Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library 
 Gift of Seymour B. Durst Old York Library 
 
Digitized by the Internet Archive 
 
 in 2013 
 
 http://archive.org/details/oldhomesmadenewbOOwoll 
 
VIEW IN HALLWAY. 
 
OLD HOMES MADE NEW: 
 
 BEING A 
 
 COLLECTION OF PLANS, EXTERIOR AND INTERIOR VIEWS, ILLUSTRATING THE ALTERATION 
 
 AND REMODELLING OF SEVERAL SUBURBAN RESIDENCES. 
 
 WxWi (Sxplanntoty ©ext. 
 
 By WILLIAM M. WOOLLETT, 
 
 * » 
 
 FELLOW OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS, AUTHOR OF "VILLAS AND COTTAGES." 
 
 New York : 
 
 BICKNELL & COMSTOCK. 
 
 1879. 
 
COPYRIGHT. A. J. BICKNELL. 1878. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 HE designs forming this little book have been prepared during the past year at intervals of leisure; some from 
 examples that have been carried out in the work, strictly as represented ; others that have, although projected, 
 never, from different causes, been carried further than the architect's drawings. Both form, nevertheless, simple 
 
 examples of what may be done in this branch of architectural work. 
 
 As will be noted, they are all for about one class of surburban dwellings, but will serve to illustrate the general principles, 
 which of course may be applied with equal facility to any other class of work. 
 
 A large number of dwellings are yearly remodelled at great expense, without a result commensurate with the 
 expenditure, from the cause, that the parties so engaged commenced without any well-formed ideas as to what they will do, and 
 only to find the thing to do when it is necessary that it should be done. Working in this way is expensive, and the finished work is 
 apt to possess many faults both in construction and design. 
 
 The experience of the writer has led him to believe that, by a careful survey of the building and thorough study of all the 
 points involved and changes contemplated, as complete a set of drawings and specifications can be prepared for the conduct of 
 this class of work, before the same is commenced, as in the case of a new building. 
 
 VV. M. WOOLLETT, 
 
 57 State St., Albany, N. Y. 
 
 Feb. 5th, 1S78. 
 
ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 Frontispiece — View of Hallway in Brick House shown on Plate 19. 
 
 1. Plans of Frame House Before and After Alteration. 
 
 2. Views of Frame House 
 
 3. Interior of Hallway in Frame House. 
 
 4. View of Brick House Before Alteration. 
 
 5. " " " " After " 
 
 6. View of Frame House Before Alteration. 
 
 7. " " " > " After " 
 
 8. Plans of Stone House Before and After Alteration. 
 
 9. View of Stone House Before Alteration. 
 
 10. " " , " " After " 
 
 11. View of Hallway in Stone House After Alteration. 
 
 12. " " Dining-Room in Stone House " " 
 
 13. Views of Frame House Before and After Alteration. 
 
 <i (< c< it it 11 it 11 
 
 15. View of Dining-Room After Alteration. 
 
 16. View of Chimney in Sitting-Room. 
 
 17. Plans of Brick House Before and After Alteration. 
 
 18. View of Brick House Before Alteration. 
 
 19. " " " " After " 
 
 20. V iew of Sitting- Room in Brick House. 
 
 21. Views of House at Ridgefield, Conn. 
 
 u it a a a a 
 
[. 
 
 N the following pages the endeavor will be to show, where thought necessary — 
 
 First. The changes to the plan or the internal formation of the building, with general reasons for the same. 
 Second. The changes to the exterior, in which the endeavor has been that they should grow naturally and directly 
 from the plan. 
 
 Tliird. Some sketches of the appearance of the more important portions of the interior as altered ; it being now a 
 generally acepted belief that this portion of the work should receive as much consideration from the designer as the exterior, 
 and that, by a little variety in the grouping and piquancy in the detail, the rooms of a house may become sources of enjoyment 
 rather than places merely to be endured. 
 
 These designs, while serving as simple examples of what may be done in the way of putting a new face and form on 
 old work, may also serve to show in their completed state what can be done dc novo. No claim of originality is made for any 
 ideas that may be expressed in the text of this work; but they are simply advanced as the views held by the writer, of things 
 to be right and proper, whether gained in the field of experience or taken as the dictum of some other person. 
 
 Whether a dwelling should be remodelled or not is often an open question, and it is safe to say that under two circum- 
 stances only should this be done — one in which the building, in its construction and material, is of such a solid and substantial 
 character as to render its destruction unadvisable ; and, again, when, although perhaps in a dilapidated condition, its preservation 
 is in the highest degree desirable, owing to the associations of the family, its peculiar phase or style of architecture, or the his- 
 torical interest that may attach itself to it. 
 
6 
 
 In the former case the designer may feel at liberty to change the old as much as he desires, having in view only the con- 
 venience and economy of the work, so that when completed the structure is as different from its old self as a thoroughly new 
 work would be ; its individuality thoroughly destroyed or merged into a new one. 
 
 In the latter case everything should be done to preserve that which is already built In adding on, the same style should 
 be employed, and the same spirit rule ; in changing, doing away with as little as possible of the old, so that we may feel when 
 the work is complete that the dwelling is the same one that we have undertaken to revise and repair: that none of its desirable 
 features have been lost ; that it has been changed merely enough to meet the requirements of a life quite different from that of 
 its builders, and braced up for the wear and tear of another century. 
 
 American houses of any date are not very likelv to possess to any great extent those features which we deem 
 desirable to preserve, and it is only in the homes of colonial times that we find 'much to interest or that is in itself 
 meritorious. In this phase of architecture there are many things that are quaint, interesting, and, in an artistic light, good. How 
 generally this is believed, is shown in the fact that many of the new dwellings that are being erected at present are based on this 
 style of architecture, and are carried out in its simple and beautiful spirit. This is, in fact, the only type that we can distinctly 
 consider and call our own, and at the same time feel any pride in so doing. For the various and motley crowd of dwellings 
 that in the last thirty years have been called into existence by the wants of our people and climate, and the taste of our architects 
 and builders, are not such as we desire to preserve, or such as are apt to awaken feelings of admiration or pleasure. 
 
 The writer believes that the same general principles that would apply to new work, in this class of buildings, will apply 
 equally to the work of alterations. 
 
 First. That the convenience of the plan, its best distribution and adaptation to the wants of the particular individuals 
 by whom it is to be occupied, and the site on which it is to be placed, should in all cases be the paramount consideration ; and 
 to this the designer should give his entire attention until he feels that he has satisfied thoroughly these requirements. 
 
 Second. That the exterior should grow naturally from the plan, its outline being fixed and determined by that ; and 
 
7 
 
 whether it shall possess qualities, worthy of admiration or pleasure in general, depends upon the skill of the designer; that it 
 should also be a consistent following out of the proper and natural uses of the materials of which it is built ; each material being 
 fully acknowledged. 
 
 Third. That the architectural effect should be obtained by the natural combinations and workings of the constructive 
 portions of the structure, and not by the adding or planting on of these features ; and again by the natural variety of the outline 
 rather than by the richness and variety of the detail. 
 
 Fourth. That the proportionately greatest work of art in architecture is that which produces the most effective results at 
 the least expenditure of labor and detail in design, which, in the practical mind of the American, is also money. 
 
 The writer would not even suggest that the few designs in this book can be judged by the above expressions in all their 
 parts, but is willing to acknowledge that he believes, just as far as they fall below it, just so far do they fail of being what they 
 might be and what is right. But whether this is always the fault of the designer, or mayhap sometimes in a measure due to the 
 client, is an open question. 
 
II. 
 
 Y the diagram on the right of Plate i will be seen the plan of a rectangular house, perfectly comn onplace in its divi- 
 sions, and withal quite comfortable. It faces the east, and the sitting-room and dining-room occupy, as they should, 
 the sunny side of the house. A hallway of the ordinary width in the centre, with parlor, kitchen, etc., on the north. 
 Its exterior, as constituted before alteration, is shown on Plate 2. 
 
 The problem laid before the architect for his solution, was to increase the size of the hallway and staircase so as to form 
 an elegant and attractive entrance ; this to be done without materially decreasing the size of the adjoining rooms ; finishing 
 these rooms in a manner to harmonize with the increased dignity of the entrance ; the changing of the exterior so as to blot out 
 all remembrance of the original dwelling. So radical a change would only be desirable where the building as constituted is both 
 well-built and in a state of good preservation. The diagram on the left of Plate i shows the plan proposed for the alterations, 
 the parts shown dark being the old work undisturbed, that scored light being the new or changed work. 
 
 The partition dividing the hall from sitting-room and parlor have each been moved further apart, so that the entrance 
 hallway is some sixteen feet wide. This is an extreme width, especially in a house of this character. But the hallway, in the 
 writer's opinion, should be as elegant and attractive as any room in the house. First impressions are apt to be most lasting, so 
 that those made on entering a house should be such as not to do injustice to the other surroundings. No parlor, however large 
 and elegant, will make one forget the cramped hall and staircase that one is sometimes compelled to pass in entering it. There 
 is a breadth and freedom which a large hall gives that will carry itself into smaller rooms adjoining. Pictures should adorn a 
 hall ; it should be moderately lighted and well-aired ; it should have an open fire-place, comfortable seats, and its principal feature, 
 
9 
 
 the staircase, should be one of beauty. Plate 3 gives a view of this hallway after the change has been complete. To the right in 
 the angle is set a fire-place, open for wood and coal, with mantel of wood and picture set in wood frame above. To the left the 
 angle is splayed in a similar manner ; a settle fills this corner, and above is a stationary cabinet for curiosities, pottery, bric-a-brac, 
 etc. The other angles are treated in a similar manner, useful as closets for cloaks, etc., etc. Thus the room has the general form 
 of an octagon. The new staircase, with square landing and return flight, is shown beyond, its principal light being received 
 through the open well. The second story forms a gallery on all sides of this part of the hall. 
 The staircase is in hard wood, the floors being the same — all without carpet. 
 
 In this interior the endeavor of the designer has been to gain whatever effect there may be, not through elaborate work 
 or carving, but in the variety in forms and outline; the detail in this and other designs being kept simple and subservient. 
 
 While the size of the hallway has been increased in order to make it an entrance worthy of a generous house, the parlor 
 and sitting-room have become too small for their required use. To remedy this, at the south end of sitting-room is formed a 
 canted or bowed front, with windows in three directions, thus quite recovering the lost space and increasing the attractiveness of 
 the room. The parlor is extended to the front with bowed end, and thus admits some of the southern sun into the room, while 
 a piazza is placed across the remainder of the house front. 
 
 From the plan, the exterior should grow as naturally as the plant from the seed. Plate 2. We raise a portion of the roof 
 at a different angle, throwing the ridge-line out from the centre of the building. The canted bay on the south is carried above the 
 roof, and by completing the full octagon is made the prominent feature of the building ; while that in the parlor is kept subser- 
 vient and carried but the height of one story. 
 
 On the completion of this part of the work, the most difficult portion begins — to so tint the exterior that whatever char- 
 acter it may possess shall not be lost, but rather increased ; that the colors and combinations that are used may harmonize and 
 fall in with surrounding nature. What this should be cannot be shown here, and can only be determined by locations and sur- 
 roundings, all knowing that the days of white paint and green blinds have passed. 
 
III. 
 
 HE dwelling, a view of which is given on Plate 4, was built in 18 12. It is situated on the corner of streets in an 
 inland city, with garden at side and rear. More sleeping apartments were required, and the desire was to change 
 the general external character of the building without interfering with its construction in the main. The simplest way 
 of obtaining the required apartments in the attic gave good utilitarian reasons for putting on the new roof. The client desired 
 a " French roof," but the views of the client were met and our own sense of right saved from outrage by the roof shown on 
 Plate 5. The roof is one of the most important features of the building, and is one of the few means at the disposal 
 ot the designer, by which he is enabled to remove a rectangular structure from the commonly expressed likeness to a 
 " box.' In this roof the endeavor has been to give variety in sky-line consistent with good construction, and without having its 
 features so numerous as to belittle it or detract from its dignity. 
 
 The windows are enlarged with new caps, sills and sash ; a bay window placed over the entrance doorway at the end of 
 second story hallway, and another on the side projecting from the dining-room. These changes give quite a different appearance 
 to the building, and are all countenanced by utility and the increased comfort of the interior. Where wood has been used in the 
 gables, cornices and dormers, the material is fully acknowledged, and its forms and details are those of wood construction. 
 
 10 
 
 1 
 
IV. 
 
 HE not very attractive-looking structure shown on Plate 6 was in first-class condition, as regards its construction 
 and materials, and was withal a good, comfortable house in which to live ; large, airy rooms with open fire-place in 
 each, and a good, generous hall. The wish to slightly improve its appearance without destroying the date and 
 character of the building, resulted in the sketch shown. A piazza added on the side ; a projection from the first floor on 
 the right with bowed front, which is corbeled to square form on the second story, and thence breaks the roof with gable ; 
 portions of the end gables are projected, forming canopies over balconies from the attic floor ; a new porch is added on the front, 
 with side return steps to decrease the apparent height to the entrance; new sash in one light of glass are introduced in the lower 
 part of the window, where alone utility requires them, leaving those above in the smaller lights. 
 
 The means adopted for these changes are simple, not expensive, and interfere but little with the existing work. Whether 
 the results are commensurate with the means employed, the reader must judge. 
 
 That alteration of a structure is apt to be most successful (especially in a financial view) which has the least to do with 
 tearing away and changing the existing parts, but consists mainly in the adding on here and there of parts to " bring out," as it 
 were, the original. This is what has been attempted in this case. 
 
 \ 
 
 1 1 
 
V. 
 
 LOW stone house, such as was frequently built during the early part of the century in the country villages of this and 
 other States. This house was constructed in a good and thorough manner, and to-day stands firm and solid, notwith- 
 standing the wear and tear of half a century. The stone-work has a rich, mellow tint, and the whole forms a not 
 unpleasing picture, although in no way removed from the ordinary. It was the desire to so change its outward appearance, 
 that while retaining all that was good and beautiful, that which was of no value in the design might be done away with, 
 and have its place taken by that which would tend to add to the character and picturesqueness of the building. The interior it 
 was desired to change so as to give, at the least possible destruction of the old, a house finished more in accord with the owner's 
 ideas and the present views prevalent in regard to the same. This was to be distinctly a change for the more aesthetic qualities, 
 and not for increased amount of house-room. 
 
 Plate 8 shows the plan of the house as originally built. A hallway eight feet in width, with straight staircase against the 
 outer wall, and from which doors led into the parlor in front and dining-room in the rear — the kitchen, etc., being placed further 
 still in the rear. What is specially peculiar about this arrangement is that the house, facing the east, the hallway occupied the 
 south side; the best portion — parlor and dining-room — being on the north. In the solution of this problem, the main feature that 
 engaged the architect's attention to increase the cheerfulness and attractiveness of the interior, was to get some value of the 
 sunlight and the view (which happened to be the best from the south), and in arranging the plan this has been the leading idea. 
 
 The partition between the parlor and hallway has been moved and reset some five feet further north, making the parlor 
 that amount shorter, and at the same time bringing the fire-place into the corner of the hall. This gives a hallway some 
 
13 
 
 thirteen feet in width. The old staircase was removed as shown ( Plate u), and from its landing a circular bay on the exterior, 
 carried up to form a feature of the house, gathers the light from three sides into this room, and with a well-upholstered settle 
 at the foot of the stairs forms a pleasant lounging-place. The narrow hall becomes an ample reception room, by far the 
 pleasantest in the house. 
 
 While we have been enlarging the hall and endeavoring to make it an attractive apartment, the parlor has been so 
 compressed in size as to leave it too small for use; to overcome this, the end has been treated in the form of a semi-octagon, 
 cutting out the wall and building up as shown, with windows on the two splay sides and a fire-place in the centre, to take the 
 place of the one moved from the parlor into the hall. 
 
 The features of this end of the parlor would not then be greatly different from those shown on Plate 20, although in 
 the one shown the apartment is much larger, higher, and the detail more elaborate than was used in this case ; the grouping 
 of the chimney, windows, etc., being similar. 
 
 The dining-room (Plate 12) shows a plain, simple room, with chimney in the corner, and by forming a stationary side- 
 board or cupboard in the opposite angle of the room, the doorway entering into parlor forms a central feature between them : 
 the woodwork of the original room retained, and the new work added is made to harmonize with the same. 
 
 Plate 10 shows the exterior. The semi-circular bay is carried up one story in stone, the remainder in wood, shingled 
 and above the roof of the house, completes the full circle, and is crowned with a conical roof ; the deck of the roof removed 
 and hip lines carried up to form a ridge; cornices formed with wide, shadowy projections, and the windows of the second story 
 cut through the roof-line, giving greater height. By the heightening of the roof ample servants' rooms are gained in the attic. 
 
VI. 
 
 E have before us (Plate 13) one of those dwellings so common throughout our country a few years ago, modelled in 
 outward form and detail on that of the Greek temple, with the ungainly columns of wood forming quite a travesty 
 on the originals, from which, when built, they were supposed to partake, in the artistic element at least. The idea 
 of modelling our house on the general design of such a building is certainly open to serious objection, but when the model is 
 in wood for the copying of a stone architecture, the thing becomes objectionable in every point. Wood has its own certain 
 recognized characteristics and forms in which it may be legitimately used, and these are so numerous that there is no necessity 
 to encroach on those more suitable to another material, in order to produce a satisfactory result. This dwelling, being a frame 
 one, the endeavor in its change has been to give it a form and characteristics in outline and detail, essentially those of a wooden 
 structure. The desire on the part of the client was that the appearance of the structure should be changed and rooms 
 provided in the roof, leaving the plan of the building as nearly as possible intact, and with as little change to the existing as 
 possible. No plan has been shown with this, as not important to the problem, but if the reader will carefully examine the two 
 exteriors he will see that with the removal of the large columns and veranda, the plan or outline of the building is essentially 
 the same, the existing roof being removed and one with greater pitch-gables, etc., formed as shown. These gables naturally 
 arise from the plan, and that the symmetry of the front may not be destroyed, the depression on one wing is raised and on the 
 other remains as in the original. These, with the dormers and chimneys, give a sufficiently broken appearance to the sky-line. 
 The lower veranda on the front takes the place of the one removed, allowing the light to have free access to the second-story 
 windows. This dwelling is the residence of Rev. Dr. Welch, Schenectady, N. Y. 
 
 14 
 
VII. 
 
 LOW, one-story gabled cottage may be viewed on the left of Plate 14. A second story was desired, that the accom- 
 modations of the house might thereby be increased. It was a known fact that the construction of the lower 
 part would not bear the increased weight of the second story. It was, therefore, determined to erect piers, and on these 
 stand the main posts of the new structure, placing them on the outside of the existing building, and thus erect the second 
 story on foundations and supports of its own. Its own floor timbers, extending the full width of the building, were hung by 
 partitions in the centre to the roof, so that not a pound of extra weight was necessarily placed on the old wood work. In order that 
 the exposed posts might add as much as possible to the effect, other parts of the building's framework were exposed, the spaces 
 being filled in with boarding and shingles, giving the whole a very substantial look. 
 
 This change was carried out in such a manner that the old roofs were not removed until the new one was complete, and 
 the second-story floor placed without any disturbance to the ceiling below. These are the practical or mechanical notes of this 
 problem ; as to its artistic solution, the two views will enable the reader to form his own judgment. 
 
 This dwelling is the residence of Geo. L. Steadman, Esq., at Loudonville, near Albany, N. Y. 
 
VIII. 
 
 HIS room (Plate 15) before alteration was a plain rectangular one, with coupled windows at the end, as shown. The 
 desire was to finish and furnish it with more pretension and comfort, and (if so fortunate)' with more taste than 
 formerly. The manner of doing this turned mainly on the position of the fire-place. There being none in the 
 room, objections being found to every other location, the angle next the window was finally determined upon, and there the 
 sketch shows it located. To balance this and economize the room as much as possible, the side-board or buffet was built as a 
 stationary article in the other angle, making the room bowed as to its end ; the frieze about the room treated in oil color, a 
 naturalistic pattern on a stippled and powdered ground ; the wood-work of cherry, the mantle at fire-place simple and of the same 
 wood, while the lining and facing about the fire-place were in marble ; the continuation of the frieze over the mantel, window and 
 buffet, treated in encaustic tiling in bright colors, the window-head above the plain glass filled with antique and cathedral glass 
 worked into a mosaic, representing naturalistic subjects ; the floor laid in hard-wood battens, and dado formed of matting 
 stretched tightly to the walls, the base and cap being of wood. 
 
 16 
 
IX. 
 
 HIS sitting-room, as shown on Plate 16, is supposed to be altered from an ordinary room. The main feature is the fire- 
 place, which, in its massiveness, is patterned somewhat after those of our fathers, in which the enormous back-log burnt 
 with a cheerful glow, and about whose ample opening a whole family could gather. The fire-place proper is within 
 
 the main opening, and is flanked on each side with the two small windows indicated, filled with colored glass. Two settles 
 or seats flank the fire, and where these project beyond the chimney-line their backs form simple cases for books, etc. The 
 whole of the work about this chimney is in pressed brick of two colors and of cut stone, and the panels formed near the ceiling 
 are of tile. Tiles can be obtained with plain tinted grounds, and the interest is added to, in a work of this kind, where some 
 member of the household, endowed with a taste for the artistic, decorates these with such subjects as would interest the beholders. 
 Naturalistic subjects, such as flowers, plants or fruit, are of that simple character that many who are slightly accomplished in the 
 art could produce them, under proper guidance, in a very acceptable manner. Some such treatment as this gives to the family a 
 personal interest in the work, and they are apt to enjoy that which is bought by the labor and skill of one of their number much 
 more than they would a better thing purchased as the work of another. A little time spent in this way, properly directed, will 
 add value to such works as these, and give our rooms an individuality of their own. 
 
 We have here exposed the timbers in the ceiling (boards between same not shown in plate). The fittings, furniture 
 and decorations of the room are simple and plain, to harmonize with the simplicity and mass of the chimney, which is made the 
 main feature of the room, and to which all others are subservient. 
 
 '7 
 
X. 
 
 ECTANGULAR houses seem to be quite numerous among the erections of former days, and it was a good common- 
 sense that, with an eye to comfort and economy (if blind to beauty) housed itself in these boxes. It has been the 
 writer's endeavor, where he has been engaged in a structure of this kind, not to destroy this form in the plan so much 
 out that it might be left as comfortable as found, trusting mainly in the effect obtained to that most important feature, and in 
 the hands of the architect without limit to the facilities it may give in design, the roof. 
 
 This house (Plates 17, 18, and 19), coming into client's possession by purchase, was found to be a substantial brick edifice. 
 The plan was modified so as to present an attractive home for a small family. As will b'e seen in the altered plan, the parlor has 
 been dispensed with as an unnecessary part of the occupants' life. The sitting-room, formed on the left of the hallway with a bay 
 at end and a fire-place in the centre of the same (Plate 20), answers its own purpose and that of a parlor also. In this room the bay 
 window and chimney are the central features ; a simple mantel of wood, the chimney built up with a face of pressed brick and 
 stone, and above the mantel a large panel formed, in which is set a pictorial piece in encaustic tile. Settles at each window on the 
 angle afford pleasant seats on which to doze before the fire. The opening from the room to the bay is marked by the horizontal 
 screen coming below the ceiling, braced, and filled in with mosaic of tinted glass in appropriate domestic subjects. This use of 
 tinted glass in the rooms that are daily occupied is one of the least expensive and most beautiful means of decoration. 
 
 The beams in the ceiling, being exposed and boarded between; a frieze and dado are formed of wood, in which the battens 
 composing the same are arranged in irregular patterns, relying for effect on the various grain of the wood, which can always be 
 enhanced by care in selection on the part of those performing the work. 
 
 \ 
 
l 9 
 
 The hallway is shown on frontispiece. In the original house the stairway was narrow and enclosed. This we have 
 removed and have introduced a new staircase in hard wood, with fire-place and settle at the foot of same, and at the end of 
 settle the old hall-clock. The upper portion of this fire-place has the brick-work exposed ; the lower portion being encased for 
 mirrors, <xc, and above the main mirror a small sconce mirror. As will be noticed, the doorways into the principal rooms 
 from this hall are without doors; a curtain of heavy material hung to a rod, with rings, forms a means of shutting the room 
 from the gaze of the curious, when desirable. The end of the main hallway is marked and divided from the staircase by a 
 newel column, bracketed each way. 
 
 On the exterior, the plan being rectangular, the effort to overcome this has been made by the breaking up of the 
 features of the roof, and in conjunction with the brickwork, wood and shingle work have been freely introduced, giving variety 
 and piquancy. 
 
 The introduction of new piazzas on the front and rear give breadth to the exterior. A bay at the end of hallway over 
 the piazza and balcony formed in front of same ; and balcony canopied, again corbeled out over the bay, help to remove this 
 centre gable from the ordinary. The chimney at the end of the bay is carried up full height with a portion of the gable on the 
 side brought out to meet and support it, supplying at the same time a cover to the balcony over the bay. 
 
XI. 
 
 ME views iii the preceding part of this book are photolithographs direct from the drawings prepared for this book; but 
 Plates 21 and 22 show the work by heliotype process, direct from the building itself, which, while giving us the form 
 and detail as the others do, produces that natural effect which a pen-and-ink drawing cannot give. This remodelled 
 residence is in Ridgefield, Conn., and from the views given a very satisfactory idea may be formed of the changes made. Like 
 some of the other alterations shown in this work, the exterior has been changed mainly by the addition of features whose first 
 requirement was in the plan, and without any greater disturbance of the old than was necessary. 
 
 The semi-octagon bay which forms an octagon tower above the roof, opens into a large hallway or reception room, at the 
 end oi which a staircase ascends to the second floor, and a large chimney stands with an open fire-place directly opposite the entrance 
 door. The semi-circular bay towards the rear of the second floor opens into the stair landing, and is a feature both pleasing and 
 effective from the interior. A new piazza is placed on the front and a bay window from the second story on the front, with 
 a balcony formed about the same, is corbeled out to rectangular form, and has its gable running into the roof. 
 
 The form of the gambrel roof has been retained, and the woodwork that has been shown to a great extent in conjunction 
 with the brick, has been in every case carefully acknowledged. 
 
 The changes in the interior, although not shown here, are of as much import as those of the exterior. Hardwood floors in 
 the principal room in neat patterns of maple and cherry ; the hallways and staircase are fitted up in cherry, with a sparing use 
 of subject-painted tiles and stained glass ; the dining-room in white ash, and the parlor in white holly and butternut. This 
 dwelling is the summer residence of J. Howard King, Esq., of Albany. 
 
 20 
 
VIEW BEFORE ALTERATION. 
 
 VIEW AFTER ALTERATION. 
 
VIEW BEFORE ALTERATION. 
 
5- 
 
 VIEW AFTER ALTERATION. 
 
VIEW AFTER ALTERATION. 
 
9 
 
VIEW AFTER ALTERATION 
 
VIEW BEFORE ALTERATION. 
 
 VIEW AFTER ALTERATION. 
 
VIEW BEFORE ALTERATION. 
 
 VIEW AFTER ALTERATION. 
 
INTERIOR OF DINING ROOM. 
 
♦ 
 
FIREPLACE IN SITTING ROOM. 
 
' P m ^aiPJ^L « FLOOF ^ « BE FO^ E « 
 
20. 
 
 INTERIOR OF SITTING ROOM. 
 
SOUTH-EAST VIEW OF RESIDENCE, RIDGEFIELD, CONK 
 
22 
 
 NORTH-EAST VIEW OF RESIDENCE, RIDGEFIELD, CONN. 
 
Established] WARREN WARD & CO., [isso 
 
 No. :s.-yUEEN ANNE SIDEBOARD 
 
 No. 35. — BLACK WALNUT BUREAU SUITE. 
 
 Manufacturers, Wholesale and Retail Dealers in all kinds of 
 
 NEWEL. 
 
 ARTISTIC FURNITURE, DECORATIONS, BEDDING, &c 
 
 75 & 77 SPRING STREET, CORNER CROSBY, 
 
 F f x C tL°dS tZuJ% ^oVTihfA. f One block E. of Broadway, faet. St. Nicholas & Metropolitan Hotels. ISTE W YORK 
 
 Illustrated Pi ice List mailed to any address on application. 
 
ZERO REFRIGERATOR, THE GOTHIC FURNACE. 
 
 IMPORTANT TO HOUSEKEEPERS. 
 
 THE 
 
 Best Method of Keeping 
 Food and Ice is by 
 the Use of the 
 
 Zero Refrigerator. 
 
 Premiums given by the 
 
 American Institute, 
 1867, 1869, 1871, 1875, 
 1876, 1878. 
 
 The Highest Award 
 given by the 
 New England Agricultu- 
 ral Society, 
 1870 and 1878. 
 
 °5& 
 
 36,000 in Use. 
 
 Report of the Centennial Exhibition on the ZERO REFRIGERATOR. 
 
 *' ist. Beauty of design and excellent workmanship ; 2d. Absence of all communication between the 
 ice and provision chambers; 3d. Absence of moisture on the in ide lining; 4th. Impossibility of c< ntact of 
 hot air with the ice ; 5th. The condensation of moisture on the cold surface of the ice box; 6. Economy 
 of ice and uniformity of temperature; 7th. The filling of the refrigerator with cork, which is a non- 
 conductor cleanly and odorless." 
 
 A. T. GoSHOBK, Director Gen. J. R. HAWLEY, President. 
 
 /.' /.' FRIG Eli A TO II TEST I MO NT A L . 
 "Your Zero Refrigerator combines, in my judgment, the qualities of a first-class preerver of meats, 
 fruits and vegetables, and more perfectly than any other arrangement within my knowledge. I am free to 
 say from an extended observation of various designs and pattens, 1 know none which for all ordinary pur- 
 poses compares with the Zero Refrigerator you manufacture."— Hon. C. C. Cox, M.D., LL.D.,late Pres't 
 Board of Health of the District of Columbia, Washington ; one of the Judges of Awards, Centen'l Expos'n. 
 
 For Warming Public and Private Buildings. 
 WITH SHAKING AND DUMPING GKATE, 
 
 Combines many improvements in heating, and after eighteen years of trial stands unrivalled in Heating 
 Capacity, Simplicity, Ease of Management, Economy, Durability and Purity of Air. 
 
 It was awarded Premiums by the American Institute, i86^ — :8;C — 1878. 
 
 These Furnaces are arranged to use 
 Hard and Soft Coal, also Wood. 
 
 This Heater overcomes the usual objection given 
 to Hot Air Furnaces, viz.: Red Hot Surfaces and 
 Burnt A ir. No part of the radiating surface except 
 the fire-pot can become red hot, and this can be ar- 
 ranged so that the air need not touch the fire -pot. 
 
 SIMPLICITY IN CONSTRUCTION 
 
 is attained over any other Heater in use. There 
 are only five joints to the Furnace, and these joints 
 are not bolted together, but are sand joints,, giving 
 room for expansion and contraction, without dan- 
 ger of the castings breaking and of the gas escaping. 
 
 IMMENSE HEATING SUKFACE. 
 
 The corrugated Dome and serpentine Radiators 
 offer unusually large surfaces for the air to become 
 heated, rendering the Furnace very econom cal in 
 its consumption of fuel, thereby giving a mild and 
 pleasant heat to the air. 
 
 EASE OE MANAGEMENT. 
 
 The most stupid servant can manage it. The 
 grate is shaking and dumping, and can be worked 
 with perfect ease. There are no direct draft damp- 
 ers, which are usually hard to understand — the fire 
 is obliged to pass over the entire surface of the 
 castings before it passes into the flue — consequently 
 no heat is wasted. 
 
 FURNACE TESTIMONIALS, 
 
 " We have used your Gothic Furnace for seventeen years with perfect satisfaction." — Mrs. Cornelius 
 Lawrence, Bay Side, Long Island. 
 
 " I consider your Gothic Furnace superior to any other heating apparatus in use. I have dispensed 
 with steam heating, which cost nearly $5,000 to warm my house, for one of your No. 12 Furnaces." — David 
 Groesbeck, SufTern, N. Y. Banker, 15 Wall St., N. Y. 
 
 " One of your Furnaces warms our large store, which ts 50x125 feet, to our satisfaction." — Baldwin 
 Clothier, cor. Broadway and Canal St., N. Y. 
 
 A Liberal Discount allowed to Schools and Churches. Send for Catalogue. 
 
 ALEXANDER M. LESLEY, M ANUF'r, Booth's Theatre Building, cor. 23d St. 372 6TH AVE., N. Y. 
 
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 Metallic Shingles 
 
 MAKE THE 
 
 CktHt Fire-ProDl Mm. 
 
 77i<? nearest perfect of any roof now in the market, Lif/ht, 
 Ornamental and Durable. Can be laid by any carpenter. About 
 one-fourth the weight of date. Cannot be broken by frost or otherwise. 
 Not affected by expansion or contraction. Requires no repairs. Easily 
 transported. Samples at our New York Office, and Bicknell & Comstock's 
 Office, 27 Warren Street. 
 
 PRICES:— For Painted. $(i.50 per square; for Calamined, $8.50 per square. 
 
 THE CALAMINED SHINGLE WILL STAND ANY EXPOSURE WITHOUT PAINTING. 
 
 Send for Circular with full Descriptions and Discounts. 
 
 P. O. Box 2528, New York City. 
 
 MMUMYVUM •••• 
 
 NEW YORK CITY, 
 
 NEW YORK 
 
NEW AND STANDARD BOOKS 
 
 OTxr 
 
 ARCHITECTURE. 
 
 SENT FREE BY MAIL OR EXPRESS ON RECEIPT OF PRICE. 
 
 Ames' Alphabets 50 
 
 Atwood's Modern American Homesteads 2 50 
 
 Bicknell's Village Builder and Supplement io 00 
 
 Bicknell's Supplement to Village Builder 4 00 
 
 Bicknell's Detail Cottage and Constructive Architecture 10 00 
 
 Bicknell's Cottage and Villa Architecture 6 00 
 
 Bicknell's Street, Store and Bank Fronts 4 00 
 
 Bicknell's Public Buildings 3 50 
 
 Bicknell's School House and Church Architecture 3 00 
 
 Bicknell's Stables, Out Buildings, Fences, etc 2 50 
 
 Bicknell's Specimen Book of 100 Architectural Designs 1 00 
 
 Builder's Contracts 10 
 
 Cameron's Plasterer's Manual 75 
 
 Croff's Progressive American Architecture 6 00 
 
 Cumming's Architectural Details $6 00 
 
 Gould's Carpenter's and Builder's Assistant (New Ed.) 3 00 
 
 Gould's American Stair Builder's Guide 3 00 
 
 Guillaume's Interior Architecture 3 00 
 
 Hussey's Home Building ] 00 
 
 Mitchell's Stepping Stone to Architecture 60 
 
 Palliser's American Cottage Homes 5 00 
 
 Palliser's Model Homes 1 00 
 
 Palliser's Builder's Specifications 75 
 
 Powell's Foundations and Foundation Walls 1 50 
 
 Wither's Church Architecture 15 00 
 
 Woollett's Villas and Cottages, or Homes for All 3 00 
 
 Woollett's Old Homes Made New 1 50 
 
 Wooden and Brick Buildings. 4to, 2 volumes, each 9 00 
 
 Illustrated Catalogue mailed to any address on receipt of Three 3c. Stamps. 
 
 BICKNELL & COMSTOCE, Publishers, 27 Warren St., New York. 
 
COPPER WEATHER VANES, 
 
 Manufactured by CHARLES C. BRIGGS, {Successor to V. W. Baldwin), 213 Pearl Street, Neir York. 
 
 BANNERETTS of all descriptions made to order. COPPER EAG-LES. FINIAL AND VANE. 
 
 Vanes of all descriptions on hand 
 
 and made to order. 
 Send for Illustrated Catalogue 
 
 New Design for Housework. Made 
 of Copper and gilded with Gold. 
 Any design of this kind made 
 
 withpnees. FINIALS OF ALL KINDS MADE TO ORDER. application 
 
FIRE OJST THE KEABTtt! 
 
 THREE THINGS IN ONE APPARATUS. 
 
 OPEN FIRE, CLOSE STOVE, & WARM AIR FURNACE. 
 
 VENTILATION of a Fire-Place, 
 
 CIRCULATION of a Furnace, 
 
 RESERVE POWER of a Close Stove. 
 
 IT— 
 
 Lgg^^ Burm equally well, Hard or toft Coal, Coke or Wood 
 
 PURE AIR AND AN EVEN TEMPERATURE THROUGHOUT. 
 
 Heats Upper Rooms at same time if Required. 
 
 MEDALS AWARDED, 
 PARIS EXPOSITION, 1878. U. S. CENTENNIAL, 1876. 
 AND MANY LOCAL SOCIETIES. 
 
 Our Fire-Place Heater may be adapted to Warm 
 and Ventilate Single Rooms or Suites. 
 
 F. O. H. Heater in position. 
 
 — , 
 
 Sectional View Fire-Place Heater, tical authorities 
 
 Send for Descriptive Catalogue and Testimonial Circular, con- 
 taining reports from actual experience by many scientific and prac- 
 
 Sectional View of Stove. Chimney Diagram for Heater 
 
 OPBIT STOVES V&$tTXZ*&?Z$tG CO* ? 7$ &e$3$m&& tf$w 
 
©lis 
 
 ABSOLUTE SAFETY FROM EXPLOSION. 
 
 SAD IRON HEATER. 
 
 STOVE. 
 
 DOUBLE CASING OVEN. 
 
 Combined with other improvements, makes the Windsor the only Oil Stove that any one valuing safety and comfort will buy. Impossibility of explosion, which i: the 
 desideratum in an Oil Stove, is secured in the Windsor, by the application of a principle In natural philosophy, known for ages, but now first applied to an Od Stove. 
 
 It is an established fact, that kerosene explosions are caused by the communication of fire to a body of explosive vapor, made up of the vapor of od and atmospheric 
 air ■ and if no such body of vapor exists, no explosion can occur.' Now the patentee of the Windsor Stove has applied the principle of the hydrostatic column to his Oil 
 Stove, and explosion becomes impossible, because as fast as oil is consumed, water passes down into the Oil Fount, underneath the oil, and the Fount is kept solid full, so 
 that no space is left for explosive vapor to collect in. Another advantage also results from this construction. The oil is always at the same level in the Wick Tubes, thus 
 insuring a steady and uniform flame, and permitting the use of long wick tubes, which carries the flame so high above the oil reservoir that the contents of the latter can 
 never become heated. The most that can be said of other stoves is, they MAY NOT explode. The least that can be said of the Windsor is, it CANNOT explode. 
 
 A Full Lamp Cannot Explode, and this is always a Full Lamp. Perfect Combustion. Free from Smoke or Smell. 
 
 It is suitable for families of four to six persons, as with it you can boil, bake, broil, iron, and, in fact, do all that is required of a cook stove, and at a cost of less 
 than one cent per hour. 
 
 Illustrated Price List forwarded to any address on application to the Manufacturers, 
 
 W. A. HULL & BUO., No. 12 Murray Street, New York. 
 
ENCAUSTIC AND PAVING TILES, 
 
 For Vestibules, Halls, Hearths, Conservatories, etc., in Dwellings, and for Churches, Banks, Stores, etc., 
 
 AS LAID BY US IN THE 
 
 CAPITOL A.T WASHING-TON. 
 
 GLAZED WALL TILES, HAND PAINTED & PRINTED 
 
 IN BRILLIANT COLORS FOR GRATES AND FIRE-PLACES 
 
 AND FOR INSERTION IN 
 
 WAINSCOTING, MANTELS, DOOR-FRAMES, FURNITURE, Etc. 
 
 Both kinds of Tiles are used in Panels of Brick and Stone for Exterior Decoration. 
 
 Garnkirk Chimney Tops, Glazed Stone Ware Drain Pipes, Vases for Lawns and Gardens, 
 
 PLUMBERS' MATERIALS AND FIXTURES OF EVERY DESCRIPTION, READY FOR USE. 
 
 FOR SALE B"y 
 
 MILLER & COATES, 279 Pearl St., New York. 
 
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