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CEMENT HOUSE SHOWING LAVISH USE OF HALF-TIMBER AS A DECORATION
Published in The Craftsman, January, 1909.
CRAFTSMAN HOUSE AT NASSAU, LONG ISLAND.
THE house illustrated on this page was not only designed in The Craftsman Workshops, but built largely under our own supervision, so that Crafts-man ideas as to plan and construction have been carried out with only such modifications as were suggested by the individual tastes and needs of the owner. It is definitely a sub-urban residence and its site is as desirable as it well could be for the home of a man who wishes to have plenty of space and freedom in his surroundings and yet be within convenient reach of the city. The owner, a New York business man, is keenly desirous of making the part of Long Island which he has chosen for his home one of the most delightful places within the immediate neighborhood of New York : thus his interest has not been limited merely to the building of a desirable house, but has extended to the planning of its surroundings so that the place shall be beautiful as a whole.
The site is large enough to allow for extensive grounds, which are being laid out with direct reference to the plan of the house. There is a slope of about fifteen feet from the rear of the lot down to the front. This slope is terraced at the highest part and the house is built well to the rear, allowing for a large lawn and shrubbery in front. The ter-race at the back is used for a vegetable garden
NOTE THE EFFECT OF SLOPING FOUNDATION AND PARAPETS.
and the rest of the lot is left so far as is possible in its natural shape.
The rising ground upon which the house is situated affords an extensive view over the hills and meadows of Long Island. The house faces directly southeast and at the west end is a terrace, covered with a pergola, which commands a view of the main road,—a busy thoroughfare that is usually thronged with carriages and automobiles. At the opposite end of the house is a porch which looks directly toward the neighboring golf links. This porch is connected with the dining room by double French doors so that in summer it can be used as an outdoor dining room, especially as it will be protected all around with screens. In winter the screens will be replaced with glass, so that the porch may be used as a sun room or as a breakfast room on mild days. The small front porch serves to shelter the entrance.
These porches and the pergola greatly relieve the severity of the plan. As the house is built of cement, the construction naturally calls for straight lines and massive effects; but while these are preserved in their entirety, all sense of coldness or bareness is avoided by the liberal use of half-timber and by such structural features as we have just described. The floors of the pergola, the entrance porch, the dining porch, and the small kitchen porch
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