DEGN DINING ROOM
- Furnished to Degn era, c.1936-1953, using photos and inventory.
- Used as dining area, easy access to their kitchen
- Furniture is Hepplewhite/Federal
- Passage to servants' stairs
The dining room is a room of the second rank, architecturally speaking — the room is smaller than either of the two parlors or the front of the entrance hall; there is no decoration around the doorways. Yet there are still some fine architectural features that seem to indicate that this room was originally more than a service area. The woodwork surrounding the fireplace has ears. The hinges on the doors to the entrance hall are attached with screws rather than clinched nails, similar to the doors in both parlors. The doorway is as wide as the two parlor doorways. The large iron crane in the fireplace is either the original or a replacement of the original. The appearance of the closet is as it was when the Degns removed the dumbwaiter and reinstalled the shelving. The dumbwaiter that was in this closet is not an original feature to Hope Lodge. It was installed after Morris built the house but before the end of the 1700s. The Degn finish in this room is all white except for the iron hardware which was painted black. The Degns added some extra molding to the fireplace surround, allowing them to display some of their pewter collection. We have restored the room to its c. 1936-1953 appearance. It is conveniently located near the door to the piazza. The Degns enclosed the area between the kitchen and the main house outside this door and made a small solarium. Thus the kitchen was directly connected to the main house. The Degns used Federal period furniture in their interpretation of a colonial dining room. The furniture in the dining room is in the style of Hepplewhite and dates c. 1790-1810. To the left of the fireplace is a passageway to the south or Degn-era parlor. Also located in this passageway are the service stairs, which provide access to the bedchambers on the second floor and the servant's quarters in the attic. Doors and steps in this passage allowed for a beautiful entranceway into the formal garden on the south side of the house. The closet beneath the stairs was probably used originally as a cloak closet. The passageway is unchanged. The tiles surrounding the fireplace in the dining room are Delft tiles imported from Holland. Some of the tiles are original, some are replacements installed by the Degns in the 1920's.
