Princeton, New Jersey, a house designed by Alexander Perry Morgan

Individual taste, sentiment and cultural background will always determine the type of house in which a family is really at home. The family for whom this house was built a young family with three small children had always wanted a Georgian or French Provincial house. They valued the scale and symmetry of traditional architecture and liked a style of interior decoration and a manner of entertaining with a definite degree of formality. Yet they also wanted all the attributes of relaxed present-day living, such as rooms with expansive views and provision for large-scale, casual outdoor parties. Their solution was a large rambling Georgian house brought up to date by a one-story plan, a central interior court, an outdoor terrace, pool and pool house. In this way all the traditional design characteristics were preserved in a house that was planned to keep pace with an active modern family and a social life that reflects the varied interests of both parents and children.

There is nothing hidebound about the plan of this traditional house. Behind a Georgian exterior it neatly fulfills the major requirements of contemporary living and entertaining. Core of the house design is the central courtyard, decided upon as the ideal way to give an open, indoor-outdoor aspect to the main living areas (study and master bedroom have a terrace exposure, also). For indoor entertaining, the entrance hall, living room and dining room are closely related and situated well away from the children's rooms. Privacy, an essential factor in a harmonious family life, is the privilege of everyone from parents to the youngest child. The back of the house is devoted to the children's bedrooms and playroom which conveniently adjoins the kitchen and breakfast area. The playroom leads directly to a small terrace and play yard complete with tree house, where the children may picnic, play with friends and generally follow their own pursuits. The third outstanding feature of the plan is the flagstone terrace and pool area, de- signed to extend the amount of living and entertaining the house can provide. The pool house is fully equipped to serve big cocktail parties, accommodate dinner dances or sleep the occasional overnight guest. This large, flexible, well-lighted area is usable five months of the year for large-scale parties, while the main house is reserved for more formal seated dinners.

_______________________
source: House and Garden Magazine | February 1961