Like most of Lucknow’s interior spaces, the Blue Room has experienced a number of cosmetic changes over the past century. In the early 1980s, a significant water leak badly damaged the plaster wall between the door and first window. In the aftermath, sheetrock was installed over the damaged plaster and a lively, yellow wallpaper was hung in the room. Unfortunately, the water leak was never fully addressed, and moisture remained an issue in this space for years.
In recent years, the Castle Preservation Society restored this room to a close approximation of its original appearance. Although there are no known photos of the Blue Room from the Plants’ years at Lucknow, changes made to this space during the restoration effort were supported by physical evidence found in situ and educated guesswork based on historic home décor resources.
Our work included removing the sheetrock and properly repairing the plaster wall. To do this, we moved the free-standing closet, which revealed traces of the original paint on the wooden trim and stain on the wooden floor. Our restoration specialists matched those colors, and you can see the results today.
We also found scraps of the original wallpaper – an imitation grass cloth – under the interphone panel. CPS found a modern paper, which closely emulated the original. We installed that paper to recreate the appearance of this room at the time Tom and Olive Plant first lived here.
To complete this restoration project, we installed new carpet, curtains, and bed linens. All of these textiles were chosen after reviewing home décor manuals from the 1910s and taking into consideration the moniker of this space – the Blue Room.
