Owners pack a lot of history into stone cottages
Antique stone cottages have fascinating interiors, histories and residents, right?
Right.
And you can step inside five in St. Charles and Geneva on Sunday, Sept. 18, as part of a weekend celebration by Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley.
The windows — flush on the outside and set way back in the thick walls from the inside — attracted Rebekah Brigham to the cottage that stone mason Robert Beith built in St. Charles in 1844.
After buying the home 18 years ago, Brigham antiqued the trim in the living room to make the detail stand out. And like most old-house projects, applying the glaze took longer than she had imagined. Think Q-tips.
The homeowner also stripped all the doors in the house, yet another time-consuming project.
Guests will also notice the incredible floor boards — up to 24 inches wide. Of course, Brigham exposed them by pulling up carpet and linoleum.#8220;I was so excited when we got down to the original floors,#8221; she said.
Another detail that she loved was the limestone steps to a side porch, but the porch was falling down, so she replaced it with a den and set the limestone in paths around the front of the house. She left the window, peering from the den into the master bedroom, because she couldn't bear to part with the old glass.
Brigham decorated with antiques and furniture her father made that looks like antiques.
#8220;Mom collected children's plates and rocking horses and toys. She had 50 some rocking horses. I could house one,#8221; said Brigham.
#8220;Dad made several pieces of furniture. The china cabinet was made out of his old tree house. He braided this rug.#8221;
Other gifts from her fahter, Dwight Brigham who still lives in Colorado, are his paintings of the Geneva house and the home Rebekah grew up in. But Rebekah herself stitched those samplers hanging in the living room.
Rebekah Brigham, a designer at the Strawflower Shop in Geneva, seems to effortlessly display collections in her house, while demonstrating how to make the most of small spaces.
CDs are in an old pie safe, with quilts folded and stacked on top of it. Of course the computer hides in a cabinet.
Chocolate molds #8212; another of her mother's collections #8212; make a great display on an old baker's rack in the kitchen.
Rebekah faux painted the pumpkin-colored dining room with antique gold glaze, then added sayings around each door and window, such as #8220;If life were perfect, there would be nothing to laugh about. Always laugh.#8221;
A visitor could miss the subtle decoration provided by old scoops nestling in a wooden box on the dining room table #8212; surrounded with mismatched chairs, of course.
Another touch is old hankies hanging from their points in the window of the powder room.
In the tiny second floor hallway she stood an old toolbox on end and uses it as a lamp table.
#8220;You kind of learn to make things work in a little bitty house,#8221; said the designer.
Solidly displaying her old-house credentials, Brigham points out that the window in her daughter's room is not square.
#8220;I love that kind of stuff,#8221; she said.
The backyard, reached from the large rear deck, shows lush plantings of geraniums, cannas, magnolias (one of which reblooms, honest), hostas, ferns, coleus, hydrangeas, columbines and dahlias. On the deck of the hot tub are a few decorative artifacts like an old watering can.
One day Brigham would love to remove the stucco from the outside of her cottage so the original limestone would be visible like it is at the Geneva home of Laura and Brad Koontz.
It's hard to believe this charming home #8212; Laura is also a designer #8212; was built as a livery stable in 1849. George Westgarth, the minister and mason who built it, remodeled it and moved in five years later.
While the Koontzes have some antiques, this house has a warm but more contemporary feel, especially in the kitchen. That rear room was probably added in the 1970s when the home #8212; comfortable for the couple but not overly large #8212; was carved into three flats.
The up-to-date kitchen boasts a two-level granite countertop, Viking range and white cabinets. But the loveliest surprise is the eating area surrounded by windows for year-around enjoyment.
The second floor that is now two bedrooms started life as a hayloft.
The original house has two rooms on the first floor #8212; the living room and the family room where visitors see two exposed stone walls under a peaked roof. The hearth stone by the stove had originally been above a doorway, but was so heavy it fell into the basement, said Koontz.
Besides fabulous posters, including one of Chateau d'Azay-le-Rideau in France, Laura Koontz has decorated with pictures painted by her grandmother.
Visitors will notice the Koontzes have window boxes overflowing with flowers everywhere on the exterior #8212; even on the second floor.
Other homes on the tour include the tiny house Eben Conant built in 1843 in Geneva, featured in the Daily Herald a year ago; another Geneva home built in 1856 and surrounded by lush English gardens; and a pre-1850 house in St. Charles that is full of the owner's artwork.
If you go
<b>What: </b>Treasures of the Tri-Cities, a tour of five St. Charles and Geneva cottages built of riverstone in the mid-1800s
<b>When: </b>1-5 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 18
<b>Who: </b>Preservation Partners of the Fox Valley
<b>Tickets:</b> $20; available in advance in Geneva at Past Basket, 200 S. Third St. and Scentimental Gardens, 428 W. State St.; and in St. Charles at Stonehouse at Century Corners, 201 Cedar Ave.; on day of event from noon to 3 p.m. at Beith House Museum, 8 Indiana St., St. Charles.
Bus tour: Past 30 river stone buildings in the Tri-Cities, 1-4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 17; $30
<b>Wine and cheese party:</b> In gardens of old Henry Fargo homestead, 4:30-6:30 p.m. Sept. 17; tickets $25 by reservation only
<b>Discount: </b>Package for all three events, $65
<b>Call: </b>(630) 377-6424
<b>Email:</b> info@ppfv.org
<b>Online: </b>ppfv.org