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34
winter
|
spr ing
“We didn’t use anything trendy,” Peter says. “All these finishes are
honest finishes,” he continues, “
real
terra cotta tile,
no
faux painting,
just paint; we used Venetian plaster where we wanted to add some
texture, and used integral color in the plaster itself; we kept it honest.”
Contractor
Corey Sweet
kept the crew going and helped Ray & Peter
over numerous hurdles.
Tab Hunter’s Fireplace Mantle
The mantle in the library is made of what is called “Vatican Marble”
and came from the Hively estate on Hot Springs Road. “We were able
to purchase that after
Tab Hunter
rescued it from a dumpster,” Peter
explains. “It had been torn out during renovation [of the Hively estate]
and simply discarded. They actually threw it away,” he says with a measure
The Views
Looking south from the loggia, one eyes a formal and classical lawn
that steps down to a large elliptical pond with a jet of water in the center,
reminiscent of the 1920s. Bordered on the east and west side is an oak forest,
all looking out on a panorama of the ocean and islands beyond. One does
not see any other structures regardless of which room one is looking out at
a vista. No neighbors, no other buildings, so it is difficult to know whether
this is five acres or a hundred acres. All one sees are trees, treetops, and the
ocean. Peter used antique iron, decorative terra cotta casting from New York,
Paris, and Argentina to create an authentic-looking formal south lawn, which
was previously just a grass knoll. The elliptical pond, made from an English
design, was recast three times before it met with the owners’ approval.
From the north (outside the front door and in the motor court), one
has a close-up view of Montecito Peak. Cedar trees were planted in 1929
by Lockwood deForest. “Here we are 80 years later,” Peter marvels, “and
they frame the actual peak of the mountain.”
The front entry will be a classic Italianate motor court with
cobblestones (it’s not finished yet), which will be fully restored. The
1,500-year-old Roman well, on the original drawings in 1929, will remain.
Directly north of the main entrance is a curved nave that Peter and
Ray discovered when they trimmed a vine that had grown over it. “We
cut this back when we bought the house and this was exposed,” Peter says.
Rare finely detailed 18th-century Italian marble fireplace located in the living
room was originally placed in the Hively estate on Hot Springs Road
were laser-leveled and feature stainless steel netting to prevent gophers
from ever invading them.
The stained-glass windows and doors were found in Buenos
Aires, but resemble the stained-glassed windows at the Hershey Hotel
in Pennsylvania, complete with bumblebees, butterflies, birds, and
other details. “It’s interesting how,” Peter notes, “whether it’s Hershey,
Pennsylvania or Buenos Aires, Argentina, you have these exact elements
you had in the ‘Twenties.”
A bar in the library is solid walnut, as are the cabinets. The rhombus
design was used in France in the 18
th
century; it is also used in the garden;
the stone used is stone that would have been used in the ‘Twenties.
of disbelief. Tab spotted it in the dumpster and saved it and Peter was able
to find a place for it. Vatican marble is a rare stone that was illegal to own
at one point. “Only those connected to the Vatican were allowed to use
it,” Peter says, adding that the quarry was mined out by the late 1700s,
early 1800s.
“The irony of it is that the original mantle that was in
this
house
was torn out and thrown away, so we were able to replace it with this,”
Peter laughs.
The library is directly under the new master suite and the cuckoo’s
nest outside. The room supports three fireplaces, so the engineering that
went into it is elaborate. It took 18 months to complete, and just the
woodwork (a mixture of walnut and mahogany) required 122 drawings.
The room measures 30’ x 18’, ceilings are 13 ½’ high.
EAL ESTATES