I PROMISED to keep you up to date on the restoration-work in the Music Room. This is the 1850 wing of our house that had been built atop a dubious -- and downright dangerous -- foundation. Crumbling stone had caused the floor to sag, resulting in cracked walls and floors. Now, one month and 4,000 pounds of cement later, the room, for the first time in over 100 years, is secure. The dusty details: Read more » Music Room Restoration, Part 2
April 1, 2013
I PROMISED to keep you up to date on the restoration-work in the Music Room. This is the 1850 wing of our house that had been built atop a dubious -- and downright dangerous -- foundation. Crumbling stone had caused the floor to sag, resulting in cracked walls and floors. Now, one month and 4,000 pounds of cement later, the room, for the first time in over 100 years, is secure. The dusty details: Read more » The Entrance Hall, Before & After Papering
December 18, 2012
AS MOST OF YOU KNOW, we recently redecorated our entrance hall. Would you like to see the before and after pictures? Actually, I can take you way back. Back, in fact, to how the hall looked in December, 2001, when we first visited this house with a real estate agent. Are you holding a stiff drink? Good. You're going to need it: Read more » Entrance Hall Makeover
December 6, 2012
JUST IN TIME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, my ancient entrance hall is getting a makeover. That is, we're about to apply reproduction 19th-century paper on the room's (19th-century) walls. A look at the paper, and how the walls are being prepared for this decorative treatment: Read more » House Tour Part 5: The Kitchen
October 14, 2012
THE KITCHEN FOR THIS 1826 HOUSE was originally located in a separate, 2-story wing. That wing, as I mentioned in Part 4 of our House Tour, was gutted in 1975 by non-preservation-minded owners. These same owners turned the dining room into a kitchen. When we came along in 2002, we restored the dining room to its former glory. And where did we locate the kitchen? Why, behind the door at the end of the long entrance hall. Would you like to see the room? Read more » House Tour, Part 4: The Dining Room
January 13, 2012
DID I MENTION that we are only the fifth owners of this old house? It stayed in the same family from 1826 until 1975. And in 1975, new owners gutted the original kitchen wing -- which included a dairy pantry and a butler's pantry -- I still cry about this -- and turned it into rental apartments. Then they assaulted the formal, Greek-Revival dining room by turning it into an eat-in kitchen. I'll show you what we did with the rental apartments in a future tour. Meanwhile, here's a glimpse of the dining room, restored to its intended purpose: Read more » House Tour Part 3: The Parlor
December 18, 2011
YOU'VE ALREADY SEEN the Music Room and the Entrance Hall in this 185-year-old house I happen to call "home." Shall we have a look at the parlor? Read more » House Tour, Part 2: The Entrance Hall & Staircase
December 11, 2011
LAST WEEK, I had great fun telling you about the 185-year-old house (above) that my partner and I saved from certain ruin. I also enjoyed showing you one of the rooms we restored. Here's a bit more history about the place, along with a few pictures of its now-restored entrance hall and staircase. Read more » 
