Stairway to heaven

Bedtime means climbing 4 flights at Mount Vernon mansion

By Marie Gullard | Special to The Sun

March 21, 2008

Gregg Davis and wife Jane Farrington were sold on their East Preston Street home in 2002 when they saw its spiral staircase. The restored 1880s brick townhouse also has six marble fireplaces. (Colby Ware/Special to The Sun / March 15, 2008)

Jane Farrington's first impression of what would be her new home in Baltimore's Mount Vernon neighborhood was one of awe the moment she and her husband stepped beyond the tiny vestibule entrance.

"We walked in the front door," Farrington remembered, "I took one look at the spiral staircase and thought, "Oh God, I hope the basement is dry!"

The basement - partially above ground in the circa 1882 townhouse - was completely dry. The four-story brick home, in fact, had been beautifully maintained by its former owner, clinching the deal for Farrington and her husband, Gregg Davis.

In April 2002, they paid $250,000 for the East Preston Street home and its 4,600 square feet of living space, 13-foot-high ceilings, six marble fireplaces and, of course, the central mahogany staircase that rises four stories to a skylight.

Farrington, a biomedical researcher at the National Institutes of Health, and her husband, who works for the Defense Department, commute to Washington every day, so the home's location a few blocks from Penn Station was a big plus.

It also had almost twice as much space as their former home - more than enough to entertain out-of-town family and friends and house their extensive book collection. (Forty-one boxes have yet to be unpacked and shelved in the second-story library.)

Farrington said adamantly she "wasn't about to pack up for any less [space]."

The layout of the rowhouse is simple and utilitarian. The center staircase separates a large front and back room on each level. The first floor has a living room, entertainment room and half bath. The second level features a combination dining room/library with a full bathroom and a large kitchen at the rear. The next floor boasts a guest suite with attached full bathroom and Farrington's office, while the fourth level contains the master bedroom, full bath and Davis' office.

Though the house was in excellent shape, Farrington said the couple spent $100,000 to install central air conditioning, upgrade the electrical system, repaint, replace many of the home's large windows and redo the second-floor bathroom.

Warm maple cabinetry in the kitchen is offset by laminate countertops in the look of gray marble. The spacious kitchen is painted a soft shade of purple. A marble fireplace is set between a large window and a double door leading to an outside deck.

Farrington's dining room is painted a warm mustard and decorated with prints of antique maps and framed posters. A marble fireplace, a 10-foot-long Sheraton table and brass accessories convey elegance.

One of the couple's favorites places is the third-floor guest room. Decorated in the warmth of a colonial inn, it has a carved oak four-poster bed, chintz-covered furniture, antique bureaus and needlepoint pictures.

Strong colors dominate the fourth floor - deep blue in the hallway and deep purple in the master bedroom. A wrought-iron bed is adorned with a handmade cotton spread from Nepal with glittering bead accents.

On the first level, the hallway wall has been torn down to reveal the curving sweep of the staircase as well as the supporting columns marking the living room area. Alternating walls painted cream and terra cotta harmonize with the home's thin-planked oak flooring with mahogany inlay.

White paint on the wide molding at the floor and ceiling as well as on the carved staircase brings the wall colors into balance.

With their house listed on the National Register of Historic Homes, Farrington and her husband continue to work on projects that will embellish their living space while remaining true to the home's period design.

As for the staircase that sold them on the property eight years ago, it still remains the home's focal point, and as long as they can manage multiple climbs per day, they will remain in their dream home.

"My knees are in really good shape," said the 57-year-old Farrington. "And so are my husband's."

Have you found your dream home? Tell us about it. Write to Dream Home, Real Estate Editor, The Sun, 501 N. Calvert St., Baltimore 21278, or e-mail us at real.estate@baltsun.com. Find our Dream Home archive at baltimoresun.com/dreamhome. Keyword: COLUMN