Old houses invariably come with quirks. Today we’re going to explore a few Quirks of Willow Greens Farm™ that date back to the very beginning.
The original 1791 farmhouse was created when Timothy Taylor added to the Hessian outpost on the property he inherited from his grandfather. In the floor plan, the Hessian structure is outlined in blue; Taylor’s extension in green. On the ground floor, the Hessian section served as a kitchen. The extension added a common living area with two fireplaces as well as a front entrance.
Not very quirky, so far, right? Well, take a look at the upper floor. Undaunted by the Hessian structure’s thick and impenetrable stone exterior, Taylor added a room anyway. There was no connection between the two sections, and they remain disconnected to this day.
We don’t know much about how Taylor’s family used this space. There must have been stairs leading to the Hessian room and it may have had its own fireplace, but there’s no evidence of these amenities in today’s structure. The larger (newer) room was accessible from stairs at the far end of the living area, and it had a fireplace. This most likely served as the family’s sleeping quarters.
Today it’s one of two guest bedrooms, and has bags of historic charm in the form of a beamed ceiling and original quarter-sawn oak flooring. Our hope is to preserve these elements while decorating in a period style. But like other parts of the house, this room has its quirks.
We love the beamed ceiling and decided to lean into the wood tones. We (and by we I mean Chris) applied a neutral lime wash to the walls, which lightened things up a bit. The room then served as a staging area during our bathroom remodeling project. While we couldn’t do much hands-on work, there was no shortage of visioning and planning.
As with the other guest room, we started by choosing window treatments inspired by the color palettes in our mood boards (more about that here). In the beamed bedroom we opted for shades instead of full-length draperies due to heat registers at floor level. There’s a hint of blue in the shades, which we picked up as an accent color on a paneled wall behind the bed. Add side tables, a throw and some pillows, and it doesn’t look half bad.
I admit, the view from the bed is still an enormous blank wall and tiny fireplace. We don’t plan on using the fireplace, but would a decorative surround improve the look? Some art on that wall perhaps? More lighting to brighten the room as a whole? While the answer to all of these questions is “yes,” we also have plenty of room for more furniture. It remains to be seen whether that’s a dresser, a vanity, a secretary desk, a cozy sitting area or (more likely) some combination of these. Decorating this room is an organic process: rather than run out and buy a matching bedroom suite at the nearest big box furniture store, we are on the hunt for antique or reproduction pieces sympathetic to the original design (and, don’t forget, can be brought up the curved staircase). For now, Chris is keeping vigil on his favorite auction sites, and with any luck we’ll have more to share soon.
What a funny little fireplace! Does it have a working flue? Would it have been for coal? I'm waiting for the secret stairway to make itself known.
I'd love to know what Chris' favorite auction sites are!