ADDING A CONSERVATORY

Opening up a small, enclosed room with a bank of Queen Anne windows created a sunny retreat that’s perfect for the 1888 house.

- Deb Wood

When my husband, Duke Ellingson, and I set foot into the Victorian Queen Anne house, built-in 1888, we knew this was the one for us. The house is solid and well built—and most of the woodwork had never been painted. The previous owner, a restorer of church antiquities, had stabilized the structure. Nevertheless, there was still plenty of work to do.

We read OHJ cover to cover, and we’re not afraid of demolition, because it doesn’t take any skill. As we removed dropped ceilings in rooms all over the house, we grew curious about a small, narrow bedroom on the south side. Although it faced south, it had only one window, an odd horizontal that looked like it was put in some time in the 1950s.