The English Room  

Early in 2013, we began work on one of the most impressive interiors we have yet encountered. This was "The English Room" at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, KY. The Museum describes the room as follows:

"This remarkable room was originally built for Grange, the county house of Sir Thomas Drewe, which was built around 1619.  The house still stands, but the panelling in the parlor was removed in the 1920s and later installed in the Speed in 1944. The main door is ornately carved with scenes from Ovid's Metamorhposes, an ancient Roman narrative poem that describes the creation and history of the world. The images carved on the door were copied from a German manuscript published in 1563 and illustrated by Virgil Solis. The other carved elements in the room were similarly inspired by Continental European illustrations of Classical subjects, most notably the work of Dutch artist Hans Vredeman de Vries"

Over the past few years, there has been an increasing awareness of the wide array of wonderful period buildings available for reuse as  houses or parts of houses. you may have found the perfect Greek Revival gem that is about to have a new highway put through the main entrance, or you may feel that the hewn texture and beautiful honey brown color of an 18th century barn would make the perfect family room for your new house. Maybe you just want to have the ultimate recycling experience!

Preserving a piece of history

By Tom Calarco for Northeast

As I pulled onto the dirt road I came upon an old house wrapped in plastic - like a body on its way to the morgue. This old house, however, was not about to be buried. It was destined to be raised from the dead, brought back to life by a master of his trade, a man who restores old houses for a living ­ Michael Kelley of Niskayuna.

"There's nothing like taking a building apart from its tiny component pieces to learn how it's built," says Kelley, who's been fascinated with old houses since he helped restore an 18th century farmhouse when he was 16.

By Anne Miller for Times Union

A large piece of Bethlehem history that was almost demolished will find a new home at New York City's Metropolitan Museum of Art.

This week the 18th century, two-story Dutch house, which had been hidden amid decade's worth of additions, is being dismantled and shipped to the museum in Manhattan. By Friday, barring unforeseen weather, the last beams will be stacked in a shipping trailer. Curators hope to include it in an overhaul of the museum's American Wing in the next five years to 10 years.

By Ned Depew
for Berkshire Home & Style
April 2003

 When is a house not a house? When it is a piece of art.

This amazing transformation, from humble farm dwelling to museum-quality exhibit, is currently being undergone by an antique Dutch house from the first half of the 18th Century in the town of Bethlehem. The Daniel Peter Winne (pronounced Winnie) House is currently being carefully documented, dismantled and prepared for shipment to the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan, where it will grace the newly remodeled American Wing, as a fitting background for the Museum's collection of art and objects from the period.