Designed by the Herter Brothers, the Drawing Room features rosewood woodwork inlaid with boxwood, ebony, and cedar of Lebanon along with a ten piece set of furniture, bought by Charles D. Mathews, believing that it matched the set originally commissioned by LeGrand Lockwood which was never installed in the house.
The decoration of the room is centered on the Roman gods and emperors, from the doors bronze medallions to the painted portraits above, which match the Herter Brothers set. Pierre-Victor Galland’s Venus at Play with Her Cupids nearly covers the entire span of the ceiling. This magnificent painting was commissioned in 1869 by LeGrand Lockwood and remains a highlight of the room.
Adjoining the Drawing Room is a small turreted Card Room. Designed by the Herter Brothers, with delicate inlaid woods such as bird’s eyes maple, boxwood, and ebony, the room reveals three of LeGrand Lockwood’s great interests: music, art, and poetry.
Like the Drawing Room it features Galland’s masterful hand. The arched ceiling, paneled and frescoed with birds and vases of flowers, gives the diminutive room a feeling of Victorian romanticism. The room’s fireplace was never meant to hold a fire, but rather was a means to disguise a heating duct.