I have often stated that I have no desire to live with a period-correct decor. Rather, I want the decor of the house to reflect 123-years of design and history. So, this memorial piece to David Bowie, hanging in a house built in 1894, pleases me greatly. I suspect Mr. Bowie would have…

    The ceiling stencils will soon be here! And the picture rail is now on site! I have to order the metallic powders for the stencils (pearl, gold, and copper) and am hoping to accomplish that this weekend! So…soooooooooon….there will be loveliness in the parlor! I am breathless with anticipation and excitement! (And, did…

Three years ago, as of yesterday, I took possession of the 1894 Cross House. The house was terrifyingly huge. H U G E. The house was, too, in terrifying condition. Y I K E S. So, why in the world did I do something so insane? Well…ummm…ahhh….love. Love, baby. I was in love. And three…

In 1894, almost every room in the Cross House had picture rail. Curiously, all this trim was later removed but ghost outlines thankfully remain. Without the rail, the rooms look, to me, unbalanced. The tall walls just visually morph into the ceilings. The tall windows and their trim are visually unconnected to each other. Recently,…

  This mysterious door, it be told, was, in a faraway time long long ago, where an Ice Man would show up in the wee morning hours and deposit huge blocks of ice. All this would be done without waking the Cross family or staff from their deep, dreamy slumbers. Many years would pass before a…

I wrote the following about the Cross House in my very first post in August, 2014: And, most disturbing and altogether terrifying, the house needed a ton of work. However, a-ton-of-work can in no way truly convey the reality of just how much work was required. The projected expense and time required to even make the house…

This morning Chris emailed me to let me know it was National Tile Day! And thank goodness for I otherwise would have had no idea! Chris also wanted to know if I could could do an update on the tile in the Cross House. You know, for National Tile Day. OK! In February, 2015, I…

I hear a lot of things about the Cross House which are not true. Visitors to the house tell me that the dark, detailed wainscoting on much of the first floor is hand-tooled leather. I explain that it is Lincrustra, basically sawdust and glue. Vistors insist that it is hand-tooled leather and look at me as…

  There are two pillows on the sofa. Brown pillows. Brown! Ugh! I have long planned to recover them but have not as yet found the perfect fabric. After Krystal reduced the length of the drapery panels for the library and parlor last week I was left with a lot of extra fabric. Oh! What…