Tasteful friends: an English Country House completed in 1931 in West Mount Airy, Philadelphia, $3.4M
A fairly brilliant and huge house of 10,000 square feet, 7 bedrooms, 8 baths, and 1.25 acres of mature landscaped gardens, commissioned by conductor Leopold Stokowski by architects Mellor & Meigs and completed by Morris E. Leeds.
The interior is wonderfully light and recalls some of Lutyens work (the giant window bay at Little Thakeham, for example.)
Drawbacks: The modern kitchen is a wasted, disappointing space to my eye, but the adjacent pantry is spectacular and more than a sufficient kitchen. The low iron fence should be replaced with some combination of a tall solid fence and high hedges. I might have done something different with the bathrooms, but who cares - the house is spectacular.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 67 | April 20, 2021 9:02 PM
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Love the house, hate the awful kitchen
by Anonymous | reply 1 | April 19, 2021 10:53 AM
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Wow. I LOVE it. I even like the staging (at least I assume it's staging).
Yes, the kitchen is awful, but that's an easy fix. The rest is gorgeous...reminds me of my alma mater.
I wonder if Stokowski lived there with Gloria?
by Anonymous | reply 2 | April 19, 2021 11:13 AM
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Forgot to add -- there's one drawback: with all that stone (windows and walls), the place must be nearly impossible to heat. And the Philly area gets plenty cold in the winter.
by Anonymous | reply 3 | April 19, 2021 11:17 AM
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I agree, the house as a whole is fabulous (love all the Adirondack furniture which is probably all original and worth who knows what). But that kitchen is an abomination in the sight of the Lord and should be ripped out to the studs.
by Anonymous | reply 4 | April 19, 2021 11:18 AM
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I give them credit for preventing it from being dim. I couldn't help thinking how marvellous it would be in a snowstorm, to be inside, looking out. Kitchen is close to perfect, size wise, but needs change. Nonetheless: ALL THAT SPACE! Library is awesome.
by Anonymous | reply 5 | April 19, 2021 11:21 AM
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@r4, and to make it even worse they painted it the most hideous blue they could find. So, what else did they do, they added a leather club chair... in a kitchen
by Anonymous | reply 6 | April 19, 2021 11:23 AM
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The kitchen would be just about bearable if it wasn't for that HIDEOUS colour. It's the one excrescence in an otherwise flawless presentation.
by Anonymous | reply 7 | April 19, 2021 11:23 AM
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That fabulous refrigerator needs to be installed inside a cabinet. It looks so lonesome sitting there all exposed.
by Anonymous | reply 8 | April 19, 2021 11:30 AM
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The fridge is orphaned but the worst thing about it is that chilling shade of blue and awful ceramic tiles. The only thing I'd have to change would be to reflow and repaint the kitchen and ditch that awful blue tiling in the one upstairs bathroom. I've never seen a place show close to perfect. Such an excellent four seasons house with the outdoors being so wooded and all those windows. And the privacy and space outside... pool looks great.... one of the nicest Tasteful Friends I've ever seen.
by Anonymous | reply 9 | April 19, 2021 11:47 AM
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I don't understand the kitchen and I won't respond to it.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 10 | April 19, 2021 11:48 AM
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Can't believe the price, either. In my city, ten million, easily.
by Anonymous | reply 11 | April 19, 2021 11:48 AM
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The interior design is... heavily wedded to the concept.
by Anonymous | reply 12 | April 19, 2021 11:49 AM
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As well it should, nay, must! be, r12.
by Anonymous | reply 13 | April 19, 2021 12:39 PM
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No.
I don't believe in living in bad historical pastiches stuffed with 1930s'-1990s' tastes.
If I did want to live in a reenactment-village, I would demand to see outside privies, vegetable and herbal gardens, kitchen wenches and a specially favored footman named Edmund.
by Anonymous | reply 14 | April 19, 2021 12:47 PM
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R14, this is not a bad historical pastiche. Those are in White Plains.
This is very much in keeping with Lutyens, as observed by the OP and architects such as Ralph Adams Cram, who built what they called modern buildings using a traditional approach to construction.
The firm was responsible for the master plan at the University of Pennsylvania, IIRC.
by Anonymous | reply 15 | April 19, 2021 12:51 PM
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The grounds are beautiful. How close is it, however, to East Mt Airy? Crime central.
by Anonymous | reply 16 | April 19, 2021 1:13 PM
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I am in love.
Obviously the kitchen needs to be addressed, but that's an opportunity to make something your own.
I'll be thinking of this all day.
by Anonymous | reply 17 | April 19, 2021 1:20 PM
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From the outside it looks like a village school.
by Anonymous | reply 18 | April 19, 2021 1:21 PM
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I also don't understand the kitchen, unless there are two of them- the hideous blue eyesore, and the more acceptable white one?
It's beautiful, but it reminds me of a church. Must be a bitch to heat in winter.
by Anonymous | reply 19 | April 19, 2021 1:40 PM
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Just remodel the kitchen ffs and stop obsessing. As R19 says, it looks like a deconsecrated church conversion.
by Anonymous | reply 20 | April 19, 2021 1:47 PM
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Re: the winter comments.
By the time you have a house that looks like this, you have another one somewhere else you go to in winter.
by Anonymous | reply 21 | April 19, 2021 1:47 PM
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R21 is right. This place was built for Leopold Stokowski who was married to Gloria Vanderbilt,
by Anonymous | reply 22 | April 19, 2021 1:52 PM
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The zanesville hits nicely, but you know - no pets, no children, no drunks.
What The Kitchen Tells Us:
The cook is a whore (see butler’s pantry for Shoe Picture) who experiences intense agoraphobia in the open air. She fucked the widow’s husband.
by Anonymous | reply 23 | April 19, 2021 1:54 PM
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Before Gloria, Leo was married to Eva Johnson of J&J. None of these people knew where the kitchen was.
by Anonymous | reply 24 | April 19, 2021 2:01 PM
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The butler's panty is far nicer than the kitchen.
by Anonymous | reply 25 | April 19, 2021 2:12 PM
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West Mt. Airy is filled with big, beautiful houses like that.
by Anonymous | reply 27 | April 19, 2021 2:15 PM
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10 miles from Philly. 100 to Manhattan.
by Anonymous | reply 28 | April 19, 2021 2:19 PM
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Books are awfully decorative.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 29 | April 19, 2021 2:22 PM
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From Wikipedia:
[quote] Mount Airy has a significant number of lesbian households. It has been called a "Ph.D. ghetto" because many residents have advanced degrees. The political tone of the neighborhood is predominantly progressive.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 30 | April 19, 2021 2:22 PM
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[quote]I also don't understand the kitchen, unless there are two of them- the hideous blue eyesore, and the more acceptable white one?
R19, the big ugly blue modern kitchen is next to the pantry with the original cabinetry (varnished wood, not blue). the latter is both a beautiful space and more than sufficient as a kitchen in itself for my tastes.
by Anonymous | reply 31 | April 19, 2021 2:23 PM
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The whiteness bothers me more than the fridge or the blue accent wall. White is just impractical for a working kitchen, at least you could paint it and eventually switchout the tile. The house is beautiful and looks to be in an enclave next to a large park.
by Anonymous | reply 33 | April 19, 2021 2:28 PM
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Like most of us could ever afford it 🙄
by Anonymous | reply 34 | April 19, 2021 2:53 PM
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Lovely house, and I notice that some of the light fittings are in Arts and Crafts style, like in one of the bedrooms. Its a beautiful historic home, not quite my thing (I prefer Victorian/ Regency) but I can still appreciate it as a very fine example of what it is
The kitchen is jarringly wrong but tolerable, and I'd repaint the walls or wallpaper or something rather than that blue which doesnt look right. It isnt the worst I've seen in a period house either.
And the grounds are just fantastic
by Anonymous | reply 35 | April 19, 2021 3:00 PM
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The entry reminds me of Dracula's castle. It looks like it's right out of one of those old Hammer flicks with Christopher Lee.
by Anonymous | reply 36 | April 19, 2021 3:22 PM
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Truly some of the most beautiful homes in Philly. Kitchens are always a problem - everyone wants modern but modern will always be inconsistent and dated at some point. Great house - truly some of America’s finest architecture.
by Anonymous | reply 37 | April 19, 2021 3:29 PM
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A house this size needs staff. Is there a faithful retainer who comes with the property?
Throw in all of the furniture and you’ve got a deal. A family friend who was an insurance magnate built his spectacular, 6-BR/10-bath dream home but forgot to budget for furniture. We would always joke he and his wife were house rich, furniture poor. Some of the rooms in this manse need those giant oriental rugs that are 18’x40’.
Love the pool, but it needs a The Colbys pool house where assignations may occur. One would not enjoy walking allll the way back to the main house after doing laps on a chilly morn.
May I have the pleasurable task of taking a chain saw to that overgrown shrub by the front entrance?
by Anonymous | reply 38 | April 19, 2021 3:38 PM
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The kitchen and bathrooms are monstrosities.
by Anonymous | reply 39 | April 19, 2021 3:45 PM
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Absolutely perfect. They did everything correctly, but for some reason went completely off the rails on the kitchen. The kitchen is awful.
The house is magnificent. The grounds are flawless. The artwork placement and choices are right on the mark.
by Anonymous | reply 40 | April 19, 2021 4:03 PM
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My description is a bit off. If I understand correctly the house was commissioned for Stokowski who evidently backed away and never lived there (nor little Gloria.) Instead architects Mellor & Meigs found a client to take on and adapt the project in Morris E. Leeds an inventor and manufacturer of electrical instruments. Leeds and wife Hadassah M.L. Holcombe Leeds (an Orthodox Quaker, no less.)
The firm was known as Mellor & Meigs, 1906-1917 & 1928-1940; and as Mellor, Meigs, and Howe from 1917-1928. It's an especially important firm in Philadelphia and the elegant quality of their "modern vernacular" work was widely published in periodicals and monographs and admired by their architect peers in the U.S. A page from the listing agent's details of the property shows some of the architectural drawings and plans, including the Samuel Yellin iron balustrade (Yellin was a frequent collaborator with the Mellor & Meigs.)
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 41 | April 19, 2021 4:04 PM
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Some period photos of the house.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 42 | April 19, 2021 4:09 PM
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For something a bit smaller but still brilliant and just a couple of streets away, "Woods Edge" the 1926 house of Walter Mellor, partner in the architectural firm of Mellor & Meigs which designed the Stokowski/Leeds house in OP.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 43 | April 19, 2021 4:11 PM
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Thanks R43. Stunning pictures. Great architecture too - if mediocre design. The stonework is absolutely fabulous.
by Anonymous | reply 44 | April 19, 2021 4:28 PM
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I don't like the second place at all.
by Anonymous | reply 45 | April 19, 2021 4:30 PM
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It's more difficult to love, R45; there's something unresolved about the exterior, though the rear elevation is better. I like it for its odd tension, but the interiors I really like - the mix of small and large spaces and detailing.
by Anonymous | reply 46 | April 19, 2021 10:21 PM
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The second place doesnt have the wow factor of OP's place but then it is half the price. Its still very pleasant though, and the kitchen is a better fit
by Anonymous | reply 47 | April 20, 2021 4:18 AM
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Is DLers love our Pennsylvania real estate that’s for sure.
by Anonymous | reply 48 | April 20, 2021 4:26 AM
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The kitchen must be where misbehaving staff, guests and children are sent to correct the errors of their ways.
by Anonymous | reply 49 | April 20, 2021 4:38 AM
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The subject of the thread is somewhat cold to me. Enough with all the ironwork railings/chandeliers/etc. And that abomination of a kitchen is horrid. the grounds are quite beautiful.
The second one linked in this thread is way more my style. it's warmer, more woodwork, everything seems to really work well together. and it's always a plus to have a separate guest house and keep guests at arms length when necessary. not a lot of pictures of the grounds (ground-level, i mean).
by Anonymous | reply 50 | April 20, 2021 5:03 AM
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The scale of the furnishings is so offputting. I'd need to throw away anything left from the previous owners and gut the bathrooms and kitchen.
by Anonymous | reply 51 | April 20, 2021 5:23 AM
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Ponderously solemn mirthless place.🤔
by Anonymous | reply 52 | April 20, 2021 8:53 AM
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The present owners are a pretentious gay couple that used to live in the Dakota in NYC. They are one of the top Arts and Crafts collectors in the US and the furnishings are easily worth 3x the cost of the house. IMO, the interior is cold and uninviting and, as others have said, the kitchen is hideous. See the link if you want to see their Dakota apartment.
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 53 | April 20, 2021 9:34 AM
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Thanks, R53, I noticed the furniture and the light fixtures and Grueby vases. It's not my favorite style, but the quality is certainly impressive.
In a sense their furniture fits with the architecture, a broadly interpreted case for a William Morris-crafts tradition-Craftsman continuum, but for me the argument doesn't hold up well in the end. The 1980s-1990s were the heydays of that aesthetic and it seems both a bit of a collecting craze throwback that is not up to the architecture. It's no help to throw a simple armchair and a side chair suitable for an office into the middle of a space as striking as the entry hall, the fire dogs towering over them. The bedrooms look a little dour and short on luxury. Some top quality rugs of the same period as their furniture would go a long way, but their few rugs are unimpressive and, again, dour. Brown, brown, brown, fumed oak brown, and more brown, with a giant pot on a too small table in dark shadowy green muddy glaze. Evidently color is permitted only in contemporary art (which seems "important" and way under-scaled rather than bold and confident); and comfort has even less a place.
For all their worth, the furnishings fall well short of the house. They are interesting, just not my taste, and not well used in the space. Everything looks tentative as if they left their movers to guess where the furniture goes.
by Anonymous | reply 54 | April 20, 2021 10:03 AM
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I agree with R54, although there are some stunning pieces, such as the wrought iron bed, which I believe is by Yellin, the great iron-worker. And some of the clocks and vases are truly amazing. But it's just too cozy an aesthetic overall for this house, which needs huge oriental carpets and a more formal approach overall.
The current furnishings would look fantastic in a Shingle Style house with all -wood paneling or in one of Irving Gill's designs.
by Anonymous | reply 55 | April 20, 2021 2:45 PM
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R54 and R55: The furnishings make the house seem livable despite its formality and have a continuity w/o being too fussy. Making it look more like a museum than a home someone might inhabit seems pointless.
by Anonymous | reply 56 | April 20, 2021 2:56 PM
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Yeah, it’s Mount Airy Lodge or nothing for me thanks!
by Anonymous | reply 57 | April 20, 2021 3:00 PM
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So you're telling me that you want these kind of furnishings?
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 58 | April 20, 2021 3:17 PM
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The owner has some mighty eclectic tastes in their artwork.
by Anonymous | reply 59 | April 20, 2021 3:44 PM
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No thanks. Like living in a museum. Terrible energy there. Feels bleak.
by Anonymous | reply 60 | April 20, 2021 3:45 PM
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Are there two kitchens? Was it owned by a Kosher Jewish family?
by Anonymous | reply 61 | April 20, 2021 3:55 PM
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Are there two kitchens? Was it owned by a Kosher Jewish family?
No, R61.
There is a big modern kitchen with blue walls.
There is the original pantry with the period cabinetry (photo at link.) The pantry was a space separate from and adjacent to the original kitchen (now replaced with the ugly, blue painted room.)
Offsite Linkby Anonymous | reply 62 | April 20, 2021 4:02 PM
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The blue ugly kitchen is an eyesore. The Arts and Crafts theme is distinctive and it’s much better than seeing the cheap sticks of mid-century “furniture “bespoiling the place. Philly is such a turn off though: traffic and ghetto people even in the rich neighborhoods.
by Anonymous | reply 63 | April 20, 2021 4:07 PM
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The house is cavernous and the furniture is lost inside such a massive space. It actually comes off looking old, cheap, and just wrong. There is no warmth at all to this home and it's due to the spartan furnishings.
by Anonymous | reply 65 | April 20, 2021 7:35 PM
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Beautiful house but its still in Philly.
by Anonymous | reply 66 | April 20, 2021 7:51 PM
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R65 I think they are trying to style to “modern” non-cluttery, spartan tastes while keeping a house appropriate Arts and Crafts theme. They are trying to have it both ways. Perhaps, not successfully.
by Anonymous | reply 67 | April 20, 2021 9:02 PM
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