Bringing Back Holleywood
  • welcome
  • blog
  • history of the house
  • town heritage
  • house, before
  • circa 1977
  • photo album
  • movies
  • resources
  • contact
    • open house 10/27/12

getting over the wall

6/3/2012

0 Comments

 
How excited we were to discover, beneath layers of wallpaper and paint in the entry hall, a fresco believed to be original to the house in 1853. The fresco was not in great shape. Nor was it beautifully executed, like the artful job that Bill Sigsworth discovered hidden away in a closet. Still, it was a fresco from 1853! Should we restore it? Keep it as is? Paint over it? We kept going back and forth on these questions--everyone on the job had strong feelings one way or the other. When the floors were redone, beautiful parquetry appeared, but the double whammy of loud floors and loud wall seemed a bit much. We decided, with reluctance, to let the wall go, preserving a piece of it for posterity. We reasoned: the fresco had been painted over in 1860 by Governor Holley and his new wife Sarah Coit Day. If that decision was good enough for Governor Holley, who were we to disagree? We painted it over with the same green they used, remnants of which Lance was able to match.
Picture
Mike Zordan, the plasterer, assesses ghost of old doorway for damage and says he'll plaster over only what he has to, for safety.
Picture
Newly plastered wall. We still can't decide whether to keep, restore or repaint. We put off decision until floors are redone.
Picture
Original floor patterns of ash, hickory and mahogany make themselves known. We decide visual of floor AND wall is too gaudy.
Picture
On the other hand, fresco-d walls beautifully set off fireplace in parlor.
Picture
The nays have it. Plasterers do their thing, but, at our request, leave a tapestry-size patch of original fresco.
Picture
We might frame it. Or not.
Picture
Lance glazes around it.
Picture
Finished.
0 Comments

the great wall

5/5/2012

0 Comments

 
Picture
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!

Picture
Ghosts of former doorway and wall shelf remain.
0 Comments

1853 fresco

4/5/2012

0 Comments

 
The decision is made to keep the fresco in the front hallway discovered beneath wallpaper and two layers of paint. The fresco is assumed to be original to the house in 1853, painted to echo tiger's eye marble fireplace in the parlor. 
Picture
Picture
Just 7 years after it was built, the house was renovated in 1860. Three small rooms off center hallway were converted into (we think) a ballroom. Ghost of doorway is visible here.
0 Comments

can this wall be saved?

12/17/2011

0 Comments

 
Mike Zordan and his brother are third-generation plasterers. If anybody can save this fresco-d wall, they can. Mike agrees to give it a try, to see if he can patch the big cracks but leave small fissures, for character. After they attend to a piece of the wall, we'll take a look and decide what to do.
Picture
Picture
Mike examines doorway that was plastered over in 1860.
0 Comments

fresco discovery!

12/15/2011

0 Comments

 
Our walls seem to be like Russian dolls; take off one layer and there's more underneath. When we bought the house, the entry hall was wallpapered. Removing the paper revealed gorgeous, complex green paint which Ellen found a painter to match. We meant to reapply the same color, when the walls were replastered. But when the paint was removed for the plaster, we were stunned to discover a fresco design, as well as the ghost of an original doorway. We assume the faux-marble fresco was done in 1853 to match the marble fireplace in the parlor, and painted over in 1860 when the house was renovated by Governor Holley's new wife Sarah Coit Day who moved into the house after they married in 1856. The fresco is only on the west wall, however. And, as the painter points out, the painter who did it wasn't very good, it is not the artful job that exists (forever hidden, alas) on a closet ceiling. We are meeting tomorrow to decide how to proceed, stay tuned!
Picture
Picture
0 Comments

    who we are

    We 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
    September 2021
    October 2018
    June 2018
    August 2016
    April 2016
    December 2015
    August 2014
    May 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    August 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    November 2010

    glossary

    All
    2101
    Acorn Lights
    Adrian
    Aimee Davis
    Arnoff Moving
    Art
    Attic
    Avocado
    Balcony
    Basement
    Bathrooms
    Bathtub
    Bathtubs
    Bauer Park
    Beatrice Sexton
    Beaux Arts
    Before And After
    Bell Butler
    Bell Register
    Bernie
    Bill Sigsworth
    Billy
    Bird's Eye View Of Holleywood
    Boathouse
    Bookcase
    Boot Scraper
    Breakfast Room
    Bricks
    Bringing Back The Gatehouse
    Bunny Williams
    Cappy Tatsapaugh
    Carpentry
    Charles E. Rudd
    Charles Keil
    Charlie
    Chimney
    Chris Brennan
    Cistern
    Closets
    Colors
    Cost Of Oil
    Cousins
    Craftsmanship
    Crew
    Crook
    Crops
    Ct
    Cynthia Hochswender
    Dean Meadow
    Decorating
    Decorating 70s Style
    Details
    Dining Room
    Discovery
    Dock
    Doors
    Dreams
    Driveway
    Dumpster
    Earthquake
    Easter
    Electrician
    Emma Rudd
    Extruder
    Fear Of Heating Bills
    Fear Of The Unknown
    Felling A Tree
    Fireplace
    First Thanksgiving
    Floors
    Frank Garretson
    Fresco
    Front Doors
    Furniture
    Gallery Books
    Garage
    Garden
    Gatehouse
    Gateposts
    Gazebo
    Geoff Rosano
    Geronimo
    Ghosts
    Glass Etching
    Glenwood Stove
    Gold
    Governor Holley
    Gracious Living
    Grand Entrance
    Gravestone
    Greek Revival
    Green Restoration
    Groundhogs
    Happiness
    Helen Klein Ross
    Helen Ross
    Hidden Histories
    Hinges
    Historical Accuracy
    Historic District
    Holley-Williams House
    Holleywood
    Hot Air Balloon
    House Closing
    Housewarming Present
    Hurricane
    Ice Carving
    Insulation
    Italianate
    Jackie Mock
    James Charlton
    Jane Lyman Holley
    Jason Hanley
    Jay Rudd
    Jinny Rudd
    John Gruen
    John Krom Rudd
    Jp Newton Market
    Juliet Balcony
    Katherine Chilcoat
    Katherine Ross
    Kitchen
    Kubota
    Kyle And Lindsey McEvoy
    Kyle McEvoy
    Lakeville
    Lakeville Ct
    Lakeville Journal
    Lakeville Lake
    Lance Middlebrook
    Landscaping
    Larry Burcroff
    Lathing
    Laundry Room
    Laurie Warner
    Lead Paint
    Leon Mcclain
    Lifetime Roof
    Lighting
    Lindsey McEvoy
    Living Room
    Locke Brothers
    Louise Hannegan
    Lucky Break
    Malcolm Day Rudd
    Margaret Ross
    Mark Niedhammer
    Masonry
    Matt Holderman
    Memorial Day
    Memory Lane
    Metal
    Middle East Uprisings
    Mike O'connor
    Miller
    Mini-museum
    Modern Realities
    Momentous Occasion
    Mott
    New England Winters
    New York Times
    Octagonal
    Old Houses
    Old School
    Old Stone
    Original Doors
    Outer Space
    Painting
    Peggy Obrien
    Plaster
    Plumbing
    Porch
    Pulley
    Pw Vintage Lighting
    Radiators
    Real Estate
    Restoration Holleywood
    Riley's Furniture
    Rob Anderson
    Robinson Leech
    Ron Carpenter
    Roof
    Roof Raking
    Rudd
    Rudd Family
    Salisbury
    Salisbury Association
    Sarah Coit Day
    Scaffolding
    Scoville Library
    Seeing The Light
    Shutters
    Sign
    Signature
    Simon & Schuster
    Sink
    Skeptics
    Snow
    Snowplower
    Soap
    Spiral Staircase
    Spirit Ballooning
    Staging
    Stairway
    St. Charles Cabinets
    Stilts
    Stove
    Stumps
    Susan Rand
    Team Holleywood
    Theodore O'neill
    This Old House Magazine
    Tiles
    Tower
    Tower Bedroom
    Town Grove
    Town Historian
    Trade Secrets
    Tree Climber
    Trees
    Troy Tatsapaugh
    Turret
    Upstairs Downstairs
    Vernal Pond
    Vernal Pool
    Vernal Pools
    Vintage
    Vintage Dollhouse
    Voldstads
    Wade Warner
    Wall
    Wallpapers
    Walls
    Wall Treatment
    Wall Treatments
    Welcome To Connecticut
    What-was-mine-book
    White Hart Green
    William Taft
    Windows
    Wononscopomuc
    Wood Burning Stove
    Woodchucks
    Writer's Hack
    Writing A Novel
    Writing On The Wall
    Xmas Trees
    Zordan Brothers

    RSS Feed

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.