GRACIOUS SOPHISTICATION
SOME OF THE ORIGINAL LIGHTS AND MUCH OF THE DOOR HARDWARE WAS SALVAGED, RESTORED AND REINSTALLED. THE OWNERS SPENT MONTHS POURING THROUGH ANTIQUE AND SECOND-HAND STORES AS WELL AS EBAY, TO FIND JUST THE RIGHT LIGHTING AND HARDWARE TO ENHANCE THEIR HOME’S CHARM.
“The previous owner had tried to address the problem, but was not aggressive enough.” He added the previous owner had also created “an amazing garden,” but foliage was growing very close to the house and sprinklers compounded the damage. “We have now dug around the whole house to create a buffer and had the irrigation modified so it is not hitting the house anymore.” He explained the rodents disappeared when the walls were torn opened, “and then we had the house sealed up for two days and disinfected the whole place.” Huxley said the 1930’s era home had had two previous renovations, one of which included the addition of a solarium. “But it had been poorly built and rotting so we ended up pouring a new foundation for that, stripping it right down, and rebuilding it.”
The crew, headed by site supervisor David Walsh, took every part of the house down to the studs, except for one room. “We didn’t expect the reno to be so dramatic,” said one of the owners. “But we were very lucky we didn’t try to just do a cosmetic or piecemeal renovation, because we discovered things like old knob and tube wiring, which was still live, right next to new wiring.” Huxley’s crew replaced all the wiring and plumbing and installed new in-floor radiant heating throughout the home’s entire three floors. His crew hand-dug down two feet in the basement to add insulation, heating and plumbing there, and because the ceiling was raised to seven-foot-six, the space now includes a laundry, bathroom and storage. The project took much longer than expected not only because of all the extra
ALL THE HOME’S PAINT IS BY FARROW AND BALL AND THE WORK WAS EXPERTLY DONE BY BLACK DOG PAINTING.
30 | Capital HOME FALL 2018
>34