Upstate

Meticulously Restored Germantown Italianate, Yours for $890K

Lovingly restored by its owners, the house is a canvas for the major style movements of the 1870s and 1880s.

germantown - parlor with reproduction wallpaper, red carpet

Photo via Patricia A. Hinkein Realty

by Susan De Vries

04/19/2024 5 minute 0

Brimming with the complex layering of patterns popular in the late 19th century, the interior of this Columbia County Italianate is a feast for the eyes for lovers of that era of design history. Lovingly restored by its owners, the house is a canvas for the major style movements of the 1870s and 1880s. There are reproduction papers by William Morris and A. W. N. Pugin along with encaustic tiles, Lincrusta, and other lush details.

Perhaps it’s not surprising that a skilled hand was behind the transformation of the wood-frame house on the market at 75 Factory Road in Germantown. It was a passion project of a Brooklyn Museum curator, and he detailed the process behind the design decisions for Antiques Magazine before his death in 2018.

A backstory was created for the 1870s dwelling with the imagined owners experiencing the 1876 Philadelphia Centennial Exhibition and a Grand Tour with an itinerary that included England and Italy. Those travels introduced them to the Aesthetic Movement and influenced their collecting of porcelain, plaques, and other decorative souveneirs.

view to double front doors with etched glass and a foyer with encaustic tiles

dining room with William Morris wallpaper, wood floor and robins egg blue trim

While the furnishings aren’t mentioned as part of the sale, they are included in the listing photos, which allows a glimpse into the evocative interior as it was intended to be experienced. The parlor has the A. W. N. Pugin-designed wallpaper, a Gothic Revival chandelier, an American pier mirror, and mix of antique and modern furniture.

In the dining room a working fireplace was added with a new marble surround. An ebonized period overmantel mirror was installed above. William Morris “Fruit” wallpaper, designed in 1864, covers the walls, and the trim is picked out in robin’s-egg blue. While many of the rooms have period-inspired carpets, here the wide planked floor boards are on view.

kitchen with straw yellow cabinets, a center island and a door to the garden

While the interior is awash in the 19th century, it isn’t lacking in more modern amenities, including a generously sized kitchen with a center island. Stainless steel appliances are tucked amongst straw-yellow Shaker-style cabinets. Bead board covers the ceiling and the walls of a dining nook.

There are four bedrooms in the roughly 1,700-square-foot house. The primary bedroom has bold William Morris patterns on the walls and wall-to-wall carpeting. A picture rail is highlighted in bright pink. Among the furniture in the room is an 1880s dresser by the noted New York firm Herter Brothers.

Two full baths both have period-inspired design with bead board, pedestal sinks, and black and white tiles. One has a shower while the other a tub set in an arched niche.

The exterior of the house communicates its own simple charm with neutral clapboard enlivened with pops of blue and oxblood on the shutters, door, and restored original windows. The dwelling sits on an acre of land that includes a garden, according to the listing. It isn’t shown in the photos but there is a glimpse of a garden shed.

Listed with Kate Wood of Patricia A. Hinkein Realty, the house is priced at $890,000.

[Photos via Patricia A. Hinkein Realty]