Deborah & William Hillyard
Deborah & William Hillyard
Deborah & William Hillyard
Deborah & William Hillyard
Deborah & William Hillyard
 
 
The house has a large main entrance lobby, around 25 feet by 11 feet.  This was in terrible shape, and all the walls and the ceiling had to be re-plastered.  We decided on plaster, rather than sheetrock, to maintain as much of the historical integrity of the house as we could.  However, once we realized how long it takes, and how much it costs, we have used sheetrock in the less important parts of the house.  The staircase was rebuilt, and its' route changed, by a Henry Alberts, who signed it, and it was completed on August 25th 1902.  It is made from pine, and had a very badly applied oak colored shellac finish.  We painted this white with a black banister, using a shellac based primer first.  Many houses of this era had staircases painted this way, so it is not unusual.  Leading from the main lobby area, there is a passage that allowed the servants to access the dining room and drawing room from the kitchen without using the main doors entrances, that would be used by family and guests.  Finally, there is a small area off the lobby, to the front of the house, which we call the Nook. 

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The original lobby.  The stairs are of pine, and had a very poorly applied shellac stain intended to simulate oak.  We did not like the hat and coat stand, though we know many people do.  We sold it, and it paid for a third of the cost of the replastering! 
Another view of the staircase.  Although attractive, the finish really spoiled it. 
The lighting has yet to be updated; the fixture in the photograph is for sale!  Pleased with the end result.  The black and white staircase looks a lot more imposing now. 

The archway at the back is the servants passage from the kitchen, at the rear of the house, to the main rooms at the front. 
A detail of how we are restoring the staircase.  It is time consuming, doing all the detailing, but I think it adds impact. 
Hard at work!  Layer upon layer of wallpaper, with the plaster underneath in appaling condition.  Where possible, we retained the old plaster and had a skim coat applied.  In one place, we found that someone had, in the past, applied a skim coat over the wall paper. 
The double doors that lead from the lobby into the drawing room.  There is another door in for the servants to use.  It took me over 100 hours of work to renovate the doors, but the end result made it all worthwhile.  I have added some very nice art deco handles since this picture. 

Entrance Lobby - Main Lobby

Our c. 1860 House -

Downstairs Renovations