Mini Masterpiece

What a house!


This is a replica of the Whitney homstead in Bolton, Mass—the house where the Whitney family lived in the mid-1800s. The two daughters, Anna and Emma were responsible for donating the money needed to build the first library in Bolton. As a result, they are being honored in the new Bolton library, with a replica of their actual home at a on-twelfth-scale version. Mary Delaney, my great friend and children's book writer, is the one who made it happen. But many other talented from Bolton got involved.

This past Saturday was the grand opening of the Bolton Public Library where the house was unveiled. Designed for the children's area, the house rests up against a glass window that allows viewers to see into the backside of the house. Here's the front of the house before the face was attached...



My favorite room is the dining room (though it's empty in the picture above). So much is in the details...the lighting, fireplaces, molding, handmade furniture and needlepoint rugs, the wallpapers (ordered from England and Spain), the handmade ceramic pots for the pantry—just to name a few. And there's a mouse inside the grandfather clock that is a hidden secret.

The project took several months and is a true work of art. And of course there's still more to do. But that's okay with Mary who said recently "I'm having the time of my life."

Check out this article about the project in the ITEM newspaper.