3803 St. Paul Street: The Interior

The delightful and charming new owner of 3803 St. Paul Street very kindly invited me to see the interior of the house before she moved in. And I was delighted to accept her invitation!

Even better, the original plans and elevations have stayed with the house for nearly 100 years. You can see that the house was built for C.W. Snyder who was a local developer in the area, and hired P&L to design no fewer than five properties in Guilford, Homeland and Garrison. Now the trick is finding which houses were eventually built, aside from this one!

When I see these, I realize that the owners of the houses understand that they are not only the owners of the houses, but also the caretakers and stewards of a very special and unique place. 

As I mentioned in the original post, the house was been described as either Charleston- or New Orleans-style. Most interesting to me is that the original ironwork specified in the plans is still intact! This makes sense when you think of New Orleans and its myriad iron balconies!

In the drawing above, you can also see the curved half wall. 

Additionally, on the original blueprints, the entry hallway shows a terrazzo floor with a number of "compass roses" embedded with the colors separated by brass. Sadly, the floor has suffered some damage and will need to be replaced. 

Here are some of the other details that I loved:

One of the many fireplaces, this in the main bedroom.

This ceiling has a very Norman influence to it, which makes sense, as the architect was Lamdin, who had spent WWI in France. There are roses, thistles and daffodils around the perimeter, indicitive of England, Scotland and Wales. 

Beautiful sconces with mercury glass fittings.

Unbelievably gorgeous hand-painted silk wallpaper and fabulous silk curtains.

Detail from a library, including door surround with a shelf and roped trim.

Again, all of my thanks to the new homeowner for taking time and showing me around the house!