It was the imperfections of an old house that sold a couple on buying it. Their goal then was to fill it with period furnishings.

Antique Cupboard

Even though Lucia Ginesin likes every style from "Biedermeier to Bauhaus," she is happy to live in a house without "a single straight line in it."

Pictured: An 1840 pine step-back cupboard filled with antique Quimper plates.



Patterned Keeping Room

Of the c. 1830 dwelling in New York's Hudson Valley that Lucia shares with her husband, Brad, and their three-year-old son, she says, "I can't imagine living in a brand-new house without the charm and character and quirks that you get in an antique house."

Pictured: New floors in the keeping room take on a barn-red checkerboard. Hanging throughout the house are new birchwood game boards by North Carolina craftsperson Diane Allison.



Mariner's Compass Floorcloth

The Saltbox-style house had been built by a farmer, and much of his handiwork-rustic beams, imposing brick fireplaces, plank floors-remains in evidence.

Pictured: Lucia commissioned a mariner's compass-motif floorcloth.



Fireplace

"But unlike most houses of this period," says Lucia, "the rooms are well-proportioned and relatively open. And, since all the floors have been refinished and set back straight, compared with other houses this old, ours is quite level."

Pictured: An 1850 child's chair has a stencilled alphabet on the back.



Dining Table and Chairs

Records for the house date to 1830, and the homeowners sought appropriate period furnishings-or, when necessary, reproductions. Circa 1800 Windsor chairs surround a c. 1839 farm table with a rare cherry top. An 1830 corner cupboard anchors a reproduction floorcloth.



Early American Decor

While researching the furnishings and decor of the 19th century, Lucia discovered that early Americans indulged in colour. She then furnished a hallway with a 19th-century robin's egg-blue firkin, a bold red star game board, and a multicoloured floorcloth she had commissioned.




Wood Kitchen

Although most floors throughout are original, in the kitchen it was necessary to replace linoleum-clad floors with planks of salvaged antique white oak, each hand planed. The Shaker-style cherry cabinets were expertly hand built by the former owners.

Old wood, new wood, different kinds of wood - they all work together.




Antique Stove

A 1950s Chambers stove suited the needs of the Ginesins. Lucia designed and had installed a tall copper back-splash.



Ginger Beer Bottles

Lucia collects 19th-century stoneware bottles, each stamped with the maker's name and region.



Samplers

Most antiques it the home are authentic, but Lucia did purchase several New England-style reproduction samplers.




Text: Kelly Smith

photo credit: Keith Scott Morton