Come Back for Another Look at The Capt. Johnson/Moss Home

Now that you’ve visited the  Entry Way and the Ballroom, let’s stroll over to the parlor and the diningroom. Don't worry, we'll go back to talk about the furnishings in these areas.

Our home is built in the 4 square style, which means each room matches the one above or below.  Really easy to draw it to scale, if you know your facts of 4. And you don't get lost easily.

This is our parlor.  The picture was taken this last Christmas morning.  After wiring the tree of a 1000 lights, I told my friend,  Richard, that I would never take it down.  His reply, "Build a Trap Door Leading to 1 of 5 cellars below." Of course, that didn't happen.  My friends have grown to like celebrating Christmas all year round, but I still get teased about the tree.

My guests are gone and the Christmas Tree remains.  Our furniture is small compared to the big leather sofas and the oversize recliners that decorate modern homes.  We actually watch television and play on our computers upstairs, where there is appropriate furniture for these activities.  The Christmas Tree measures 9 ft. tall.  Notice that the window extends above the tree.  All the windows of our house are very  tall.  With no electric lighting, Captain Johnson and his family depended on the natural light streaming in throughout the day.

There are 10 fireplaces out of the 11 original to the home.  There was plenty of wood to burn in these river hills of Louisiana, Missouri in the 1860's.  And there still is a good supply!  To my CA friends who do not get much rain -- that's what makes our landscape green and  beautiful.  But, it is also what makes us white with snow and c-o-l-d . . . in the winter.  Spring is on its way!

 The ceiling above the parlor has coved ceilings and a painted plaster medallion which hold a chandelier.

The rocker is a gift from my Dad.  He found it along the roadside and carried it home.  It stayed in the rafters of his garage until Haines claimed it and refinished it for me.  A treasured gift from the two men in my life.

My Only Jardinere & Pedestal

A few years back, I bought the set while  on a business trip to Philadelphia.  Never have found out whether it is old or not.  Often, we run across items that are repos.  Anyway it graces our home.

Look at the Oak Framing between the Parlor and the Dinningroom.  The structure houses folding doors that slide into the pockets and disappears. There are two of them in the house; one in the parlor and one upstairs that separate the guest bedrooms.

We modernists are not as original as we think we are.  The doors in the house are 2-1/2 inches thick and made from solid oak. 

My treasured pier mirror.  It was in the family business for years.  The Victorian Lady's head is made from plaster and gold gilded.  The red "Gone with the Wind Lamp" is made from cranberry glass.  The triangular hand-made needlework to the right of the mirror is a rosewood adjustable firescreen for milady.  Even in the time of  George Washington, ladies wore wax make-up, often to hide pox marks.  To prevent the ladies face from the fire and to protect the make-up from melting, fire screens were made from various materials.  I have never seen one like this.