America's Mansion

Jay Johnson -- A business opportunity at work recently took me to Washington DC for the day. DC is my home town (actually, it's more proper to say that it's my "home district"), and I have gone back only a handful of times in the past 50+ years. Time is catching up with me.

So it was with a real sense of excitement that I went back to my home district, and made my way to a 9 a.m. meeting. We got our business accomplished by noon, we went out for lunch with our hosts, and during the meal conversation, I learned that we were just eight blocks away from the White House.

Wow, I thought. I must see the White House before I go back to New York City. I'm so close.

When I did consulting work for Weekly Reader (yes, the classroom magazine you fondly remember from your childhood is still very much alive and kicking!), I had the fun of putting together a stand-up poster of the White House. It was an artistic view of the front of the mansion by a children's book illustrator, a favorite of Laura Bush who had illustrated one of the Bushes' holiday greeting cards.

The illustrator, Cheryl Shaw Barnes, has done charming books about Washington DC and the legislative process for young children (like House Mouse, Senate Mouse).  She was sketching the White House for the Weekly Reader project, and she had gotten special permission from Mrs. Bush to stand on the front lawn to get a better view of all the details.

She called me on her cell phone as she was sketching, all worried. "Jay, I'm on the White House lawn and I'm looking at the front view. The Bushes changed the curtains on many of the windows and they look like they belong on a trailer! Is it alright if I draw them differently so they look classier?"

I look back on that funny sidebar to the project and am amazed that design changes can be so easily made to the White House. It is, after all, an American icon. I would never have thought that you could put low-end-looking draperies in the White House! That's like putting a smiley face button on the Statue of Liberty, or hanging a giant swingset from the top of the Gateway Arch. You just don't touch national landmarks!

But this landmark is unique, isn't it? The White House is a home, after all. And all its presidential families have redecorated and repurposed this mansion to make it more comfortable for them while they are briefly there. (And some more briefly than others. Did you know that William Henry Harrison just lived there for 32 days? He caught pneumonia right after his inauguration and never recovered, making his the shortest presidency on record.)

Theodore Roosevelt hung a huge moose head over the fireplace in the State Dining Room and held boxing and wrestling matches in the East Room. Each president and his family have put their unique design stamp on this special place.

Until the Civil War, the White House was the largest house in the United States. That's a cool fact, huh? But it's also a bit sad. The president and her (someday) or his family should, by rights, live in the largest house in the country. It's the toughest job, after all. But now the largest mansion probably belongs to an oil barron or a hedge fund captain.

I was astounded when I saw the White House, standing at a distance from the mansion on Pennsylvania Avenue, looking through a large black iron fence along the front of the lawn. Secret service and DC police were patrolling the area. My surprise at seeing the White House was that it was beautifully designed, yet it seemed smaller than I had expected.

It's a mansion, and it's big. But it's not ostentatious or Trump-like glitzy and rambling. Its compact design and elegant porte cochere is only one-fifth the size of the grand "presidential palace" originally envisioned in 1791 by Pierre Charles L'Enfant's master plan for the city of Washington, and personally planned and supervised by George Washington.

It's fascinating to look further into the White House's architectural and design history. One tidbit I really enjoyed was Chester A. Arthur's 1880s dislike of the White House, which he thought had no charm. He brought in Louis Comfort Tiffany to make extension renovations and design changes to the mansion, and had 24 wagon loads of "old furniture and junk" hauled away to a warehouse and sold. The White House has undergone major design changes and remodelings, just like any other American home.

Of course it would be nice if my house had Tiffany decor. Dream on!

In the over 300 home videos contained in my Design2Share Video Diary on YouTube, you will see examples where I have taken my video camera -- a sturdy palm-sized Radio Shack $99 camtastic Sanyo special -- and taken videos from my travels. I had my camera with me during my DC trip and shot the White House at the same time a protest for a "Free Cambodia" was going on in a park across Pennsylvania Avenue from the executive mansion. Click on this link to view my video.

It was interesting to suddenly realize that a house is a rich symbol of this country, in a way that no other house can claim. It's truly our most individual and personalized landmark and national symbol. And in a very real sense, we all live there.

But now I'm wondering if we could help the current occupants pick out better drapes!

Mansions. Any comments from our readers? Have you fallen in love with one, like perhaps one of the Newport, RI lovelies? Thank you for your post . . . .

Photo Credit: Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco

History Buff

Jay Johnson -- Buildings reflect the rich history of their occupants. That's what makes each a time capsule. You can see who worked or lived there, scrape through the layers of clues, and gain insight into the past.

Many high-end homeowners want brand-new construction. McMansions, double-volume entryways, great rooms, media centers, open-plan kitchens, and lots of extras fit the bill for many who are looking at real estate in the stratosphere.

But consider older properties. They have history on their side, and sometimes there are treasures waiting to be discovered, restored, and lived in. If you look at where you and your family live as a major event on history's timeline, you will better appreciate how you can become a part of history.

We wrote recently about loving designer Rose Tarlow's insistence on comfortable and natural surroundings, taking reproduction 18th Century Chinese wallpaper and going over it with sandpaper and fine steel wool until it felt soft and "old." There are many historic, or just plain lived-in and older properties in the high end of the market that can deliver comfort, warmth, and the glowing patina of historical significance.

There are, of course, old homes like the one featured in the hilarious movie The Money Pit. Disaster after disaster awaited the intrepid homeowners as they tried to lovingly restore Their Old House, only to uncover bad secrets galore, from rotten timbers to infestations. It's no wonder that many prospective homeowners yearn for the new.

But if you're looking for history, character, and a rich past in a property, there are many out there to choose from. Go to the comprehensive website for the National Register of Historic Places, as I just did, and you will find historic districts and individual properties of distinction (all older than 50 years old). You can search by state and county to find fascinating information about homes, churches, and other buildings that you might want to visit or even purchase. Each listing indicates whether the property is privately or government owned. The original names and uses for buildings are given, as well as the original architects, if known.

I found the most fascinating section on the National Register site to be the "Vacant/Not In Use" listings, which are also indexed by state and county. These could be great business opportunities for the savvy entrepreneur. Some of these locations need restoration -- hopefully not like something out of The Money Pit. And perhaps you might locate your next home in this intriguing section of the Register's website.

In the over 200 home videos contained in my Design2Share Video Diary on YouTube, you will see examples where I have taken my video camera -- a sturdy palm-sized Radio Shack $99 camtastic Sanyo special -- and captured many historic buildings. I'm a history buff, but also I'm an admirer of where we've come from in architecture and design. We're caught up in today's mileau, but it's good every now and then to allow the past to inform us of what's good and right about design. Frankly, you won't find antique versions of the McMansion on the National Registry. Instead, you'll find some rewarding and fascinating places you can visit, admire, and/or consider for purchase. 

This week's featured video takes you on one of my morning jogs, and I admire a private residence and its adjacent shady, gated, gravel-and-stone-paved garden. The fountain was the clincher for me. Give me bubbling water, shade, lush foliage, and history any day! I hope you enjoy watching National Registry Townhouse.

Consider older properties in the high-end market. They may not have all the luxury conveniences many families on the luxe side are hoping for immediately, but why let immediate move-in gratification stop you? You can remodel, add on, or retool old spaces to create your dream home. You will wind up living with the rich past that these properties bring to you and your family, a provenance that new construction can't offer. Be a new homeowner or businessowner to an older property. You'll be adding exciting chapters to the history of a venerable place.

Be open to the adventure.

Would you consider moving into an historic or older property versus new construction? Thank you for posting your comments here . . . . 

Photo Credit: postcard of the Marion Castle residence in the Shippan Point neighborhood of Stamford, CT, from Answers.com