A mixture of preserved history and modern functionality: This Old “Petworth” House (part 5)
/It takes work to ensure the original features of a house remain for a long time. Work that the owners have put in over the years to great effect.
by Cesse Ip
This is the fifth of a series of articles that showcases some of the unique original features of our Petworth-area houses.
Kerry and Matt Hamblin bought their 1915 rowhouse on the 3800 block of 4th Street NW in 2007 and spent the next decade and a half restoring it. Throughout their rowhouse is a mixture of modern functionality and history. Matt, an architect, refurbished most of the house himself.
Kerry and Matt Hamblin when they first bought their house in 2007.
While the original pocket doors still exist on the first floor, Matt replaced the track. To do this, he had to take down the original framing complete, refurbish the wood, and replace the track. Then he reassembled the wood frame and put it back in its original condition.
The refurbished pocket doors
While the pocket door hardware was replaced, it is from the same time period of the original house.
In homage to the common tin roofs of many Petworth basements, Kerry and Matt found tin shingles and displayed them as art over the dining room.
Homage to the original tin ceilings in these houses, the owners placed tin tiles in the ceiling of their dining room.
The stairs were refurbished and still boast the original wood. The door frames are also all original.
The refurbished original wood staircase.
Upstairs view of the staircase and railing.
Upstairs the bathroom has the original clawfoot cast iron bathtub that Kerry and Matt upgraded into a tub shower. Additionally, the bathroom used to feature a roof hatch that Matt turned into a skylight.
A view into the remodeled bathroom (check out the glass transom!)
A roof hatch repurposed into a skylight.
A clawfoot tub in the remodeled bathroom.
All of the cast iron radiators in the house are original and were restored by removing all of the layers of paint they had accumulated over 100 years. They now showcase their original metal color and condition.
Lastly, all of the mortise locks and the backplates throughout the house are original, and while the knobs are new, they are the same age of the house.
If you or someone you know are willing to have your “old house” featured in an upcoming article, please reach out!
