lunt and fontanne fell in love in 1919 when they met backstage at a rehearsal in new york, and they married in 1922. the couple's first summer at home with alfred's mother was strained and in 1924 they set about expanding the chicken coop into a cottage for themselves to live in. the resulting cottage has many details drawn from traditional swedish farmhouses: corner brick and stucco fireplaces with sloping chimney wings, folk paintings (some painted by lunt himself), and inscriptions in swedish throughout the cottage. the exception is lynn fontanne's room upstairs, which is white on white, with a carpet of stitched sheepskins.