A Room With A View
The Cross House is blessed with a lot of sunlight. I adore sunlight.
But under the main stair was a dark and creepy space. There was just no sunlight.
This though is not what the architect intended. This was the result of later changes.
And today?
Scroll down…
I am really quite gobsmacked. Walking from the dining room into the stairhall, one now turns to the left is struck with LIGHT! And a VIEW! The area under the stair has been utterly transformed.
Can you hear my smile?
13 Comments
Leave a Reply Cancel Reply
Your email address will NEVER be made public or shared, and you may use a screen name if you wish.

This is just awesome!
Let.there be light!
This is terrific!
Isn’t it amazing how putting the original footprint and original details and such just work for a house? Can you feel the Cross House sighing in contentment every time you put something back the way it was?
When the “door” is open there is plenty of light. But what about when it is closed?
Since you don’t have the original door, you could just case and trim the opening and leave it permanently open.
Or you could find a door with a nice big piece of glass in it. Beveled, etched, stained, whatever.
Have you considered what you’re going to do with the opening?
a door with clear but a beveled glass design would spread the light all over… and possible share a design similar to the fabulous windows all over the Cross House. That is a good idea, but might be hard to come by and most likely pretty pricey.
Yes but I’m sure they occasionally pop up in salvage. Being the right size and style will be the problem.
I’ll bet Ross could etch a piece of glass himself with a design that reflects the other elements in the house. That way he’d only have to buy a piece of glass, not that expensive, and find a suitable door of the right size. He might even be able to get one of his guys to remake the door with a large place to put a piece of glass.
That is if he wants a door. It might be more economical to just finish the opening and leave it open and wait for a suitable door to drop into his lap later down the road.
A beveled glass door would be really lovely there. Fingers crossed that salvage comes through, as it sometimes does.
Can you hear ME smile??? I love it!
Wow. Back when I was in the house in the 1980s, that space was a cave. It’s still been dark, even with all the changes you’ve made to it. I can’t believe how much lighter and brighter it feels with the sunlight streaming in — and it’s just a photo of the space. I can’t imagine how magical it must feel standing there now!
Oh, and I just thought — imagine it again when all the woodwork and lincrusta has been restored to its original lighter finish! That space will glow!
Gobsmacked!
Love it! 🙂
This is great, what a difference.
Here is an article about a man who found his family owned a castle! And he is restoring it.
I think Ross and this community will enjoy it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/18/realestate/downton-shabby-english-castle.html?referringSource=articleShare
Love it! Thanks for sharing!