wood filigree
This is a photograph from a recent Times article of a filigree arch. We have something similar in our house and we wanted to find some more and use it in a different part of the house. Does anyone know where we might find some? Also any information as to what this is called or…
This is a photograph from a recent Times article of a filigree arch. We have something similar in our house and we wanted to find some more and use it in a different part of the house. Does anyone know where we might find some?
Also any information as to what this is called or its architectural history in Brooklyn rowhouses would be much appreciated
Montrose,
my fretwork was boxed in the same way to create separate rooms, and I took it out within six hours of closing! Unfortunately it was painted underneath, but the columns and everything were intact. First strip job of the new house.
Bob, that was interesting. My home has both sliding doors separating the front and back parlors as well as the arch/screen similar to the one above. When I first started by search for a historic brownstone I detested these things – but mine have grown on me – as it doesn’t overwhelm the room as with others I saw, I guess due to the massive pocket doors.
OP: Montrose, I didn’t like the fretwork much when I first saw it, painted over, but now that the mahogany has been stripped off, it really looks gorgeous — almost exotic, like a Moroccan frieze.
Bob, thanks for the information. Our brownstone has an open plan like you describe, which we like very much, and it was built in that period. I’m going to try to learn more about the architect, and “free classic” style.
My 1899 house has the same fretwork arch supported by columns. The columns are mahogonny, the arch is still painted white, so I don’t know what wood it is. I’m not looking forward to stripping it, but seeing this gorgeous layout is certainly an incentive.
When I moved in, both columns and the spaces between the columns and the walls had been boxed in with plywood, creating 2 separate rooms. Taking the plywood down was practically the first thing I did, and was so surprised and pleased to see the intact and unpainted columns underneath. I believe Bob is correct on all accounts of the open plan.
Good luck on getting more. Try Ebay, too. Often pieces show up in Antiques/Architecture and Garden/Other. Prices vary from cheap to ridiculous.
My house has the same interior style, which was popular between the late 1890s and the 1910s. One term that was used to describe this interior style was ‘free classic’. It was the first modern interior style, in which one room flowed into another–in an older brownstone, your front and middle parlors would have been separated by walls and sliding doors.This style was a belated recognition of central heating [common for many years before it was developed]. Rooms no longer had to be closed off so that they could be heated with fireplaces or stoves.
OP: thanks to both of you. Rehab, you can email me at mishar609@yahoo.com
I have an arch/screen in a very similar style with columns, etc. that I’ve just removed from a Brooklyn brownstone, available now. Post an email and I’ll send you a photo. Would love to see it find a good home. Cheers.
Yeah, go see Eddie Hibbard. He gets it regularly. I don’t know if he has any now, but I have seen it hanging from the ceiling from his store. He has an architectural salvage business on Greene, corner Grand open Tues-Sat 12-6 pm. It’s really fun to go there and Eddie is very helpful. If he doesn’t have it, he’ll look out for it on your behalf.