First Impressions

before

after - including the settee and barometer

Every winter we keep our maintenance man Steve busy by renovating a room in the museum. In all of the rooms and halls, with the exception of the third floor ballroom, the wallpaper dates to some time in the 1950s or 60s - it is dingy and repaired in places. The tired old wallpaper does nothing to accent the collection or the wonderful building details and construction. So we remove the paper and choose an appropriate paint color - and then move objects around to fit the space and the theme of the room or hall better. Often the pictures on the walls seem haphazardly hung so this is our opportunity to bring an aesthetic eye to the walls and to create a more inviting and lovely room.

looking north - before

after... this little south hall holds the Battle of Plattsburgh exhibit

After finishing renovation of the third floor last winter, this winter we moved to the first floor hall and Steve renovated this very important space over the months of January, February and March. The results are stunning. The collection shines and the hall is so inviting now! I have taken the liberty of placing the wall objects so they relate better to the furniture and themes. I have also moved a few pieces that were easily overlooked in their previous homes, such as the handsome barometer.

below the stairs - before

after

Along with new paint and a fresh view, we have the newly conserved settee back from Williamstown Art Conservation Center. It is a George III carved mahogany settee from 1820 that has received a new show cover of crisp black hair cloth. You can read about the process and what the conservators discovered in my Wednesday, October 2, 2013 post, ‘Touring the Settee’. Stay tuned for a post about the completed settee. And come in for a tour! We are open Tuesday - Saturday with tours at 10am, Noon and 2pm.

look at the lovely settee!

Renovation Season

This winter we have moved our renovation projects to the first floor of The Alice to a space that will be noticeably changed to every visitor of the museum, whether they have come for tours or events. We are putting the finishing touches on the first floor hall soon! Here are some before photos along with current photos of the new wall color. With the help of our volunteers everything has been taken from the main hall and the south hall to clear the space to work. We then removed the old 1960s wallpaper and Steve has been working his magic with paint.

The work should be done by April when we are open by appointment. Hope you enjoy the photos... Once the collection items are back in their proper places this will be a most welcoming entree into The Alice.

the stairway down to the first floor - before

and after

the hall leading to the front (west) door with the old wallpaper

and transformed by paint!

with the front door at my back and looking toward the Colonial Kitchen - before

and after

looking toward the front door - after

the entry to the south hall - before

the south door - before

the south door - after

looking toward the stairs with the south door at my back - before

and after

alcove by the stairs - before

and after - the steam heat is still exposed

north wall of the main hall - before

and after

just left of the front door, you can see the damage on the rough wallpaper - before

and after

this shows the difference in the woodwork - old color to the left and new to the right