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00:01houses are more than shelter the second we walked through the threshold of the
00:09door we both looked up looked at each other this is it yeah this is the space
00:15we wanted to live in the light and we wanted to live in the landscape for us
00:23it was a way to sort of connect my roots and expose our children and continue
00:28that legacy from our parents we sort of fell in love with the place and each
00:36other at the same time this building it's a real landmark around here it's an
00:43unconventional house but it's pretty fun the fact is that houses are dreams they're
00:51an expression of who we are and what we believe in
01:05I think that this home has a way of making you feel like you're outside of
01:09time and it sort of slows down time in a really beautiful way it certainly gives
01:15us more presence the history of the home is so alive and intact it's a huge
01:26privilege to be able to take care of a house that has been around much longer
01:31than us not keeps you busy not to romanticize it overly it's like it demands
01:36a lot of us and it this house owns us we live in this Victorian home with our two
01:46daughters in Portland Oregon built in 1892 it's a big house and it has seven
01:55bedrooms this house is particularly unique because it's kind of one-of-a-kind in
02:02Portland this architecture style I saw this house in 2019 and immediately was
02:11captivated we actually drove by it for years and didn't even know it was here
02:16mm-hmm Leela hand wrote a letter we said if they were interested in selling it to
02:22contact our realtor and they got in touch it was shocking mm-hmm I think part of
02:28what sets this house apart is there are architectural eccentricities that don't
02:33just make it a kit Victorian from the time the intricate molding mansard roofs the
02:38shingles like all of these details I think they stand out and it's on half an
02:44acre the big lot size was the thing that had me discover this house in the first
02:50place for me growing up in the country I just wanted space for our kids to run
02:56around and it looks like my childhood dollhouse so it really felt felt right
03:05this is the front porch this is kind of like the entry to our home it fosters a
03:10lot of hangs and a lot of like sweet moments for our family yeah
03:18this is the entryway where we kind of receiving our kids and transition get in
03:24and out of the house coming into this place is very stunning because you see
03:30all this original woodwork and eccentric trim a lot of it is figured maple which
03:36is traditionally used to make the backs of violins and nobody has painted it
03:41which is incredible
03:48so the living room is just this way and we can go over here so this is the living
03:54room all original woodwork original fireplace there's a bunch of really big
04:01windows that let in a ton of light and kind of open up to our backyard which is
04:05really beautiful and most most of the windows in this house are original the
04:11sort of wavy glass these pocket doors are between the living room and the
04:16dining room and at some point somebody cut out a little window so you could see the
04:24gears gives you a window into the technology from the 1890s I'd say we
04:31eat here every night every night and pretty regularly the dining room connects right
04:38back to the kitchen which is right through here this is the table that I sat
04:46around for my whole childhood this was the kitchen table that my parents had when I
04:50was a kid on this space too is like it's pretty wide for a kitchen and we
04:55weren't sure exactly how to use it so having a table in the center becomes like
04:59the focal point refrigerators in the pantry all the food is stored in the
05:05pantry one might refer to it as a butler's pantry if you step into the
05:11pantry you really feel like you're stepping back in time yeah the pantry is
05:14really special yeah really keeps the history in this kitchen alive so this
05:24door right here is probably the one of the most used doors in the house and it
05:27leads into the back stairwell that goes upstairs
05:34so this is the main hallway and it goes all the way through the house all of our
05:38bedrooms here in the house and then at the end of the hallway is the main
05:44staircase that connects down into the living room so that creates another
05:47circular pattern in the house so this is our bedroom original woodwork
05:59there's this random nook in here it possibly could have been a smoking porch
06:04that window opens out it's where the big round window is that you see from the
06:09front of the house but there's not a lot of closets in the house so it has
06:14become my closet behind our bed we've sort of made it into a headboard we mounted the
06:21the quilt there but it's actually a door that goes into our daughter Vera's room
06:25it felt right to just kind of cover it in a thought for it yeah retain the
06:30history and totally possibility that we might actually use that so directly
06:35above this notch out the tower is above that up on the third floor
06:46so now we're up here on the third floor and this is my music studio that's how we
06:53I use the space I'm a musician I've been a singer-songwriter and touring musician
06:59for almost 20 years it's a miracle that we got a piano up here and it's just a
07:07really beautiful space to be able to be creative in and then there's a little
07:13nook there that the dolls live in yeah our daughter's play there so there's a
07:18room for everyone in this house
07:19so this little walkway to the tower is insulated but unfinished there's always
07:28something unfinished always something constant projects
07:33so this is the widow's watch
07:37historically would have been near the ocean like on the east coast this would
07:41have been right on the ocean and the widow would come and wait for her husband
07:45to come back from sea we can still see the river in the winter when there's no
07:51leaves on the trees it's a sweet space
08:01I love thinking about all of the people who have lived within these walls and have
08:09stewarded this home and taking care of it and you see that they they were
08:13probably doing a really similar thing to what we're doing
08:17I don't think I have gone a day in the almost four years we've been here where
08:22I haven't just kind of pinched myself and just been like wow like this house is
08:26incredible the the way that we live in it feels kind of guided by the past and
08:31it's a really special thing
08:52the aura of this building is magic you really have a sense of its history we're a mother-daughter team
09:01we love to restore old buildings
09:03and we love what we call waking them up we traveled all over Italy top to
09:12bottom looking for an interesting untouched historical building and that was how
09:20we found this place
09:25the renovation took 12 years and now this is the monastery where we call home
09:35I always wanted to live in Italy we bought the house in 2006 now I'm living
09:45here and raising my own family with my husband and my mother to see them
09:54learning to walk seeing the butterflies they imitate the birds it's so special
10:05the monastery was built in 1522 it was a monastery for monks of st. Francis
10:14but in 1911 there was a fire in the church connected to the monastery and the roof collapsed that is
10:23when it ceased to be an active monastery now upstairs has ten bedrooms eight bathrooms and living room downstairs one
10:37large bedroom
10:38and the downstairs living room and dining room when we bought the house the building was abandoned for some years
10:47the building is intact as we found it all we could see was the magic of what it could be
10:54like
10:55with its cloisters completely covered in climbing roses through the courtyard and to the right we have the main entrance
11:06which is marked by a gong
11:14here we are in the corridor with this wonderful vaulted ceilings and on your left is the main bedroom
11:23and this is the oldest part of the building what we've been told might have once been a chapel according
11:30to local historians
11:33which is now our bedroom and was also used as a manger for sheep when we found it it was
11:43as if the animals had just left the day before
11:46it was extremely stinky
11:50we have tried as much as possible to keep all the charm and history of the building
11:55and repurpose everything that we found here
12:00outside the chapel as we continue down the hall through the kitchen
12:06it's one of the smallest rooms in the house and we do regularly make dinner for you know 40 30
12:13people
12:13and this is the downstairs living room and dining room or barrel room
12:20this is the place where the monks made wine and stored it
12:27when we arrived these incredible chestnut barrels were taking up most of the space
12:33we wanted to keep the presence of the giant chestnut barrel and thought of stacking it on top of the
12:39cement vat
12:41we used our dining table as a ramp to roll this incredible chestnut barrel into position
12:48and when we saw that it wasn't going to go stacked neatly on top we sort of had this moment
12:53of panic and then fell into this position
12:55and we thought actually it's really jaunty and fun
12:58and then above the barrels there mounted a collection of antique myolica plates which were traditional in Tuscany
13:16in Tuscany
13:19now we're coming up to the landing on the first floor
13:23this is the living room or salone as they say in Italian
13:26it's one of the main communal rooms of the house
13:31and in our restoration we actually didn't change the use of any room
13:37the bedrooms are all bedrooms and the two living rooms are rooms that would have been used communally then as
13:45well
13:45we have a wonderful old wooden fireplace typical in Italy in the 14th century
13:53we plastered inside which allows us to make a fire
13:58so I think in that way it is similar to the way that the monks might have used the room
14:08opposite the living room
14:09this is the upstairs corridor where the monks' cells were
14:16there are ten bedrooms but we don't really know how many monks there were
14:22they could have been sleeping four to a bed
14:24we don't really know
14:27through here is our bathroom
14:31this painted ceiling was my sort of Sistine Chapel
14:34that I spent many, many weeks on the scaffold
14:38crouched, half hunched
14:40until I finally realized that I was never going to be satisfied
14:43and I had to just end it
14:45the bath was made in copper by an artisan, Morocco
14:49we had so many fights about this bathtub
14:52she thought it was way over the top
14:54I thought it was way too fancy
14:56when we were restoring the building we really tried to make it simple
15:01occasionally
15:04other things rose up
15:06but generally I think we were consistent in keeping it minimal
15:14when we started this project
15:17I was in my early twenties
15:21we were still forging our own adult relationship
15:25through the renovation
15:28our relationship deepened
15:30we've also emerged as great friends
15:34I have a huge respect of Vinisha and her ideas and her commitment
15:41I love that we've created a home
15:44for people to meet
15:48let's eat
15:49enjoy each other's company
15:52draw close to one another
15:54I'm very proud we did accomplish our goal
15:59to wake up the building
16:01salute it
16:03and keep it alive
16:20the second we walked through the threshold of the door
16:25we both looked up, looked at each other
16:29this is it
16:30this is the space
16:32the fact that it's a stone house
16:34the fact that it's old
16:35the fact that it had
16:37the original beams
16:38the original floorboards
16:40that's what I knew
16:42in the Catskill area
16:44we're one of if not the oldest house
16:48incredible but also
16:50comes with a big, big responsibility
16:52it comes with a huge responsibility
17:01the upstate stone house
17:02is a five bedroom
17:05two bath
17:073300 square foot house
17:09that sits on just under an acre of land
17:12overlooking the Catskill Creek
17:15the date stone says that the house was built in 1762
17:21I wake up early
17:22I come down into the kitchen and I watch the sun come up over the creek
17:26which is my favorite place in the whole house
17:30and
17:31and it's quiet
17:32it's very quiet
17:33before the rest of the world wakes up
17:34it's just, it's a beautiful moment
17:38it's peaceful
17:43Alex and I came from California
17:47my father became ill
17:49so we moved back here to be closer to him
17:54we ended up coming to Catskill for an antiquing trip
17:58when we got here
17:59it was just a beautiful day
18:01full of good food
18:02and meeting nice people
18:04and finding some of the best antiques that we've ever found
18:06and I looked to Alexandra
18:09and said how cool would it be to buy one of those old houses
18:11and just fix it up, preserve it
18:14how can you say no to us?
18:16how can you say no?
18:16no it's absolutely beautiful
18:18you look so good in it
18:18it's perfect, right?
18:23as soon as we started down the path of trying to buy the house
18:26my dad was very much involved from the start
18:28you know, helping me with paint or demo
18:30or hanging doors
18:32or, you know, fixing cracks in the ceiling
18:36he was up here as much as he could be
18:44so we are at the front gate of our home
18:49the Upstate Stone House
18:50and directly up here
18:53is our
18:56appointed historic sign
18:57that states that the house was built in 1762
19:00by Cornelius Dubois
19:02who was a French lieutenant
19:04and the surrender of Cornwallis
19:07was actually celebrated in our house
19:09which is a fun, interesting fact
19:15when you first walk in
19:17you are standing in the dining room
19:20originally
19:21there would have just been a jamless fireplace
19:23meaning
19:23that this whole space above the beam
19:26on the other side through here
19:28would have been one hole going all the way through
19:30the roof
19:31and there would have just been an open fire
19:32so there really wouldn't have been a fireplace
19:34it would have just been a fire in the middle of the floor
19:47this floor would have followed through all the way into the dining room
19:50and you can see just the wear marks of people walking over it
19:53over time and just how it's been worn down
19:58you can see where people came in and people went out
20:01and that goes with the story of the house
20:08moving from the foyer into the kitchen
20:11moving from the foyer into the kitchen
20:12the first thing that I bought for the house was a 300 year old table
20:14which now lives in our kitchen
20:16and it set the tone I think for the rest of the house
20:21my favorite memory is you and dad dancing right there in that corner
20:24and I don't even remember why
20:26but it's just...
20:27I think we were just tired and had been working all day
20:30all the good, the bad and the ugly
20:32has been celebrated in this kitchen
20:34that's the sort of memories that I want to continue to build in this home
20:48we are up the stairs in the landing of the sleeping quarters
20:56off the landing we have the primary bedroom
21:01this is our new and latest piece
21:03and Adam just absolutely had to have this chair
21:08new favorite spot
21:09oh, jealous
21:10so what's really special about this room
21:12is that when we were doing the reconstruction of the fireplace
21:15right below us, we discovered that there was a second flue
21:18we could not believe that this fireplace was covered
21:21and that we had found it
21:22to sleep in a bedroom with a fireplace
21:27absolutely changes your life
21:28not to rub it in, but it's the best
21:32it's the best, it's the best
21:34I'm so grateful for it
21:42moving into the Queen's room
21:45Adam loves this bedroom
21:46I do
21:48during the restoration of the house
21:51this is where we lived
21:52mattress, floor, that's it
21:55you know, the rest of the house was in complete disarray
21:57but this room was our...
22:00safe space, our sanctuary
22:01it was, and I get emotional thinking about it
22:03because you start to remember all of the beautiful memories
22:07that, um...
22:10yeah
22:17my father, who is a huge part of this project
22:22he unfortunately passed away
22:24before we were able to show him the finished product
22:27and...
22:28Adam's friends were really, really kind
22:30and gifted him and us this tree
22:33it's a weeping cherry and it's beautiful
22:35it was his favorite tree, and so now he lives here with us, with the house
22:39always looking over it, always looking over us
22:43and...
22:44yeah, it's a very sentimental piece
22:48my dad was very much involved from the start
22:50it was the first house that I've ever bought
22:52and, you know, having him help me through that process
22:56was...
22:57was huge
23:04it's beautiful
23:07oh
23:10I think it's important, like my dad would always tell me
23:12in order to look forward, we have to look to the past
23:15and I think
23:17that can be translated into the way that we build our homes
23:21the way that we...
23:23we live in our homes
23:26I think that homes should be a place where you step back from the real world
23:31you slow down
23:33and the way that homes were built in the past
23:36we can learn a lot by the way we build in the future
23:38so beautiful
23:39thank you
23:42thank you
23:43oh, yes
23:44thank you
23:47thank you, thank you, thank you
23:48to the stone house and all of her glory
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