Winter 2013/14 house
by Beth Buxbaum
After decades of adorning and maintaining their authentically furnished Victorian home in Newtown, Maryalice and Phil Hagan were ready for a new look. As part of adapting to their new lifestyle as empty nesters, they agreed it was also time change their living environment. “Our lives have changed and we were tired of living in a museum.” explained Maryalice. “We were looking for something more comfortable and contemporary.”Traditional Victorian styling is characterized by dark, rich tones on the walls, in the upholstery, window treatment fabrics and rugs. As their tastes changed, the Victorian décor was just a little too dark and heavy for them. “We got tired of the colors and some of the antiques,” says Maryalice, “so we kept the pieces that had sentimental value or that we really loved and said goodbye, we love you, it is time to let somebody else love you,” she adds with some sentimentality. A lot of the pieces were sold at the Cindy Stephenson Auction and a few items were given to family.
All of these furnishings, stylings and historical elements were so much a part of their lives during the years they revived their home decades ago. When they bought the house in 1984 they learned everything they could about Victorian history and style. Their property had a particularly distinctive local historic significance. Their stately 1864 Carpenter Gothic Victorian was built on a plot of land willed by an elder in the Presbyterian Church to be a parsonage. Owned by the church for more than 100 years, the property was sold in 1964. It was maintained by the church through those years, but never modernized. That was part of the challenge and delight to Maryalice and Phil when they bought the property. As history, architectural and antique enthusiasts, the Hagans were ready to take on the project.
To finish reading Up-To-Date Victorian turn to page 64 in the Winter 2013/14 issue of Bucks County Magazine.