Parlour Renovation Explanation
From the period that the Roedde family resided in the house, to the house’s days as a boarding house and a museum, the parlour has remained in the same place. Here, Gustav and Matilda Roedde would receive and entertain their guests. Given its formal nature, the parlour was strictly off limits to the children in the family, except for the times when they needed to practice the piano. According to the measurements that were taken by restoration workers in the 1980’s, the height of the room from floor to ceiling was 119 ½”. Stylistically, the parlour can be particularly noted for certain aspects like its octagonal shape, which makes for great acoustics in the room. In fact, Roedde House Museum hosts Classical and Jazz concerts in this space every month. In addition to the octagonal shape, the room is also distinct for having a coffered ceiling. During the Restoration project, a craftsman from Burnaby was hired to recreate the silver dotted design that originally covered the ceilings of the hall and parlour.
Most of the restorers’ observations, however, focused upon the northeast wall of the space. Indeed, they found a fireplace in that wall. There was unpainted plaster in the shape of a mantlepiece. Thus, as a part of the restoration project, a mantlepiece from the Victorian period was acquired to replace the one that was left over from the rooming house era. It is significant to further note that the floor tiles of the fireplace were original to the house. Above the area of the mantlepiece, restoration workers peeled apart coats of paint before finding that the plaster was originally covered with green paint. In fact, such green paint was found to have also covered the walls throughout the entire parlour, throughout the entrance hall, along the staircase, and throughout the landing hall upstairs.
