Littlefield asked his builder to design an “authentic copy of an Italian Villa” he had seen during a trip in southern Italy. Although the format of this house is that of a full four-columned temple front, the capitals combine Greek Corinthian and Egyptian lotus motifs—a combination which may reflect Napoleon's Egyptian campaign. But such exotic hybrids are frequent in late Greek Revival design. The bracketed cornice under the pediment is not at all Greek, but typical for Italian villas.