The Red Door Saga…Concludes (mostly)!
The so-called Red Door was here when I purchased the Cross House in 2014, on the east wall of the dining room.
The red door has been through a lot. I previously did a VERY involved (and, I hope, really enjoyable) post about the Red Door. In short:
- Red Door was removed from somewhere in the house during in the 1960s.
- A window in the east wall in the dining room was enlarged and the Red Door was installed in this location, creating a private entrance for the Toms family.
- I removed the Red Door, recreated the original window size of the east wall in the dining room.
- After much much much ado (see previous post, linked above) it developed that the Red Door had originally been the south entry door. Golly!
- Red Door returned to its original location:
However, the door had been reduced in size on top and bottom!
Dr. Doug, once again, came to rescue and the missing bits were recreated. And then things just sat As Such for about a year.
Wanna see what happened today? Scroll way down….
The Red Door is back! It’s back!!!!!!!! And, yea, those steps ARE fabulous!
Miraculously, the door retains ALL its original hardware! And fabulous hardware it be! The red paint needs to be removed, and the exterior stained and varnished. It will all be so glorious! A while back, I even found the missing stair hand rail!
Well, as you can imagine, my joy is great!
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Peace of mind at last !
Whew!
Now all you need is the bench for under the stairs! Are you sure it isn’t stashed somewhere in your Alladins Cave of a basement?
Thanks for posting a big picture of the house, it sure has come a long way, and looks great!
Great job Ross! I love the design of the stairs-classy.
You are right, big houses like the Cross change design/orientation over time to adjust to the needs of the era.
Keep up the great work.
Slow but sure is the name of the game.
PS-We have not heard much about the outside cat fence. Did I miss something?
VRC
What was covering the south entrance while the red door was busy in the dining room?
Tiffaney, I talked about that in a previous post.
When the red door was removed form its original location, it was replaced by the inner, vestibule door.
With the red door back in place, so, too, is the vestibule door back in its place.
Did we ever see pictures of that Ross, I don’t recall
Great Job Ross! I just have one question, is there evidence that there was a more ornate piece of glass work in the door? To just have one sheet of glass seems plain for the Cross House. Keep up the good work!
I have also wondered about that, Joshua. But, the clear glass seems original.
Wow – when things fall into place in a practically seamless way, it feels like the house itself, breathes a sigh of relief. What a gorgeous door 💜 Dr Doug is my hero.
You are so fortunate to have so many items that were saved, especially your exterior doors; all of mine are long gone, replaced by pre-hung steel ones. I keep my eyes out for antique doors, thinking that some day when all of the “have-to” jobs are done and I have time, I will replace the new doors with old ones.
I look forward to seeing this red door stripped, stained, varnished, and looking like 1894 was last week!
Good morning Ross. Thank you for your frank posting of the restoration good and bad. I’ve purchased a home in a small town/Willcox, AZ built in 1900. I think I might have chewed more than I can swallow. What do you do when you feel like you cannot go on restoring? But I don’t want to give up.
I’m no Ross, but I have been restoring our 1886 house for the past 20 years, and the best advice I can give is to concentrate on one area at a time. We completely restored our formal parlor first, and then when the wife and I got discouraged or overwhelmed or exhausted, we could go sit quietly in there and recharge our batteries. Good luck to you.
Jade, I agree with Mike.
In the Cross House I first restored the parlor. This is my “recharge room”, the one place in the house which recharges my batteries.
Sometimes, too, a time-out may be helpful.
And sometimes, knowing something isn’t right for you is the best decision.
BIG hug!
And another missing bit is returned to its original place. All your baby steps are adding up to a fabulous finish for the south side of the house.
So amazing how all these doors etc. were saved. Kinda just waiting for Ross to come and put it all back the way it was. Thank you so much for sharing all this.
Your project feels like you are righting wrongs of years past. Everything will end up as it should be. It’s very satisfying to observe.