THE GREAT ROOM

All of the newly painted rooms in the house are white. We like the white because it's emphasizes the the views outside and creates a clean, bright interior. In the middle of the house, however, is a much darker, wood paneled room that we refer to as 'The Great Room.' The Great Room has its quirks. It's a double height room with a large stone fireplace and wide chestnut floors. There's also a small, strange loft-like space above, which at one point had a separate staircase (the outline of the steps still marks the west wall). When we bought the house, there was an exterior door on the southwest side of the room and a large hatch in the floor, leading to the basement. Our carpenter recently installed reclaimed chestnut slats over the hatch and, last year, the door was exchanged for a window and the former stair landing removed. We've recently started furnishing the space with sconces along the south wall, a couch from the ABC Carpet & Home outlet in the Bronx, and a couple of leather chairs from J. Seitz & Co in New Preston, CT. Future plans include wall to wall bookshelves (Hello, Putnam Ladder! http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/29/nyregion/thecity/29ladd.html) and additional lighting. This winter, we've found the room to be our favorite in the house.