Double front entry doors open to the spacious foyer. To add drama and create comfortable transitions to other adjoining rooms, Bill lifted the foyer ceiling from 8 feet to 101⁄2 feet. “I wanted the foyer to be taller so when you look into the dining room and the study, those rooms with their 8-foot ceilings would feel more intimate,” he explains. He had the foyer’s gray slate floor with white grout stained a soft green to minimize the distracting patterns created by the grout lines. An antique bronze chandelier and round pedestal table make an elegant statement.

Metal sliding doors in the living room were replaced with floor-to-ceiling windows with glass doors on either end that open to a balcony overlooking the backyard. “I wanted to open up the whole back of the house with glass. That wall between the doors just stopped the eye,” Bill says. “Now people walk in and say, oh my gosh, what a view.” The disconcertingly slanted ceiling in the living room was lowered to a uniform 12-foot height.

A new gas fireplace with an elegantly carved antique pine mantel adds character to the living room. Bumping out the wall to accommodate the firebox helped break up what had been a monotonous 28-foot stretch of blank space.  Mirrors on either side of the fireplace were custom made using antique Swedish door panels. The base of twin console tables beneath the mirrors were made from salvaged wrought-iron balcony railings from Italy.

BEFORE: The pre-renovation dining room area.

A guest bedroom is warmed by brown ticking fabric on the walls and brown toile draperies. English transferware hangs above the bamboo headboard. A bronze Chinese incense burner floats on an acrylic stand in the corner, and an antique magnifying glass sits on a side table.

The U-shaped configuration of the kitchen remains the same, but cabinets, appliances, sink, and a cushy cork floor are sharp updates. “The cork is soft and never shows anything,” Bill says. “It has a grayish cast that is nice with the stainless finishes.” The swirling grain of the brown marble countertops complements the variegated coloring of the cork floor. Mirrored backsplashes and a stainless-steel panel behind the range hood reflect the light and make the room feel open. “It’s  a little, skinny galley kitchen, and I thought about making it larger,” Bill says, “but it’s really a perfect size for me.”