Albemarle Reno

The first time we walked through the front door and into this entry hall,

we were enchanted — by the flow of the staircase, the wood paneling, soaring columns and stained glass windows — so much so that we were blinded to the fact that the room needs all kinds of love. The fireplace tiles have been painted over at least a half-dozen times, the plaster walls had a stucco-ish treatment that was cracked and falling off in many places, and the light fixtures were coated in a thick layer of dust, just itching to be ignited by a spark from the disintegrated cloth-covered wires inside.

Most glaring, though, was the state of these plaster capitals on the four columns bracketing the stair landing and the window seat.

The capitals had cracked, been patched, cracked again, broken off, shoved back up, and fallen off again — with everything short of silly putty employed to keep them in place over the years.

The time had come for a total re-do.

Louis, an artist who works with Groovy Contractor took what pieces we had

and used them to cast a mold to make these impressive plaster replacements.

Isaac, our extraordinary site supervisor — capable of anything from heavy-duty demolition to fine woodworking — carefully cut each finished capital and wrapped them around the columns

He then gave them a wood-like finish – an uncanny match to the columns.

It’s a great start to rehabbing this room — now, about those fireplace tiles. . .