When the current owners first saw the house it had been a rooming house - empty and deteriorating. A hole in the ceiling of the main floor continued two floors to the roof where a family of raccoons had set up housekeeping. The house had not been touched since the 1920’s.
Over the course of the restoration/renovation it was decided to make the fireplace operational as a wood burning stove. All marble mantles in this stack were removed and carefully stored for reinstallation. These marble mantles were hand carved in 1866 and each has unique features carved into the creamy white marble. A poultice was applied to bleach the old marble - drawing out a hundred years of dirt and stains - after which all pieces were waxed and buffed to a luster before being reassembled at each new fireplace opening. First a new foundation for these fireplaces was created in the basement. 4 new wood burning fireplaces were created in a stack - one for each floor to the roof. To achieve this the original chimney breast had to be enlarged - pulled further into the room. This required minor re-framing of the floor systems to allow the new chimney to pass to the roof. The original plaster cornice moulding was destroyed in this process and had to be re-made. An ornamental plasterer was brought in to reproduce the historic original profiles and pieces.
The roof, windows and exterior brick had been leaking for many years. This resulted in the decay and loss of large sections of the original cornice in various parts of the house. The ornamental plaster reproduced those sections as well as several ceiling medallions and ornamental plaster rods and castings.
New wood windows were made to replace the decaying original windows. The original interior trim was salvaged and stripped for re-use. Where that was not possible or practical, new knives were made and new moulding trim was run to restore the look of the original.
The original pine wood floors had been carpeted in 1866 when the house was new. Never meant to be seen, these floorboards were crude and unfinished. The decision was made to replace them with a new mahogany floor. The design is an intricate mahogany and maple border with mahogany flooring in the center.
The owners did not want to live in a museum. The furnishings are curated - from an ancient Chinese chest to Art Deco club chairs and a contemporary sofa and occasional tables. Their art collection is an eclectic mix of modern abstract and traditional landscapes. The refracting prisms of a generous contemporary chandelier cast their glow over the entire stunning room.
See for yourself…… https://www.mcmahonarchitects.com/new-page-23