My Italianate twin in University City

Here are a couple of photos of my house. . . it's on a block of 22 Italianate twins built in 1860-61 and designed by Philadelphia architect Samuel Sloan.  Details are simple but the height and proportions are terrific.  When I bought the house it was divided up and the original mantles/medallions/light fixtures were missing but I was lucky that the remaining plaster crown molding was largely intact.  I did, however, have to have a couple 8 foot lengths recreated on site when I reconstructed a wall of the front parlor/entry hall that had been removed to turn the front parlor into two bedrooms!  My medallions came from Boston ornament and I worked with a local 4th generation plasterer to install them and make the necessary repairs.  Have just a bit to go and I'll be ready to complete painting and papering.  Anyone who has a lead on a good ashlar pattern wallpaper for the entry hall do let me know!  I've attached two photos: first is the almost finished front parlor and the second is a HABS photo of the house (mine is the left half of the stucco twin) which was taken for the block's National Register listing. . .

Nice house, looks like an old photograph (or everyone on the street has a classic car). Nice light fixtures too, I cant believe the chandelier on the floor is painted white - it should be brass. The nice thing about Italianates is their high ceilings - makes for a grand space w/ lots of room for large crown mouldings, wide borders, and tall furniture - the spectacular kind of stuff that can't even fit in most homes. Here are some high end Victorian wallpaper sites with some great patterns to drool over,  Wolf House wallpaper: www.wolffhousewallpapers.com , J.R. Burrows:  www.burrows.com , and the renown Bradbury & Bradbury: www.bradbury.com . Good luck with the restoration - you'll have to post some pics when it's done.  woodwright

Quote from: bluelotus
Anyone who has a lead on a good ashlar pattern wallpaper for the entry hall do let me know!

Adelphi Paper Hangings has several ashlars in their catalog, though they may be a bit early for your house... Carter & Co/Mt Diablo may have something as well. And there is B&B's Neo-Grec Dado, if you lean toward something more "modern" (1880s!).

Great place.  I've always wanted the super-high ceilings and very cool that it was designed by Sloan.  I was just reading a 38 year old dissertation by Ken Ames on Renaissance Revival Furniture in America while I was on the train yesterday and Sloan was mentioned in there.

Don't forget misslilybart's paper!  One of our own is half of Mason & Wolf: http://mason-wolf.com/

I think that everybody listed all of my favorite wallpaper suppliers here.  They have some nice paper!  I'd add Charles Rupert to the list though...big selection, plus a number of other items.  Take a look at their "Traditional Home" wallpaper section as well as their huge line of Morris papers.  One "complaint"...I wish they offered coordinated roomsets & ceiling designs.    http://charlesrupert.com/

There is a relatively new wallpaper company called Aesthetic Interiors too.  Their prices are very low...I ordered a sample and I see that from a distance of about 12-inches I can begin to make out the pixelation in the pattern.  Their papers are "printed" in the electronic-era sense.  Still, they offer some very pretty patterns and they can make them on washable vinyl as an option.  Their price may well find a receptive market.    http://www.aestheticinteriors.com/

Thank you,

Jason

5 minutes later and I'm a tiny bit smarter...I know what an "ashlar" pattern is now.

Check out this one at Charles Rupert...
http://charlesrupert.com/traditional/1840to1880/stoneblock.html

$236 (Canadian) for a 33' double roll.  This might be one of their more expensive offerings.

- Jason

Thanks for all the suggestions. . . I love the Adelphi ashlar and really have no trouble using it.  In terms of the "bones" of the house (ie medallions, mantles, lighting) I've tried to be as closely period as possible . . .

Some more views. . . note the newly installed medallion and gasolier in the back parlor seen from the dining room. . .

Mighty fine light fixture.  A small collection of those would stack up handsomely against my 401(k). 

Thank you for posting the nice pics!

- Jason

They are actually fairly good reproductions of a Starr Fellows fixture from 1857. . . they are a tad pricey but nowhere near what you'd pay for the real thing.  The six arm one that is painted white pictured in the front parlor pic I found on e-by for $40, included the leaded glass shades!  I will move the 4 arm from the front up to the bedroom and hang the six arm once I finished removing the white paint. . .

Hello again,
Here are some more photos of my work in progress.  I wanted to show the beauty of the plaster medallion I purchased from Boston Ornament and installed in the front parlor. Other pictures show a newly installed salvaged marbelized slate mantle with a coal effect cast iron insert and my second floor bathroom which is completely new (I designed it myself).  I'll post more of the exterior later in the spring/summer and work progresses.

Cheers,
Gregory

Was the mirror in the house, or is that repro?; We have one similar, but is original. Also, trying to locate my architect from around that same time in southern NJ; wondering if it is Sloane, although my house much more ornate. Starting a new post with my details here, See "My Italianate in Salem" for more and photos.