An 1826 Cambridge Workman's Cottage

Cambridge is a famous historical area of Boston. Today it is the home of Harvard and MIT, with trendy shops in Harvard Square. A beautiful area along the famous Charles River. But in 1826 Cambridge was famous for glassmaking. It was one of only three areas in the US that was producing glass, competing with England, which was the prominent glass producer of the time. Glass Workers in those days were apprenticed and generally in need of housing. When my friend Leonard, mentioned the history of his house I was immediately excited to visit. Leonard's house is one of six attached Row houses, or Workman's Cottages. They are on Cambridge's Historic Preservation Registry but are not as heavily bound by the restrictions as other designated historic areas. As such, Leonard has been able to move walls and renovate in way that truly brings out the flavor of this interesting old building. In anyone else's hands this building could have been ruined, but with Leonard's thoughtful eye and talent the results are fabulous. Let's have a look!

As you walk in the front door you enter the Great Room. Walls of exposed brick run along on one side of the room. Notice the incredible original ceiling beams.

Here is a closer look at the kitchen. The windows look out to a wonderful large courtyard and brick patio which I will show below. I was brought in to help Leonard decide once and for all if we should pop out the counters and put in soapstone. We are working right now to find the perfect stone for his kitchen. It will be a fabulous improvement. Notice his lack of upper cabinets, this clever design adds to the open feel and airiness of the space.

The original fireplace and brick oven on the right are in working order. Can you begin to imagine how many meals have been cooked by this fire over the past 180 years? I love the artwork that a friend of Leonard's painted. (he promised me he would lower it on the wall)

Leonard's mix of old antiques, industrial and painted pieces lend just the right feeling to this already fabulous space. He has done a great job of finding antiques with enough character to stand up to the wonderfully strong character of the home, without over powering it. Leonard has a gifted eye for antiquing. I have been lucky to spend time shopping at Brimfield with him. Notice the wide floor planks. This first floor area is Leonard's entry, kitchen and dining area.

Walking up to the second floor we see the results of his recent renovation. Leonard moved a wall and added full walk up stairs to the attic. By doing this, Leonard was able to create a Family room from one of the two bedrooms on the second floor.

Again the exposed brick walls add a special charm to the space. The old window in the the right corner turns into a wonderful art piece at night with addition of a small light in the back to illuminate the hand blown glass. This is a creative way that anyone can add architectural interest to dark corner of a room. Great idea, Leonard!

Renovating the attic and adding a dormer allowed Leonard to add a master bedroom suite to his home. You can see the dormer windows above which now houses Leonard's office nook. I love the antique tin moulding made into a shelf and the antique apothecary bottles which are sitting on top.

The natural contours and design of the original brick lend itself to be a perfect headboard. Notice the grainsack pillows - the gold stripe is rare and hard to find.

Using every bit of available space Leonard even created a small closet under the eaves.

His new master bathroom is to die for! Here is a shot of the back of the house. You can clearly see where the dormer was added to increase the size of the master bedroom and make the office nook.
Finally a closer look at the brick courtyard off the kitchen. This amount of property in Cambridge is unusual and Leonard has done a wonderful job of making it a wonderful outdoor entertaining space.

Thank you, Leonard for letting us tour your beautiful home - we will be back in month or so to see the new soapstone in the kitchen!

Sag Harbor Really Sagg Road - Mystery Solved!!

Thanks to a wonderful reader the mystery of of Sag Harbor is solved!! Actually the true title of this home is Sagg Road and it is the the Hampton's summer home of architects Bernt Heiberg and Bill Cummings of Heiberg Cummings Design. Their home was featured in the July 2007 issue of Home and Garden.

Interestingly, this home really has many of the popular trends we are seeing now but was completed in early 2007. A great testament to the vision and design aesthetic of Heiberg and Cummings.

Here is another view of the dining area, which we had not seen. I love the mix of chairs and the mix of woods and painted pieces.

They also design furniture, and have a collaboration with the famous Hodnebo company in Norway. The corner chair is an example.

If you are interested in seeing more of their very impressive work you can visit their website at Heiberg and Cummings. Also to see the original article as it appeared in Home and Garden click here. Finally, to read another post from WD on Heiberg and Cummings, another Hampton's home and more about Hodnebo click here. Mystery solved!!

The Mystery of Sag Harbor!

I have been doing some cleaning this week and purging unused computer files of saved photos. In my quest, I came across these wonderful photos of Sag Harbor which I saved last April. But, here is the problem, this lovely home has no home, link, photo or decorating credits. I only labeled them Sag Harbor when I saved them. I was so taken with this beautiful home I was sure I would never forget where it came from and of course I did forget. So, if any of you recognize this home please let me know so I can acknowledge the wonderful architect, designer or photographer.

Take a look at this living room! It has so many wonderful features. First, the over all feel of the room is so comfortable. I think the mix of antiques, accessories and small tables are very interesting - clearly the people who own this home are well traveled as the mix of found objects seem to come from all over. I adore the linen couches - they have a marked Belgian feel. Also note the French antique chairs and the Swedish style daybed. I like the use of black in what feels like a very neutral decor. The black tables and iron candlesticks are obvious,but also look at the french doors which are boldly painted black. Further inspection and we find iron curtain rods, fireplace screen and a pie rack used as a room divider.

I can't really make out what material the window shades are - is it an antique canvas? or an antique stenciled linen? In any case they are very unusual. I also find the mix of upholstery out of ordinary, but I like how it all works together.
One of my favorite items in this room is the Trumeau mirror but mixed with Chinese lanterns is very unexpected and a bit edgy. Again black curtain rods and hooks hold linen drapes and lanterns.

Moving into the kitchen we see black cabinets and slate flooring. Upon closer inspection we see the upper cabinets nearly disappear because they have been painted white. The marble adds a richness and we see the french door in this room has also been painted black. Clearly this not a historic home - could this have been a renovation?

Here is a bedroom - I really like the black beds - do we see a trend here? Also notice the grain sack pillows and what looks like postal sack or flour sack pillows.
Another bedroom- could this be the Master Bedroom? Headboard is ticking and really like how they did NOT do ticking on the bedskirt or pillows. I love ticking but a little goes a long way. Grain sack pillows look great and Swedish bench and table are sweet.

It looks like this is the view out from the living room. A lovely pool - I adore the cast iron planters.

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Hopefully we can solve the mystery of Sag Harbor. If anyone recognizes this house or knows its story please do let us know; for now we will just enjoy a job well done!

Isabell's Beautiful Gustavian Chair

I get the most wonderful emails from people all over the world about Willow Decor. One of the most recent was from Isabell in Norway, (but moving to Sweden). Please read her wonderful note and photograph, which she has allowed me to share with all you.


Hello ”Willlow Decor” !

My name is Isabell, a frequent reader of your lovely blog and I wanted to thank you, because by you I came in contact with lovely Kymberley Fraser. A while ago you made a post about her, and you showed pictures of some of 3 Fine Grains sacks. I have this great passion about sacks, so seeing them made my heart jump….. I contacted her and bought the one you see, which now is on my Gustavian chair…..the furniture upholsterer in Stockholm thought the old chair and the sack made a good marriage. So do we……………..

Your last post was wonderful, the furniture you have is really pieces to love. So beautifully done, and so nice they look in your home. Of course the cushions from Kym , just love the as well………….

Isn`t it fantastic how mutual interest have no boundaries, no borders, by your post I read, I came in contact with Kymberley, she sent me the sack to Scandinavia, (Norway), I sent the sack to Sweden, and now I am about to move back to Sweden living and loving among many other things our chair………the world seem smaller in a way……………………

Once again thank you !

Kind regards

Isabell

The reach and power of the Internet continues to amaze me. I am so grateful to be able to find so many other lovers of fine antiques and home decor world wide. I know you will agree that Isabell's Gustavian Chair is exquisite! Fabulous job, Isabell and thank you so much for sharing!

My Swedish Furniture Makeover

Several years ago I found some wonderful Swedish antique furniture. It was covered in dirty muslin and desperately needed to be reupholstered.

Here is the bench, notice the tear on left side. The muslin was stapled on.

Two wonderful Bergere chairs - also notice the tear on the right chair and the awful stained upholstery fabric on the cushions. I also had two sweet Swedish side chairs which I did not take before photos of.

I searched for several years (really!) to find just the perfect linen fabric. It proved easy once I met Wendy Lewis of Textile Trunk. I spoke to her directly and mentioned I wanted hand woven linen, over a hundred years old, with a fine weave and soft drape- not nubby like like my grain sack pillows - more formal and soft. I vacillated on whether to have a grain sack stripe going down the front of the chairs, that is so popular these days, but in the end I decided to stick with what I am most comfortable with - the classics.

Wendy immediately sent me a few samples to review - each was more beautiful that one before. I decided on the gorgeous linen above. The seven stripes are just on the very end of the roll. The weaver most likely could not read or write and this combination of color, width and number of stripes was her signature. The stripes remain my favorite part of the roll and I intend to make them into small pillows to honor the time and effort put into this beautiful fabric by a unknown woman of long ago.

With such beautiful antique furniture and antique fabric that had touched such a sentimental cord with me, I was nervous to just let any upholsterer work on this project. What to do? I contact my bloggy friend, Linda Merrill of the famous Surroundings and The Skirted Round Table, for some direction. Another blessing, when Linda pointed me in the direction of Master Upholsterer, Heller Furniture. Above is photo of my Bergere Chair deconstructed.

A Czech by birth, Walter Heller is a master craftsman. His roots are firmly anchored in his extensive European training which began as an apprentice saddler and tapiezer in Bavaria, Germany, at the age of 14. For over 40 years, Heller has been working with architects, project managers, interior designers and residential clients to produce upholstered custom furniture. His knowledge of antique furniture and his attention to detail is outstanding. Once I met him and his assistant, Nancy, I breathed a sigh of relief that my furniture and fabric were the hands of a master! Thank you Linda, Walter and Nancy!

Walter's knowledge was exceptional - he showed me the jute webbing under the chair. He mentioned that although jute was generally used in a chair this age, this jute had been replaced- and poorly done as it was too sparse and would not provide good support.

He also showed me the chair joints which were loose. This was caused by the stripping of the furniture. These pieces, he said, were clearly dipped in Lye. Lye is wonderful for removing paint quickly but it also dissolves the wood glue that holds these pieces together and ultimately loosens the joints over time. Walter was able to re glue and screw the joints to strengthen the chairs.

Here is the chair being covered,. Notice the top, front, back panel of the chair. The upholstery stuffing is bumping out or "crowning" here to create a noticeable arc of padding. This is the way the chair was intended to look. Better photos of this effect below.

Antique fabrics do not generally match exactly in terms of color but Walter was able to use different shades in different areas of the chairs to create a visually perfect match.

Here the seat cushions for the Bergere chairs are being crafted.

I had a limited amount of fabric. He was able to use the linen so conservatively that I had enough left over to make pillows. Amazing!

Walter explained that the best furniture has nailed muslin covering - if you see staples, that is a sign that the quality may not be the best underneath!

Here is the finished bench at Walter's Workshop. He had to rebuild the cushion and the effect is fabulous. Notice the two seams down the front of the bench, the match is incredible.

Nail head trim or double welting are traditional in Swedish Upholstery - I prefer the double welting - notice the attention to detail.

Here is the Bergere Chair finished in the workroom. This is a better photo to highlight the upholstery bumping out and "crowning" on front upper back panel of the chair.

Double welting detail

Amazing work on the sides and arms of the chairs

Here are my pieces waiting to be picked up

And here they are in my Conservatory - waiting for my final decorating touches!

The Swedish bench with gorgeous antique, original grain sack pillows by textile artist, Kym Fraser of Three Fine Grains.

One (of my pair) of sweet Swedish chairs in front of my Mora Clock (just a peek as I am working on an upcoming post about the clock)

Finding the right fabrics and upholsterer can be a daunting task, but when you put all the right pieces together you can re-create beautiful furniture worthy of another hundred years.

For more information on Wendy Lewis of Textile Trunk and her lovely antique fabrics click here. For information on Master Craftsman and Upholsterer, Walter Heller and Heller Furniture click here. Don't forget to mention you heard about them on Willow Decor.

(all photos property of Willow Decor and Heller Furniture and not to be used without permission)