Q: We are rehabbing an elegant old townhouse (l889). It's a row house, and the only windows are on the front and back. The dining room is very dark, so we are looking for ways to brighten it up that work with the Victorian atmosphere of the house.
A: Of course, you will add new lighting fixtures, say, cove lighting if you have a cove ceiling. Or consider lighting up the entire ceiling. A couple of torcheres should do the trick. What's really good about a torchere is that the lamp itself virtually disappears. You see the light above you, but not the source.
At the same time, color all other major surfaces light: walls and floor. As your house is vintage, chances are you have a darkish hardwood floor. Cover it with a light area rug or room-sized rug. The Victorians had a thing for sisal, at least, in warm weather. In today's climate-controlled environments, a natural-colored wool sisal would be appropriate all year 'round.
About the walls: Wallpaper is the right answer in a Victorian house. Just not the dark, heavy patterns that once gave wallpaper a bad name. Thanks to modern technology and inspired innovators like Ronald Redding, today's wallpapers can be metalized, glamorized and sparkling with silvered surfaces and finishes like sand, glass (from recycled auto windshield) and even real crystals.
We're not talking bling, however. These papers are as elegant and classic as, say, cashmere, silk and diamonds. In the room we show here, the wall wears "Cypress Gardens," a 9 x 13-1/2-foot mural by the award-winning designer, who was inspired by an antique Chinese silk embroidery from the fabulous archives at York Wallcoverings in
York, Pa.
That's another story worth telling: how the then-new owners of York acquired hundreds of priceless "documents" (as original designs are known) that had been stacked away in dozens of crumbling cardboard boxes. The collection had belonged to a German designer who ran a New York studio in the early 20th century.
Now it brightens the walls of the world. As Ron attests, "We're in the archives every day" looking among the old fabrics and paper scraps - some dating to the l7th and l8th centuries — for new inspiration for today's homes.
For more information: ronreddingdesigns.com; yorkwall.com.
Q:I hate taking showers in the upstairs bath. The heat never makes it to the old radiator in there. My wife won't hear of replacing it with anything that doesn't "go with the authentic claw-footed tub." Any other suggestions?
A: Two. First, check out the new wall-hung, European-style radiators that go up against the wall so sleekly you barely notice them.
Second: Consider adding a towel warmer to your chilly bath. Perfected by the English who long lived without central heating, towel warmers can also warm the entire room.
And they're as handsome as they are comforting.
One source for both European radiators and towel warmers in Myson (MysonComfort.com), an English company that's been keeping the U.S. snug for some 30 years now.
Rose Bennett Gilbert is the co-author of "Manhattan Style" and six other books on interior design. To find out more about Rose Bennett Gilbert and read features by Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at CREATORS.com.
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