Learning About the Dining Room.
The dining room of the Cross House has a lot of DARK brown trim.
Experience however has taught me that what I am looking at is mostly old shellac, which turns brown over time.
So, I have long wondered: WHAT was the original finish to the dining room?
And today this question was answered.
The original faux-wood finish is shown on the left.
This is about what I expected.
What proved unexpected was how hard it was to reveal this.
In the parlor and library, using denatured alcohol on the trim quickly dissolved the old shellac. But not on the dining trim. HOURS were spent on this one piece. Thank goodness for Audible books.
There is no way I want to spend the time required to refinish all the rest of the dining trim. So, I am uncertain what to do.
But all of a sudden I don’t really mind the dark brown. And, hey, I might decide that I love it!
(NOTE: the single piece I refinished was just inches from vertical pipes to a radiator above. Maybe the HOT pipes kinda baked on the old shellac? So, tomorrow I will refinish a trim board well away from any hot pipes. Please stand by…)
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Can the person who is testing for original paint colors also test for original finishes as well?
They can, but it is expensive.
Like $150 a sample.
Ah, the price of accuracy. I have not had this color testing done in my c. 1801-1820 Federal townhouse, because of the cost and I fear that I might not like the colors. I currently have the dilemma of never painted plaster walls that were found under wallpaper. I prefer a painted wall, yet the siren’s call of authenticity rings in my ears.
Would it be acceptable to you to put up lining paper and then paint the room to make it reversible?
What a great idea! Thanks Chad.
It appears the original faux finish below the shellac was darker than in the parlor and other areas you’ve exposed? In that case, the current darker finish isn’t as drastic of a difference than elsewhere in the house, and consequently, you wouldn’t need as much effort to justify leaving it be 😉
Is that a servant call button or a spark ignition switch for gas lighting attached to the darker trim?
Not sure what it is for. Many rooms in the house have a doorbell outside the respective doors. This made sense when the house was apartments. But the bell in the dining room is inside. Curious.
Is it usual to have the wood in different rooms finished in different colors? I thought the interior would have mostly the same finish throughout the house. But you do have doors that close off rooms, so you can do that more easily than someone in an open-floor house.
The faux wood finish in the parlor is much lighter than the faux finish in the library.
So, I expected the dining room to be different, too.
An 1895 article describes the main rooms as having different woods. Of course, this was faux wood!
Where is this 1895 article? I would like to read it.
Me too!
I Googled “restoration blogs” because I am current with all three I am following and needing another to fill the gap…and guess who popped up??? ROSS!!!! Your beautiful re-creation was the first photo and I’m sure you are aware that you are listed in the Top 8 blogs to follow. Happy Dance 🙂
Hi Ross,
On the dining room bell issue. Houses of this caliber often had bells for summoning the servants in every room. If the mistress of the house was reviewing the table settings and noted something that was not to her taste, she would simply push the button by the door and wait for a servant to arrive.
There was often a button on the floor under the rug at the head of the table, mistresses end. A bell rang in the kitchen, summoning the next course or to calling a member of the staff to see to any detail that she might have become aware was not to her standard. If a guest ran out of food or liquor, the hostess was trained to keep track of the needs of her guest. When the butler answered the call, she might say, “Jeeves, Mr. MacTaggart needs another glass of wine.” She could press once for the butler twice for the cook or arrange any code that suited her with the staff so the appropriate person would appear.
My grandmother had such a bell under the rug in her dining room, of which I was unaware. As a boy I was once seated beside her at the wide table head. After exploring this bump in the floor with my foot numerous times, my grandmother explained what it was. She got tired of the cook popping out to see what she needed.
The butler did not do it, that boy Stu did it!
I like the darker finish. It may have darkened from what it was originally, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The historical narrative of the Cross House is still being written, so a deviation here and there should be OK…
Ross, even if it is just in one room, the original finish showcases what has endured persevered and survived. This is a nice counterpoint to what you began from and from this vantage you were inspired to discover and breathe a renewed sense of vitality throughout. ????
I LOVE the dark brown. Embrace it.