Camille Gavin: A new era for Guild House
GUILD HOUSE: Old decor entirely stripped away
| Friday, Aug 28 2009 02:27 PM
Last Updated Friday, Aug 28 2009 02:28 PM
GO & DO
What: Guild House Grand Reopening
When: Daytime events full; evening reception is 5-7:30 p.m. Tuesday
Where: The Guild House, 1905 18th St.
Admission: $20
Information: 325-5478
$50,000: Plumbing
$45,000: Worn furnishings
$40,000: Carpeting and window coverings
$20,000: Air conditioning
$30,000: Updating of electrical system
$30,000: Interior paint and wall repair
$20,000: New roof and exterior paint
$15,000: Kitchen improvements
-- Estimates of costs provided by the Child Guidance Guild
Images
Alex Horvath / The Californian Historic Guild House will be celebrating its 100th year.
Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Historic Guild House president Robin Starr is starting her second year leading the organization.
Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Historic Guild House volunteers Janet Smiley and Genevieve Barry share some time during a Guild House meeting. The two ladies help as dish washers.
Henry A. Barrios / The Californian Historic Guild House went through some restoration work on their back buffet and had new stenciling on the ceiling.
Alex Horvath / The Californian Historic Guild House - part of the refurbishing include new stain glass windows.
Alex Horvath / The Californian New draperies and stencil work on the ceiling mark some of the improvements to the historic Guild House which will celebrate it's 100 birthday this year.
have a strong feeling, wacky though it may sound, that guests who enter the newly refurbished Guild House at Tuesday's grand opening will quickly find themselves looking upward.
Or maybe I should say "ceiling-ward."
Now I admit that my first impression during a preview visit of the $250,000 restoration project last Friday was the freshness of the Craftsman style décor.
But it was the reddish-bronze colored stencils on the coffered ceiling that drew my eyes like a magnet, especially when the design's geometric border was illuminated by the glow of the Tiffany light fixtures that have been part of the house since it was built in 1909.
"It's like looking at a rug turned upside down," is the way designer Roger Upton describes the ceiling treatment.
Robin Starr, president of Child Guidance Guild, which operates the popular gourmet luncheon spot, agreed with his assessment.
"It's so beautiful," she said. "One morning, my daughter and I got down on the floor and just laid there looking up at it."
The unique ceiling motifs were done by a family of local crafts people, Nellie and Kevin Scarborough and their sons, Carey and Jarod, using stencils provided by Upton. The Scarboroughs also did a large free-style painting of a bird in the entryway of the century-old house.
Another addition to the entry is a mirrored sideboard done in the Eastlake style of design that was popular from about 1880 to 1905 and is noted for its low relief carvings, moldings, and geometric ornaments. The sturdy piece of furniture is now the home of Henrietta's Boutique, a display of gift items prepared by Guild House members, including their cookbook.
The boutique's name refers to the Henrietta Weill Child Guidance Clinic, the non-profit mental health agency that has benefitted from the Guild's support since 1958. Starr said the Guild annually contributes between $40,000 and $50,000.
One thing you won't find is any trace of the previous décor, which was strictly Victorian. It's been stripped clean of that style, starting with the wallpaper, which was the first to go back on June 16 when the interior remodel began. That 19th century style, Upton said, doesn't reflect the period in which the house was built nor any part of the original architecture or basic décor of the interior.
"It's a hybrid, a mix of two styles," the designer explained. "The outside is Queen Anne, with all the curves and diamond-shaped glass on the windows, and Craftsman on the inside with all the squared, wide-timbered areas.
"Because it is a mixture," he added, "I felt that gave me license to not stay strictly with Craftsman, so I added a touch of Art Nouveau with the stencils, and a William Morris influence in the draperies."
Nearly all of the work done in carrying out the two-year project was done by professionals. And some of those individuals donated their services. Building contractor Bob Wattenbarger volunteered to act as overseer of the remodel; Deborah Wogan, who's also a Guild member, donated her time, talent and materials to create and install stained glass windows in all three bathrooms.
Many Guild members pitched in on other less glamorous tasks.
One team cleaned and polished the mahogany woodwork and cabinetry that dominates the interior. As a result, the wood, now set off by painted walls of pale blues and greens instead of busy wallpaper, has been given a greater emphasis.
Karen Sweaney, president-elect, Mary Fahsbender, house manager, and others spent hours cleaning the intricate dragon design mantel and incised pillars that surround the fireplace. Considered one of the house's real treasures, the blue-tiled fireplace was purchased from Gump's, a San Francisco fine arts shop, and has been a part of the structure since it was built. The chimney's still there as are the fireplace screen, tools and andirons, but for safety reasons, it's been many years since any fires were lit in the hearth.
More than half of the funds -- $130,000 -- needed to do the restoration came from local contributors, Starr said. Major donations of $10,000 or more came from four different foundations: the Diane S. Lake Family, the West Foundation, Arkelian Foundation and the Wheeler Foundation. The other $120,000, which covered the costs for capital improvements such as electrical and plumbing completed last summer, came from the Guild's reserve fund.
Normally, Guild House serves only lunch and is open from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. Cost is $13 plus tax and tip -- and the tip goes to the Child Guidance Clinic, not the servers.
For the Tuesday opening, however, the restaurant will serve a full breakfast and lunch, plus wine and hors d'oeuvres that evening. Both of the daytime events are sold out but reservations are still available for the evening event.
