Houzz Tours
My Houzz: Charming, Beautiful Renovated Victorian
A couple gives a 19th century home in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. a modern footprint
Kathy and John Basso were close to giving up on finding a house when Kathy came across a listing for an 1867 Victorian home in Poughkeepsie, N.Y. They took on renovating the three-story, 4,000 square foot space two years ago. "After a seemingly endless search, we had just about given up and were about to sign contracts on land to build," Kathy said. "I came to visit the property alone, without bothering my real estate agent for another wasted trip. My heart stopped when I drove up the driveway, because I knew it was home."
The house and adjacent barn were in very bad condition so the Bassos teamed up with a contractor and an architect specializing in old houses to do a complete renovation from the basement to the third floor. She says, "We were painstakingly careful to keep whatever we could that was original. Radiators were replaced with modern heat and air conditioning, electrical and plumbing were updated and wherever possible, we installed insulation."
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Kathy and John Basso and their two dogs
Location: Poughkeepsie, NY
Size: 4,000 sq. feet with 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms
The house and adjacent barn were in very bad condition so the Bassos teamed up with a contractor and an architect specializing in old houses to do a complete renovation from the basement to the third floor. She says, "We were painstakingly careful to keep whatever we could that was original. Radiators were replaced with modern heat and air conditioning, electrical and plumbing were updated and wherever possible, we installed insulation."
Houzz at a Glance
Who lives here: Kathy and John Basso and their two dogs
Location: Poughkeepsie, NY
Size: 4,000 sq. feet with 4 bedrooms and 4 bathrooms
The kitchen countertops are granite. Built-in plate racks under the cream-colored cabinets showcase Kathy's primary-colored plates. A side door from the kitchen leads to the patio and spacious backyard, which makes for easy entertaining. The backyard also houses a beautiful white pavilion Kathy had her eye on for years and was finally able to purchase at an auction.
Outside the doors a blue barn matches the home's exterior and serves as a garage. A room above it will be converted as a studio for Kathy's quilt making.
Outside the doors a blue barn matches the home's exterior and serves as a garage. A room above it will be converted as a studio for Kathy's quilt making.
The unique copper farmhouse sink adds an inviting focal point to the space.
Pay close attention to the gold backsplash. Kathy has a love for the look of tin on the backsplash and ceiling, but since it's a very costly material, she came up with her own creative, budget-friendly solution. Kathy explains, "The most successful decorating idea has been the use of painted anaglypta wallpaper in a few rooms. It is used on the ceiling in the family room and master bedroom and on the backsplash in the kitchen." The painted wallpaper truly imitates tin; it's hard to visually tell the difference between the two.
"The architecture of the house is my biggest inspiration," Kathy says. "I love the Victorian vibe and the look of salvaged antiques, but wanted a more comfortable and livable version of it for my family. I had the fortune of getting a barn and attic filled to the rafters with 'junk' that took me over two years to go through. Some of my favorite pieces of furniture and architectural features were salvaged from that endeavor."
This spacious family room is full of warm tones, such as golden yellows, reds, blacks and creams. This room also holds one of the three fireplaces in the house. With beautiful coffered ceilings and a custom built-in entertainment wall, the architecture speaks for itself in this room.
This spacious family room is full of warm tones, such as golden yellows, reds, blacks and creams. This room also holds one of the three fireplaces in the house. With beautiful coffered ceilings and a custom built-in entertainment wall, the architecture speaks for itself in this room.
The TV nestles perfectly above the fireplace along their custom-built shelving. The back of the shelves were painted red with gold designs to match the color scheme of the room.
The wet bar is at the other end of the family room for easy access. The black cabinets and copper sink make this inviting area unique in style and color.
Kathy calls this room her breakfast room, as she enjoys eating breakfast and everyday meals here with John. The windows allow a beautiful abundance of light and includes seats all around it with shelves underneath for books. It's a bright, airy space that is as inviting as it is full of sunshine.
Kathy had a unique approach when picking out paint colors. "I sew for a living, so I love fabric," she says. "I picked fabrics very early on for each area of the house and took the paint colors from those fabrics. There are quite a few rooms where the inspiration fabric was never utilized, except to borrow the colors. When a color would stump me, I sought help from the resident designer at my local paint store. I even took her a couple of pieces of slate from the roof, to have her help me with the exterior color palette."
Kathy's favorite room in her home is the dining room, which was previously used as a library. It has a beautiful sage green color palette with complementary furniture. "It has great light, an alcove and a fireplace. I love having guests over for meals," she says.
This dining room table is one of Kathy's favorite finds. It was very important for her to have a large enough table that could fit everyone in her family. She also found two matching pieces that now hold her china.
"My major furniture purchases were made at a store called Peter Andrews in Long Island, New York. I still frequent auctions, flea markets and antique fairs for treasures to bring back to life. I don’t buy anything for its investment value; only if I like it and can use it. I like to repurpose things," Kathy explains.
This dining room table is one of Kathy's favorite finds. It was very important for her to have a large enough table that could fit everyone in her family. She also found two matching pieces that now hold her china.
"My major furniture purchases were made at a store called Peter Andrews in Long Island, New York. I still frequent auctions, flea markets and antique fairs for treasures to bring back to life. I don’t buy anything for its investment value; only if I like it and can use it. I like to repurpose things," Kathy explains.
The fireplace in the dining room is a large focal point in this space. It was once used as a cooking fireplace and is now gas. It's made from the original brick, but on one side, the brick was crumbling and had to be replaced with plaster. There is also an original sliding wood door that closes this space off from the foyer.
In the second-floor bathroom John and Kathy kept many of the original fixtures, including this black clawfoot tub. To the very left is a pull string that hangs from the ceiling and flushes the toilet. The tub came with the silver star and moon accents; Kathy added the star shower curtain rings to match.
The home used to have two separate staircases that divided the house into two wings because at one time there were several different families living here. The Bassos took out one of the wings to make the home more family-friendly. A beautiful light fixture hangs above the staircase in the main hallway of the second floor.
Light fixtures: Lowes
Light fixtures: Lowes
When one of their three sons went away to college, they turned his bedroom into an exercise room. This is one of John's favorite rooms in the house as it serves as a getaway space.
The master suite is separated into three areas: entrance, bathroom and bedroom. The entry features a large armoire and vintage Singer sewing machine stand converted into a vanity — one of Kathy's treasures.
The tub in the master bathroom isn't original but is a great feature. It's designed to hold warmth and is perfect for relaxing in after a long day.
The Bassos were very interested in maintaining the original furniture pieces and mixing them in with the new. "The biggest dilemma was utilizing all the great finds, while trying to stay within budget. I found out very quickly that it is much more expensive to utilize old instead of building new. I would find great old doors, hardware, stained glass windows, corbels, balusters, railings and bring them to my contractor. We would have to scratch our heads for days and weeks sometimes to think of a place to use them, which is satisfying but expensive," Kathy explains.
The Bassos were very interested in maintaining the original furniture pieces and mixing them in with the new. "The biggest dilemma was utilizing all the great finds, while trying to stay within budget. I found out very quickly that it is much more expensive to utilize old instead of building new. I would find great old doors, hardware, stained glass windows, corbels, balusters, railings and bring them to my contractor. We would have to scratch our heads for days and weeks sometimes to think of a place to use them, which is satisfying but expensive," Kathy explains.
The sleeping area of the bedroom includes a little balcony and wood stove with a TV hanging above it that makes this space a perfect retreat.
The Bassos love the location of their beautifully renovated home because they are a convenient 10 minutes away from the city, where they can enjoy a night out to eat, and also just 10 minutes away from the countryside.
Kathy says, "Our next project is to add a wrap-around front porch. We have seen old pictures of our house with a porch, but it had been removed before we purchased the house. We installed doors in the family room six years ago, which will eventually open onto the porch."
More:
My Houzz: Nostalgic Family Home in Upstate New York
My Houzz: Cozy, Colonial Home
Houzz Tour: Victorian Style, Built for Fun
The Bassos love the location of their beautifully renovated home because they are a convenient 10 minutes away from the city, where they can enjoy a night out to eat, and also just 10 minutes away from the countryside.
Kathy says, "Our next project is to add a wrap-around front porch. We have seen old pictures of our house with a porch, but it had been removed before we purchased the house. We installed doors in the family room six years ago, which will eventually open onto the porch."
More:
My Houzz: Nostalgic Family Home in Upstate New York
My Houzz: Cozy, Colonial Home
Houzz Tour: Victorian Style, Built for Fun
To the right of the photo is a flush-mount refrigerator, and to the left of the sink is the dishwasher. Both appliances blend in with the rest of the cabinetry, and the center island offers extra storage and counter seating.