Plan to Restore the President's Home                                                   

  

  The most significant project in the history of the 32 room Hayes Home got off to a exciting start the week of June 11, 2010 with the arrival of five historic restoration specialist.  The group began preliminary work on returning seven areas inside the Hayes Home to their original 19th Century appearance.

 

     Restoration Project Consultant Gail Winkley Caskey of Philadelphia, a specialist in Victorian interior decoration, was on site along with: Robert A. Furhoff, historic preservation site inspector/paint analysis expert; Jane Hammond, textile conservator; Neal Hitch, Ohio Historical Society Restoration Coordinator; and Daniel M. Mattausch, preservation consultant for historic lighting.  The group collected paint scrapings, removed wallpaper sections, and examined lighting fixtures in an effort to determine how President and Mrs. Hayes decorated the interior of their home.  Their week long effort uncovered several original paint colors used in the Red Parlor, as well as the original (circa 1883) layout of the ceiling paper and friezes in the Red Parlor and Master Bedroom.

 

The rooms decorated in the 1880's were crowned with wallpaper borders, called friezes, above moldings specifically designed to hang pictures.  Below these moldings were wallpapers with coordinating patterns and colors.  The historic interiors consultant for the project, Gail Caskey Winkler of LCA Associates has been working with Laura McCoy Designs to recreate the original wallpaper and friezes in each room.  Their work involves gleaning detail from the old photos, searching for bits of physical evidence and studying known period designs to painstakingly recreate the vivid Victorian colors and patterns.

 

 August 8th, 2011 Phase 1 for the installation of reproduction wallpapers begins                          

 

On August 2011 the Historic Wallpaper team of James Yates from Johnson City, TN., Frank Yates from Southaven, MS,, Marva Hereford from Milton, KY., Amanda Dunn & David Murphy& Regina Yates also from Johnson City, TN. were on site to begin the installation of reproduction historic wallpapers, borders, and friezes.  This trip included work in the Presidents Bedroom, Red Parlor, Drawing Room and Library.

 

First phase.    Before any wallpaper, borders or friezes were installed all walls and ceilings had to be specially prepared to receive reproduction wallpapers.  A process which guarantees longevity and beauty.  First, muslin cloth was applied over the plaster walls and ceilings. This is done to prevent damage to the wallpaper when cracks occur in the plaster many years later. When cracks do  occur the muslin functions to bridge over preventing the wallpapers from tearing. Next an acid-free liner paper is applied over the muslin cloth.  This is done to protect the wallpaper from acidic plaster and acidity in the atmosphere.   

 

Red Parlor:  We started on the ceiling by installing a two part ceiling border.  All corners in the border were perfectly mitered and all patterns were symmetrically balanced.  Next the ceiling paper was installed starting in the center and working out in both directions to get an exact pattern on both sides.  Finally a small red border was installed over the ceiling paper four inches out from the borders.  With the ceiling finished, we next installed the wall frieze above the picture rail and the basket weave pattern sidewall paper.  

 

Library:  All back walls of the bookshelves received wallpaper.  A Canadian made solid red ingrain paper was produced using the same method as the original.  Ingrain paper results from the process of dying wood pulp a solid color in a vat. As a result, the paper is the chosen color through and through.

 

Drawing Room:  The sidewalls also received an Ingrain paper in a light pink color.  The(circa 1883) ceiling paper remained the original. A flocked Frieze,  had not been produced for this trip.

 

Presidents Bedroom:  This room received muslin and acid-free liner but neither the ceiling or the sidewall papers had not been produced for this trip.

 

February 2012   Phase two installation of reproduction wallpapers   

 

May 2012  Phase three completes restoration wallpaper project