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A century of grime is scraped off floorboards in kitchen and breakfast room, revealing beautiful wood which we believe was installed during the 1860 renovation.  New counters and cabinetry are veiled for protection against sanders.  When we bought house, this room off the kitchen was used as a laundry. Avocado washer and dryer stood where new slate sink cabinetry is. We added window above for light and lake view.  Breakfast room--before. March, 2011.
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 Debate continues about what to do with the front hall fresco. The plasterers repaired the wall where they had to, but left as much of it untouched as they could, without us having to worry about the wall falling down. Some of us want to keep it (I'm in that camp), some of us don't (Donald.) Restoring it would be quite an investment of both time and money. One option is simply to leave the wall as is. We decide to put off a decision until the floors are done. Procrastination is one of my favorite solutions to problems!  Ghosts of former doorway and wall shelf remain. Floor scraping continues in the front parlor where old paint is peeled back to reveal white ash. 
Beneath years of grime, we discovered gorgeous parquetry in both dining room and tower room off the parlor. After days of hand-scraping, the floors revealed exquisite artistry in white ash and mahogany with a hemlock center left plain for carpet. We'll strip chair rails in the dining room which are mahogany, too.  Still wet from coats of tung oil, the parquetry gleams as it must have in 1853.  Imagine the planning and precision that went into unique floor design in the tower room, off the parlor. Instead of repainting wood floors on the third floor, the crew has scraped (hand-scraped in some places) and tung-oiled them, leaving in original marks and fades and indents which gives old wood its personality. The boards were still "curing" this weekend, but Rob supplied doctor's booties so that we could view the transformation. 
Third-floor room leading to tower.
Third floor "game room". Curved wall is former site of original stairwell.
Newly polished tower steps.
Tower steps, before.
We're installing a bathroom on the third floor, and between boards pried apart, you can see down to the lathing on the floor below. Unlike most pre-Civil War builders, Holleyood's craftsmen didn't skimp on flooring as they went up. These floorboards are hemlock and exceedingly thick. The electrician took time to figure out which floorboards were taken up in 1915 when original wiring was inserted and takes care to pull the same boards to minimize disruption.   Rob marvels at the thickness of original hemlock boards in third-story flooring. |
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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