West Jones St. Renovation
Reviewing the many projects we've just recently completed, our work on the interior of this Jones Street home easily ranks as our favorite. The task we were required to complete included an entirely new master bathroom, closet, powder room, and kitchen, complete with custom designed cabinetry, antique flooring, closet doors, and an invisible door. But the location of the itself provided another dimension.
Historic Savannah has received the accolades of beauty and splendor since its beginnings. So much so that General Sherman, on arriving at the end of his charred warpath and a decimated Georgia, spared the city of Savannah for its beauty, and gifted it (the entire city) to President Lincoln as a charming birthday gift. But Jones Street exemplifies and exceeds the city. Even to this day Jones Street impresses denizens and visitors alike, receiving awards such as "America's Prettiest Street," from Southern Living, and countless photos and articles by ecstatic travel writers propagate it's fame every year.
Historic Jones Street. Photo courtesy of Sotheby's.
"And that the street running south of the southern range of lots, and parallel with Harris street, be also sixty feet in width and be called and known by the name of Jones Street" —Code of the City of Savannah.
The street itself was christened in 1837, and its first house, the Eliza Thompson House, was erected in 1847. Just seven years later, in 1854, the home we renovated was built. This was only year after Forsyth Park was plotted, and seven years before the Civil War began.
Thus, our work required a double duty. First, as with all interior design, to render the beauty of an entire home, this one older than the Civil War, and second, to make the interior mirror the street's inherent splendor. We were quite happy to take on the task.
Bright Kitchen
The renovation of the kitchen required a complete revising of the original, in all it required, new cabinets, a sink, a range and oven, and replacing of the floor.
We replaced the original cabinets with hand-made new ones of various sizes, which we meticulously fashioned to the homeowner's very precise instructions. The transoms as well were custom built, and look quite regal, while retaining the simplicity of the kitchen. It conducts the beautiful Savannah light evenly and brightly, a personal necessity of an interior space.
The countertops and high-end range are complimented by the black and white cabinets, and dark brown, verging toward red, of the antique heart pine flooring.
These massive black-painted cabinets were designed to wrap around the refrigerator, and contrast with the white of the rest of the kitchen, matching the facade of the fridge. It all fit together quite perfectly.
Antique Heart Pine Floors
Due to the age of the house, much of the floor needed repair or replacement. Because it is a Savannah home, however, the floor is very old heart pine, and thus we worked hard to retain the age and history written across it.
Here you can see some of the other interior work, in the context of the beautiful floor.
A close up of the antique heart pine floor. To renew it, we kept whatever of the original 150 year old flooring that we could, rather than wasting its age and beauty. But for the large sections that wear demanded we replace, we chose age-relative flooring from our reclaimed old-growth heart pine. It's quite likely that much of the wood we custom fit and installed is in fact from an older tree than the original floor.
Closet Doors
To cohere with the austerity of the kitchen, we also custom built the home's closet doors. They retain the purity and light-bearing whiteness that runs throughout the house, and add an accent of luxury as well as subtlety to a simple matter as a closet.
Master Bathroom
Finally, we provided a complete renovation and update of the old master bathroom. This consisted of a continuation of the simple white, and refinished or replaced heart pine flooring, but also of a new, modern shower, that subtracts nothing of the antique home.
The dark wood of the beautiful vanity and floor give anchor to the lightness from above, while this ornamental claw-foot tub floats freely in the room, reminding one of the antiquity of the home itself.
On seeing the outcome of this renovation, we are proud to say we've managed to retain the inherent beauty of a Jones Street home, and provide a new and resplendent look to the interior of this home.
We are fascinated with interior projects such as this one, and would love to help with another. If you're interested, please contact us!
