George Washington's Fredericksburg Foundation

FLOCKED! Restoration of the historic Kenmore house nears completion

By ELLEN BILTZ
Published in the Free Lance-Star: July 7, 2006

Jim Yates works on putting up new flocked
wallpaper made with a painted background
and finely chopped dark green wool in the
drawing room of Kenmore.

WHEN GEORGE Washington's sister walked up the stone steps and into the massive brick box-shaped building for the first time, she entered not only her home, but one of the most intricately designed houses of the 1770s.

Today, the historic Kenmore house is being brought back to the state in which Betty Washington Lewis and her husband, Fielding Lewis, enjoyed it.

When the renovations started in 2001, a cost of about $5 million dollars over the next five years was budgeted, but they'll be finished under budget, said Paula Raudenbush, director of marketing and communication for George Washington's Fredericksburg Foundation.

Though the restoration has taken almost five years, the foundation will have spent only about $3 million.

The restoration--which will be completed by the end of the year--is in the stage at which all walls and ceilings are being reinvestigated and restored to their original state.

The family's drawing room includes the most detailed flocked wallpaper that has ever been restored, Raudenbush said.

Flocked wallpaper "The paper would have been a mark of the Lewises' taste and achievement," she said.

The wallpaper was made by putting a layer of the base paint, a light green in the case of the Lewis house, onto the paper. Then a white floral print was added.

The last touch was the very detailed design printed on the paper with varnish. Finely chopped dark green wool was then sprinkled onto the wet varnish, leaving the paper with a velvetlike texture.

"We not only re-created the way the paper looked in 1975*, but also the process they went through," said Franklin Daniels, the senior director of institutional advancement for the foundation.

The Lewises' drawing room was used for entertaining guests, having after-dinner drinks and cigars** and spending time as a family.

Daniels said one of things most remarkable about the room was that George Washington probably sat around with Fielding Lewis to discuss important issues of the time.

"Lofty things happened here," he said.

Raudenbush said it was interesting just to think that she could be standing in a room where George Washington once sat by the fire to enjoy an after-dinner drink.

"It gives you goose bumps just thinking about it," she said.

While the drawing room has a unique wallpaper, the rest of the rooms in the Kenmore house also have qualities that show the Lewises' importance.

Yates, a historic-wallpaper specialist,
hangs flocked wallpaper in the drawing room
of the Kenmore house. It's been a two-year
process getting the wallpaper made
and finally installed.

There are sea-foam blue-green walls in every room on the first floor, and the mantels of the fireplaces are carved with detailed designs. Each ceiling has a unique aspect, and Raudenbush said her favorite is the ceiling that shows the seasons of the year, one in each corner.

"Its just so fascinating that you would never find this in another house anywhere," she said.

Daniels said the ceilings were made by gluing individual pieces to them.

Before the end of the year, every ceiling will be whitewashed to restore the original look.

The renovations of all of the rooms in the Lewis home will be finished by December, and the next step will be to add the furniture.

Daniels and Raudenbush said they will be taking pieces from different places to restore the feel of each room.

"We just want the whole house to be a stage for visitors," Daniels said. "We hope to use it as a vehicle to the life and time of the Lewises."

To reach ELLEN BILTZ: 540/374-5000, ext. 5710
Email: ebiltz@freelancestar.com

Photos by Suzanne Carr Rossi / The Free Lance-Star

Corrections:
* 1775
** pipes