Cleaning and Preservation of the
CURLY REDWOOD ENRTY HALL
The entryway was created from curly redwood from the Navarro Mill in Mendocino County. It was a wedding present from Emma Brays cousin who owned the Mill. The ceiling panels were put in place upside down on the floor and then lifted into place with poles. Currently, we are cleaning the paneling and floors with low ph soap and then preserving with a paste wax.
Eastlake style
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Charles Eastlake wrote a "Guide to Household Taste" in England in 1869.
It was one of the most important books in the history of 19th century interior design, serving as a basic source on what was proper, beautiful, and efficient. The Cohen Bray house is the American version.
Cleaning wood work
It is a pleasure to clean the beautiful redwood in the entry hall. The stick style craftsmanship and the Eastwood design of the curly redwood are remarkable. In the 1880s, redwood was not used in houses, if it was, it was painted to look like mahogany. This makes the entry hall and pocket doors all the more extraordinary.
Flooring
This beautiful parquet flooring put in place in 1883 has had years of grime build up. Our goal is to clean off the grime and preserve the most deteriorated parts with paste wax to seal and protect the surface of the floor.