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FeedRoom for Everything and Everyone
A vintage Wilmington town home makes space for music, art, pets and, of course, friends and family.
Carol Woolworth's paintings are
displayed throughout the home.
Photograph by John Lewis
Room for Everything and Everyone
A vintage Wilmington town home makes space for music, art, pets and, of course, friends and family.
The way Sandy Woolworth views life, people enter new phases about once every decade.
That also applies to their homes. Over the years, he and his wife, Carol, have set up house in a large studio apartment in Manhattan, then a suburban retreat on two acres in Connecticut.
Four years ago, the Woolworths went back to urban life. But this time, the city, Wilmington, was smaller and the home was larger-a three-story townhouse in the vibrant Mid-town Brandywine neighborhood, where Sandy's sister and her husband already lived.
In their latest home, the Woolworths were the beneficiaries of numerous upgrades by the previous owners, including an expanded kitchen with natural cherry cabinets and custom storage with shelves that are just the right depth for Carol's china collection.
The former residents also had painstakingly removed coats of paint from exquisite Arts and Crafts tiles adorning a decorative fireplace in the living room. The Woolworths added a hearth cut from a slab of lustrous onyx. "We wanted something to match the translucence of the tiles," Carol says.
Carol and Sandy Woolworth believe the joy of pets Shorty
and Winnie is more important then decorative objects.
Photograph by John Lewis
The Woolworths are fond of art, music and their corgis, Shorty and Winnie, and there's plenty of room to enjoy company and pets in the 3,000-square-foot town house.
They made only one significant structural change to the circa 1890 home: They took down a wall that had defined a long, dark corridor. It immediately enlarged and brightened the living room and also freed space for a grand piano, which had been tucked into a niche at the end of the hall. "Houses just evolve with everybody who moves into them," Carol says. "You can't be afraid of change."
The couple ebonized the panels and
moldings of the staircase.
Photograph by John Lewis
The Woolworths ebonized the raised panels and pendant moldings that decorate the staircase. They added a new mantel and built-in bookcases on either side of the fireplace. Carol's collection of cookbooks is within easy reach of a tiger stripe chair and ottoman. Purchased at Macy's in the 1980s, it was the first furniture the couple bought as newlyweds. "It's still as comfortable now as it was then," she says.
Throughout the house are functional and decorative hallmarks of life, each conjuring a memory. There's brightly colored pottery from Italy on an end table. The primitive carvings on a mantel are from Mexico. Sandy spied the 1950s Italian lamp, an exuberant bronze cast of flowers, in a shop in SoHo when he was returning from jury duty.
"He came home and said he saw this really wonderful lamp," Carol recalls. "We went back, threw it in a cab, and took it back to the apartment."
Sandy bought the curvaceous sofa, a French antique, in the 1980s from a collector who wanted to raise cash. "The guy needed $300 to buy a bird," he recalls.
An inlaid mother-of-pearl mirror over the mantel was made in India. Carol is fond of the crisp, black-and-white patterns of birds and flowers. "Anything graphic catches my eye," she says.
That's not surprising, as she is the principal of the family business, Tippit Woolworth Design, a creator of academic and science brochures, book covers and websites.
But her first love in the visual arts is painting, a romance that has been rekindled in recent years, as Carol has shown her work at local galleries. She rises each morning at 5:30 and puts in two hours of painting in her basement studio before heading to her office on the second floor. "It's a wonderful way to start the day," she says.
The bombe-style armoire in the dining room stands
nearly 9-feet tall.
Photograph by John Lewis
A large dining room is a gallery of sorts. Still life studies of fruits surround 1940s-style portraits of the couple's mothers, which were painted from vintage photographs. Carol was a budding artist of 20, when she painted the picture of a young Mexican girl with a basket on her head.
A massive Italian bombe-style armoire, made around the same time the house was built, stands 9 feet tall. It was outfitted with specialized shelving to accommodate a computer and office equipment.
A broad, tall chest of drawers that served as a bedroom dresser in the suburban house was too large to take up the townhouse stairs. It found a home in the dining room, as storage for linens.
The previous owners folded square footage from an adjoining bedroom into the upstairs bath to create a spacious retreat. The Woolworths remodeled the space into a glamorous, Parisian-inspired bath with a freestanding soaking tub, Venetian glass mirror and sparkling crystal chandelier.
Linens and soaps are displayed in an antique curio cabinet. The couple bought the small French drop sink when they were living in Connecticut but didn't find quite the right place for it until the bath project.
A Parisian-inspired bath features a free-standing tub
and Venetian glass mirror.
Photograph by John Lewis
The Woolworths splurged on luxurious, Herbeau faucets in an antique brass finish, blending the high-end pieces with inexpensive sconces from a catalog to create maximum splash. "When I wash my hands, I feel like I'm in a great French hotel," Carol says.
An abstract painting over a white chest was a gift. The wide ledge that caps the beadboard wainscoting provides display space for an evolving gallery of small paintings. Oriental rugs warm the oak floor.
Some of the previous fixtures from the existing bath were recycled. The whirlpool tub was an ideal fit for a workman's home. The toilet moved in with a neighbor.
An unused third floor was converted to a guest room and bath, as well as an entertainment and media room where the couple watches movies with friends and Sandy plays his guitars. "I can look out the window and see life go by while I'm playing music," he says.
With each home, the Woolworths have refined their style, as well as their design philosophy. They've learned to prioritize, what to change-and what is best left alone.
"My advice is to renovate as little as possible," Sandy says. "Don't let it consume your life."
GET THE LOOK
Team high-end pieces with less expensive details. Everything winds up looking upscale.
Rethink the placement and function of furnishings. In the Woolworth home, a dresser that once held clothes in the master bedroom now stores linens in the dining room.
Take it personally. The Woolworths display Carol's paintings, as well as pottery they've collected, throughout their home.
Enjoy the whole house. Consider making space in the attic for guests or music. There may be room in the basement for hobbies.
Keep your antennae up for great finds. Travel provides wonderful opportunities, but you might spot treasures in your daily movements.
