We're beginning to scout out tag and estate sales for pieces that look like they belong in the house.
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Donald and Rob were born on the same day, a few (ahem) years apart. We celebrate their birthday with cake in the almost-done kitchen. 
The difference between a good restoration and a great one lies in the details. Aimee Davis has been patiently attending to hinges, hooks, ceiling globes and other small items that make a big statement when they're cleaned and shiny as when they were new.  Aimee bringing back hardware on living room shutters so they fold into the wall as was originally intended.    On June 16, we enjoyed a beautiful summer evening at the Summer Benefit for the worthy Wassaic Project celebrating Maxon Mills, the iconic seven story grain elevator turned exhibition space for artists. Seven sawdusted floors housed the work of over 100 artists, but the collection that most captivated us was on the top (no elevator) (ironic!) floor where Jackie Mock's Americana reliquarium is showcased through September. Her handmade frames from reclaimed wood and hand-hammered tin labels "celebrate the history imbued in found objects." We contacted her to see if she could be commissioned to showcase some of the artifacts found during the restoration of Holleywood. Happily, she could. Below, she examines our stockpile of discoveries to select which to take back to her studio in Brooklyn. We'll install her work in the tower room off the parlor which we're turning into a mini-museum, a shrine to the history of the house.  "The Entire Life of This Pen" © Jackie Mock  "Some Secrets Should Stay Secret" © Jackie Mock  "The Thirty-Three Candles from Your Birthday Cake." © Jackie Mock  "Water from American Places with European Names" © Jackie Mock  Jackie takes inventory of artifacts from Holleywood. Each of the bannister rails is stripped and oiled, not once but three times. Two coats of wax are applied, to keep the wood glossy until the next restoration. 
Jason oiling the rails.
Bernie eyes the work yet to be done.
Matt puts final touches on seating in the breakfast room, designed to look like old-time railway bench.
Donald test-drives.
Glenwood sold the first "Glenwood C" models around 1914. So this stove was the latest thing when it was installed in 1915 during the renovation by Charles Rudd soon after he inherited the house. One hundred years later, it's still in working order, but in need of an overhaul. Rob and his team took the stove apart so that Donald and I could drive it in a rented van to Cape Cod where one of the few Glenwood doctors left in the country--Doug of Barnstable Stove Shop--made it gleam like new. 
The stove, as we found it in November 2010.
It takes four pairs of muscles to strong-arm it into the van.
The Barnstable Stove Shop. Where old stoves come to be reincarnated.
Doug examines the patient. Declares her to be not in bad shape for 100 years old.
Doug installs the newly refurbished stove in our kitchen.
June, 2012.
We were delighted to attend a celebration hosted by Salisbury's Historic District Commission at the Old Bushnell Tavern, beautifully restored home of Arthur and Kathryn Taylor, and to receive this lovely plaque which the commission has created for historic houses in the district. The plaque has been a Commission project long in the works and I like it even better than last year's initial design, don't you?  The original front doors to the house were found in the basement. Classicist architect Frank Garretson has designed drawings for returning them to their proper place in the house, consulting with old photos to make sure we will be restoring them just as they were.   Front door as it exists today, installed during renovation of 1915.  Frank Garretson compares door drawings with details in old photos.  Original doors visible in 1908 portrait of Malcolm Day Rudd and his family, courtesy of Malcolm's grandson, Charles Keil. We're hoping that our feline family member will be enough to discourage resident mice. Eliza showed up on our doorstep in Amenia on Thanksgiving, 1999 and has been with us ever since. This is her first visit to Holleywood. We don't let her inside, as we're afraid she'll get lost and we'd have to drive back to New York without her.  from L to R: Frank Garretson (architect), Eliza Ross (mousecatcher), Rob Anderson (contractor) |
who we areWe are a couple of Upper West Siders from NYC who never set out to buy an old mansion in Connecticut. But the moment we walked through its massive front door, we were smitten. The info on this site is earnestly cobbled from a variety of sources, including the web. Please let us know if we've gotten something wrong, or if there's a story about Holleywood you'd like to share. forewords
December 2021
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