Wanna Meet The Library?
When I purchased the Cross House in 2014 the library has been gutted to the studs.
In early 2015 I had the room sheet-rocked and painted. Then I began the laborious process of installing shelving and moving my library to the house.
I did not decorate the room but assumed that this would happen soon.
It didn’t. The years passed:
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
These quiet years proved valuable though as time offered a new way of looking at the room and how it could be used.
Then, in the fall of 2022, I resumed work. I was in dangerously poor health (blood clots as it proved) but via my patented Baby Step™ method I plugged away. One day I drove 20 minutes to the house, struggled to get up a ladder, applied another coat of joint compound over a patch, climbed back down…totally overwhelmed and exhausted…and drove right back home. But, I had moved ahead just a tiny bit.
Slowly, my health improved as did the library and, by April 2023, the work was done.
Wanna meet the library?
EAST (right side), 1999. Originally, the room was entered via double pocket doors on the west wall, and a single hinged door on the north wall. The single door was blocked up circa-1929 and this is visible left of center. The door was tall (matching the pocket doors) and, after being removed…vanished. The door to the right was installed circa-1929 when the room was turned into a bedroom. The door was originally the basement door. To install the door a vital structural brace was ruthlessly cut through.
In 2015 I removed the 1929 door and moved it to the left. I also installed a new structural brace.
In 2022 I closed up the 2015 door and re-opened the 1894 door (left).
EAST, 2023. Note the books under the table. This is why, when looking for a large table, the legs had to be at the perimeter. Kenny found the table. The 1970s hanging lights are a masterstroke. They create a dazzling impression because there are five of them and all hanging low. Three such lights, and hanging, say, two feet higher would sooooo not have the same impact.
The table is by Henredon and is perhaps from the 1990s. I have found the same table table online many times but none have this extraordinary burl veneer.
All the portraits in the library and adjacent parlor represent Things Not Possible in 1894: A woman running for president (Hillary). Rainbow White House. Pete. Obama family (above). Of all the things I have done on the house these ten years, this is one of my top favorites as the portraits make vivid the vast social changes since the house was built in 1894 and keep it from being frozen in amber.
NORTH, 2023. The 1894 single door is back (almost) in its original location. Because I did not have the original tall door I reused the shorter basement door.
An unexpected bonus of re-opening the 1894 door is this view. Before, stepping from the dining room and into the stairhall, one was met with a foreboding view under the dark stair. Now, light floods in from the south windows of the library. Justin had been reluctant to do the work but after I showed him the results he looked at me and said: “Yep. This needed to be done.”
WEST (left wall), 1999. After Bob Rodak purchased the house he removed the ‘parlor’ bathroom (center). You can see the partially extant trim on the pocket doors. At some point a closet was installed adjacent to the bathroom (to the right of the mantel), and the remaining trim was removed. To the right is the other 1950 bathroom, and what may be reused 1894 trim. Bob soon removed this bathroom as well. Bob later gutted the room to the studs and all the above trim was removed. Some was stored in the basement.
WEST, 2014. Sooooooooo sad.
WEST, 2022. Cody suggested removing the shelves over the pocket doors and the upper half of the shelves to the left. I decided to remove all the west shelving.
WEST, 2023. Oh yes! MUCH better! Much of the missing trim was in the basement. The small chair was a gift from Barb, and she generously offered to have it reupholstered, which is scheduled for early 2024.
WEST, 2023.
The mantel is cherry and is my favorite of the eight in the house. That they all remain seems a miracle.
March, 2023. The fabulous tile surround had long been duct taped, and the coal grate looked poorly after removing 396 coats of paint.
Today. The clock was a gift from Kenny. The walls and frieze copy the parlor but the black wallpaper is from Bradbury & Bradbury. The paper proved a brilliant choice and MADE the room. It was $$$ but…hey!…I did not need much.
The metal grate is wondrously detailed and the painted finish (two colors of Rub n’ Buff) closely resembles the electroplated original.
I was thrilled to find a pair of 1890s gas/electric sconces which attached perfectly to the original gas threaded pipes.
The slipper chairs were a $50 Kenny find.
SOUTH, 2023. When I first did the room in 2015 there was a center island and the hanging lights were closer to the window. Then, I realized that by moving the island to the north, and moving the south-most light to the north, I could create a small sitting area. I LOVE THIS. This would also be a good location for a desk and computer. The small table was a Kenny find.
The house has an astonishing 43 stained-glass windows, and all now restored via two Heritage Trust Grants. The work was by Hoefer’s Custom Stained Glass.
2014. You can see missing bits of glass, and the whole was falling apart (click to enlarge).
2023.
The clear glass is beveled.
2023. The oak flooring is new and replicates the circa-1929 flooring installed throughout the house. Most of y’all HATED the stripes but they blend in as I expected. I love the table legs. I think of them as kitty paws.
I wanted to complement the “oculus” in the parlor so decided that the library required a celestial centipede. And this is likely the very first time you have ever read: “celestial centipede”.
2023, looking into the library. I enjoy how the rooms complement each other yet each is distinct.
The foreground chair is the companion to Barb’s chair.
On the mantel is a bat tile, made by my friend, Susi, and gifted to the house. She also did…
…Bat Girl on the big table.
I have owned the Cross House for ten years and have but two rooms finished: the parlor and library. Most of my time has been spent on the exterior and it looks FABULOUS, dahlink. And the Carriage House has, too, sucked up time, including every month beginning in April of this year.
For the Cross House décor, the intent has been to honor the pattern-on-pattern look common to the 1890s while still acknowledging the present. Another goal is to keep things a bit light-hearted (Bat Girl!) to ensure that it is all not too too too much.
I have written numerous times how I was loathe to create a museum to the 1890s, while equally loathe to knock all the walls down, paint everything dark gray with white trim, and punch a million can lights into the ceilings. Rather, my goal has been to create a décor that is a respectful homage to the past while still being clear that 129-years have elapsed since the house was built. When people first enter the parlor their initial reaction is: “Oh! What a lovely Victorian interior!” But as they spent time in the room I watch as they repeatedly smile taking in all the decidedly non-Victorian aspects of the room.
This delights me.
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Wonderful!!!
Thank you, Lori!
It’s nice to see the Cross House interior again. The library is phenomenal with all of it’s little details. I love how the black mantel clock and black and gold vase complement the Bradbury & Bradbury wallpaper. Love the decorative fireplace tiles with the knight and maiden? And the ceiling is wonderful. Job well done.
Thank you, Cindy! It’s been a great pleasure pulling it all together after so many years thinking thinking thinking about it!
Truly a unique and delighful room, a reflection of the unique and delightful person you are! The years spent on the Cross House appear to be well worth the results.
Kate! You make my bald head blush! BIG hug!
Really, really nice work. You have a great eye.
Thank you, John! I love the results. But not everybody does!
“Ross did what??????”
It has been such a joy watching your journey. Thank you for taking me along.
Thank you, Laurie, for joining me on the adventure!
As a book lover, this is a dream. The only thing i would love to see is a very comfortable armchair, with a restfoot ( is it the right word ?), because comfort is very important when you lost yourself in a book.
Applause from France.
Mélissa, I only ever read books in bed! With a kitty snuggled against my side. Applause to you from Kansas!
I love this review of these two glorious rooms. Thank you so much for so many years of enjoyment I have had reading about your struggles and triumphs with this beautiful house.
Pam, it’s true. There are struggles and triumphs!
Fabulous!
Thank you, Julia!
Letting the mantel “breathe” made all the difference in the world, visually, and allowed for more decorative wall treatment to show.
The sconces are *PERFECT*. Swapping the clear shades for ones of colored glass might be fun.
Returning the door to its original location under the stair was a fantastic idea too. It gives the foyer another layer of visual interest, and the extra natural light is a nice bonus.
I am not entirely sold on the center table, but it’s a beautiful piece of furniture nonetheless.
Thank you, Cody!
Ross, your parlor and library are dazzling. So many lovely details that one gets to enjoy. The restoration of the original features (stained glass, fireplace, mantel, door) are impressive on their own. The addition of your special Ross aesthetic (wall paper, wall and ceiling highlights [varnish my dahlink], ceiling oculus [ahem, ceiling centipede], detailed picture rails, striped floors, furnitures) result in a delightful place. Thank you Ross for being the superb owner/ renovator and an all-around amazing person and delightful writer. You are bold, confident, a problem-solver (can be a problem-creator but that’s for another time, yes dahlink?),, intelligent and charismatic. We love you and as my way of expressing my gratitude, a Christmas gift will be sent to you via your GoFundMe account this December. Much love to you Ross.
Well, aren’t you the sweetest thing, Leigh! BIG BIG hug!
Big, big hug back to you, Papa Bear.
Honestly, reading this post is making my body tingle all over. LOVE the Pete picture.
Thank you, Anthony! I, too, LOVE the Pete picture and can’t wait to call him Mr. President.
I remember quite bit of the to and fro in the library. The last few years of it.
I think my favorite part is the Celestial Oculus because it is both a compliment and contrast to the one in the parlor. I think it is simply brilliant.
Mary! It’s a celestial centipede!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I love this room so much.
I do too, Chris! I never thought I could top the parlor but I like the library even better. It’s wonderful being in it.
Thank you for all of these views – they really capture the multiple ways your artistic sense comes together for a greater whole. Just wow!
What a beautiful inviting ambience. Thank you for sharing!
Thank YOU, Wenda!
This library is the stuff of dreams. I love each and every detail in it. Your mastering the mix of old with new fascinates me. BRAVO for sharing your talents with us, and Batgirl rules!!
I thought you hit the nail on the head. When I first saw how the rooms were being finished I said, it’s Victorian, but in the 21st Century.