Yuletide
splendor
A New Albany, Ind., home
was built by a Smith family, and restored by another Smith.
By Robyn
Davis Sekula
Victorian Homes | December 2008
There are
some houses that are just particularly well-suited to Christmas. The home of
Don Smith and Sid Spear in New Albany, Ind., is one of those.
The brick house
is blessed with a large collection of religious-themed paintings and statuary
that seem particularly at home during the Yuletide season. The double-parlor’s
rich, deep green walls reflect the Christmas tree’s lights, flickering candles
and warm fire from the hearth. The home’s generous mantles give plenty of room
for garland. Every room receives at least a touch of the holiday spirit, and
the house wears it well.
This house has
belonged to Don since 1979, although he didn’t move in until 1983, when he had
five rooms completed. Sid, a native of Louisville, Ky., didn’t move to New
Albany until 2000. However, he was a constant co-worker on the restoration from
the beginning. Together, they have crafted it from an almost-abandoned wreck
into a tidy, early Victorian house that fits in well with its historic Main
Street address. Sid joined Don a few years ago, and their various collections
have merged happily. Sid is the aficionado of the religious artwork and icons.
Smith, a semi-retired interior designer, has a keen eye for how to pair
historic-themed wallpaper and carpets for style and comfort. Though the house
is filled from basement to rafters with antiques, it is a house that hosts
guests well.
Don and
Sid’s home was built for and by Isaac P. Smith (no relation), an early
architect and master builder of many of New Albany’s most significant, mid-19th
century homes, many of which still stand today. Isaac P. Smith started building
his own house shortly after he moved to New Albany in 1847, but it was a slow
process. Letters indicate that his wife grew weary of the lack of progress in
the construction and took their youngest children back to New Jersey, returning
only after he had completed two upstairs rooms in which they could live. The
house was finished in about the mid-1850s. The house’s balanced proportions and
elaborate interior moldings reflect the early Victorian period when it was
built. Isaac P. Smith died in 1888, and his descendants continued to own the
property until 1965.
The next
owner, although she never lived in the home, was Mrs. Carolyn Williams. Don, a
native of New Albany, met her, and began helping her with some projects around
the house. Don was a mere teenager at the time, but he had already developed a
strong interest in historic architecture and a love for his hometown. When Don
was graduating from college, Carolyn Williams offered to sell him the house
inexpensively, and she really didn’t want to take no for an answer. Don Smith
passed up the first few attempts, but eventually decided to buy the house.
Since he
purchased in it 1979, it has been a labor of love for both himself and Sid, restoring
it room by room. Previous owners had re-wired the house, but had mostly employed
wire molding on top of the plaster walls and ceilings, and had hung duct work
for the heating system directly on the ceilings. Smith wanted to replace all of
that, and replace the plumbing, and return the house to its more proper, formal
décor. When it came time to furnish the home, they largely chose early
Victorian, particularly Empire, pieces that fit the house. As the house is
balanced in proportion, Smith consciously chose pairs of chairs and tables to
mirror the sense of symmetry in the house. “We’ve kept the flavor of the era of
the house down here,” Smith says of the first floor.
A tour of the
home begins with the stair hall. Smith chose wallpaper with a vertical stripe
that emphasizes the room’s lean lines. The staircase is original to the home. A
leopard-print carpet is a nod to the Victorians’ love of animal skins, often
used in décor. An Empire-period pier table in the stair hall is American, and a
mirror hangs above it. Chairs on each side of the table are copies of those at
Althorp, Lady Diana’s ancestral home in England.
The formal double
parlor is the center of the Christmas activity. Don and Sid position a
Christmas tree near the pocket doors that divide the first parlor from the
second. A harp and a more modern piano for playing are kept in the second of
the two parlors. The harp, an auction purchase, is Irish, and probably dates to
about 1820.
In the
home’s living room, the theme is Old World style. Block pattern wallpaper in
shades of gold sets off the religious paintings and statuary in the room. A
leather couch is a comfortable spot for reading a book on a winter afternoon.
The dining
room is the home’s showcase, with a French Dufour scenic wallpaper. The paper
shows a balustrade and scenes from Paris with French architectural monuments.
It is a reproduction of an 1812 French paper. Because of the wallpaper, Don and
Sid chose to hang little on the walls in the room to let the paper really show.
An Empire sideboard along one wall is a nice fit for the space, and it has a
perfect spot for a claw-foot cellaret in the center.
The goal all along way to do right by the house – to restore it appropriately, but also to create a comfortable, practical space for everyday living. It’s a home that greets guests graciously and invites Don and Sid to revisit the luxury of a project well-done, every day. “This is a house that really deserved a good restoration,” Don says. “We’ve taken our time with it for practical reasons, but also to make sure we got it right. For us, finding the right materials for the house and the right furnishings has been a fun pursuit, but we’re also glad to have completed it so we can enjoy the house.”
Away in a
manger
According to
popular legend, crèches, or nativity scenes, have been part of Christmas décor
in homes since 1223. St. Francis of Assisi is credited with first popularizing the
concept. The figures are often elaborate and richly detailed, making them
nicely compatible with Victorian décor.
Sid Spear
amassed his crèche collection from various sources over the decades. He’s
bought pieces of similar size, colors and style and put them together to create
the manger scene he wanted. The scene has become so large that the only spot
for it in the home he shares with Don is the back of the square piano in the
double parlor.
If you’d
like to make a crèche a part of your décor, there are sources available. To
find an antique crèche or the pieces of one, consider seeking out pieces on
eBay and in antique stores. Other sources for crèches are as follows.
Fontanini, www.fontaninistore.com, or toll-free, 1-877-848-8300. The store
sells religious statuary, including pieces to create a nativity scene. You can
start with a Holy Family trio, and add on angels, stable animals, and other
pieces.
Christmas
Night Inc., www.christmasnightinc.com, 1-888- 775-0010. Christmas Night stocks a large array of
nativity sets from small, indoor pieces to large, lifestyle pieces for the
outdoors.
Nativitysets.com, www.nativitysets.com, 1-866-370-4432. Precious Moments, Thomas Kinkade and more traditional
nativity sets are sold through this site.