, fully one hundred feet by two hundred and eighty-five feet in size, has been made the most of by breaking it as little as possible and by massing the interest around the house, getting a most effective contrast between the broad sweep of grass and the broken composition of the rest.
It will be noticed from the plan that both carriage drives enter at the opposite corners of the property, and the footpath to the house already built passes from a gate on what is really the side street, along the base of a slight terrace until, directly opposite the door, it turns toward the house. Here at the top of the terrace steps a picturesque summer house has been built, and through this and the formal flower-garden the path leads to the door.
The stable and service part of the house are effectually screened by the lattice inclosing the drying yard, and by the
grape arbor extending from the kitchen porch to the lot line on the east, broken only by the driveway to the stable.
The ground pitches rather unevenly from back to front, admitting of a broad terrace a few feet above the level of the lawn. Three or four years of growth are needed before the architect's scheme of garden treatment is complete. The hedge is to be allowed to grow to the height of the brick gate posts and then be kept trimmed to this height; the lattices on the house are to carry flowering vines; the footpath is to be bordered by small shade trees, now but just set out.
The construction of the house is frame, with Portland cement stucco on metal lath fastened to wood furring strips. A picturesque roof effect is secured by bevelling the gables and ridges, furring up to the line and weaving the shingles; at the eaves the shingling starts with five butts, and it is laid in courses varying from two inches to five inches to the weather. The roof is not stained, but has been left to weather.
The “Lych Gate” through which the drive passes is built of chestnut which has been treated with bleaching oil. This same treatment was used for the eaves and other exterior wood finish of the house, except the window frames and sashes; the frames are painted to match the stucco and the sashes a gray green. The lattices have also been painted a gray green.
The interior arrangement is clearly shown by the two plans, the second story being drawn above the lot line,
giving at first glance the impression that it is an adjoining house. The floors are of stained cypress with oak marquetry. In the living-room the wall is paneled by stiles of cypress stained a blue green. The panels are filled with gold Japanese paper which catches reflections of color of different objects, and also tarnishes, giving a delightful variety of tones. The windows are leaded glass. A larger view of the other end of the living-room than the one here shown will be found towards the end of this issue among the collection of illustrations of fireplace treatments. It is a very simple scheme in dull Grueby tiles with a “ship tile” in the centre of the facing, and harmonizes with the soft green and gold coloring of the
walls. Long French windows opening to the tile-paved porch on the south, and the windows at either side of the fireplace on the west, let in a flood of light.
The hall carries out the scheme of the living-room, with a change of color, the panel stiles being brown, a gray-brown Japanese grass cloth filling the panels.
The dining-room also has brown woodwork with a heavy green silk-fibre paper. The leaded glass door leads to the open air tea room adjoining the rose-garden shown in the exterior view on the opposite page.
A study of the plan of the other house to be built on the property will reveal many features of interest, — the large living-room with its range of southern windows, the dining-room also lighted from the south and looking out upon the formal garden, the loggia leading from the dining-room to a tea house placed on the transverse axis of the formal garden, and the planting of hedges and shrubs to separate the two houses but not destroy the unity of the whole plan.
The several views are taken from the positions marked on the plan. The drawing of this plan is well worth careful study by architects and draughtsmen, as it is in many respects a model rendering of a problem of this character.
