When your gutters need a cleaning and a lift has to be hired and there's an opportunity to make it do double duty. May your holidays be luminous and bring in a lighter, brighter new year!
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We tracked down the gazebo that Governor Holley gave to his wife in 1859! As you can see in first two photos, from the 1860s, formal gardens were created around it. It was sold in the tag sale before we bought the house, but Peggy O'Brien connected us with the buyers who kindly allowed us to buy it back. Rob, Matt, Bill and Larry worked yesterday to piece the parts together, like a puzzle. Today, Matt cut out diamond shapes in a new plank to match the old, which was rotted. The gazebo is only halfway up but already looks magical.  Ellen and Larry designed the garden. After plot was dug and leveled, Larry worked the soil. (photo credit: Ellen Burcroff)  He plotted out garden paths with rolls of black plastic. (photo credit: Ellen Burcroff)  And brought in organic soil from McEnroe's.  Rob dug out deep trench for fencing. (photo credit: Ellen Burcroff)  Trench was backfilled. (photo credit: Ellen Burcroff)  6 foot high cedar post fencing was added, to deer-proof. (photo credit: Ellen Burcroff)  Fencing went two feet down to make garden rabbit-proof.  Rob, Matt and Bill helped Larry finish the job. (photo credit: Ellen Burcroff.)  To maximize plant productivity, not to mention aesthetics, Matt designed trellises and cages that fold flat for winter.  Showing garden off to admiring friends.  And family.  Harvest! (basket credit: Ellen Burcroff)  #1 Start with wood from old factory. Mill it yourself.  #2 Assemble tools they don't sell at Home Depot.  3. Forget instructions. Use your instinct. And little slips of paper to hold alignments.  4. Add soapstone counters over two inches thick. Commission a few burly guys to help you lug them into your kitchen.  5. Dovetail drawers instead of nailing them.  6. Oil them with three coats of non-toxic stain.  7. Add appliances.  8. Enjoy the fact that you'll never, ever have to renovate a kitchen again. Photo credit: Cynthia Hochswender Bill Sigsworth beats the heat in coolness of the basement, working on much needed repairs to windows. 
photo credit: Ellen Burcroff
When we bought the house, one of the upstairs closets was filled with bags of insulation. Bill and Rob decide to put it to good use by laying it beneath floorboards of unheated two rooms we're using for attic. 
Bill Sigsworth estimates by the package design that the insulation was bought in the 1970s.
Rob Anderson, looking for a date on the package.
Bill found a Wall Street Journal dated September 18, 1957 stuffed into a wall of the den powder room. 
The Glenwood stove will be relocated to the breakfast room and replaced with a 6 burner DCS. Bill is building out the wall to accommodate a larger appliance. The neatly stacked planks are reclaimed wood that Rob has milled and will use to build kitchen cabinets.  Bill Sigsworth cuts and planes panels, one by painstaking one, for wainscotting in the laundry room. 
Bill Sigsworth putting up ceiling in master bath.
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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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