by DKP

MPF Conservation is working to discover the original paint colors for the Hanley Farm exterior and for the foyer.  While there, we also are assisting in a plan to preserve the stencils in the parlor.

However, it is also a wonderful historical farm with original furnishings, wallpaper, carpets, and accouterments — lovely!  I walked the rooms one day snapping pics for fun: below are some wonderful objects.  Let’s take a walk!

The formal front of the farm house, the second phase of building at Hanley Farm.

The entry into the foyer is through the porch or portico which holds the balcony off the second floor landing.  Farm hands and family with daily use came through the back porch and kitchen where they could drop their dirty boots: reminds me of my grandparent’s ranch.

The foyer, which is one of the areas we wanted to sample for paint analysis.

If you entered through the front door, what was once the office is to the left.  It seems that in the later years, the office was also the place where elderly family members slept and possibly died, when they could no longer go up the stairs.

Office, original furniture.

Office, original furniture.

I love the wallpaper, delicate without being feminine.

This may be the original office carpet. The Hanleys were not timid in their decor.

The parlor is to the right.  It seems one of the sisters was a collector of furniture and other items, and so the house is rich with beautiful pieces.  The parlor is where the lively stencils line the top of the walls, decorate the ceiling corners, and circle the central ceiling fixture.

The southeast corner of the parlor.

The fireplace sits on the eastern wall.

The central sitting area,
and behind, the dining room.

Over the parlor sitting area,
the light fixture surrounded by this stencil.

The original parlor carpet.

The wood and the details in the house are special; we first see this in the foyer.

What appears to be fine woodworking is actually faux paint!

Eastern hardwoods were difficult to obtain because of shipping, and costly as well.  Faux painting was fashionable at this time, and the faux painting in the house is stunning.

Newel post and the stair railing were once a rich maroon-red.

Formal staircase leading to the second phase of the house, including the master bedroom. The damage is relatively new.

The graceful curve leading to the large landing on the second floor.

The staircase goes to the second floor, which houses the original master bedroom, and what was once three smaller children’s bedrooms.  The landing is quite large, and could have been used as a sitting room.

A chest on the second floor landing.

The landing is large enough that it is a small sitting “room.”

The master bedroom is very pretty, and the carpet and wallpapers are in good condition.

The master bed.
The windows look to the south.

Window looking west from Hanley’s Master Bedroom.

Why a picture of a door?
It is all painted faux wood!

The Hanley sisters remodeled the three small bedrooms into one room, which I will call the second bedroom, though there are a couple more bedrooms in the back of which I did not take pictures.

The beds in the house are especially handsome.

A wicker chair and vanity in the east corner.

The farm is available for tours: visit their website for contact information.  Private tours are available if scheduled in advance.  There is a minimum cost and a maximum number of individuals that can tour at any one time.

An early Ford tractor.

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