Walls to Woodwork - The Backdrop Details

Each element of the Central Parlor of Belmont Mansion contributes to the overall effect. That includes the woodwork in the room which was also in need of restoration when staff began the long process of bringing this room back to its 19th century appearance. Ron Ames from Nashville, now retired, was able to reproduce the faux rosewood graining on the baseboards for the room. A section of the original graining was exposed from which he was able to copy the graining. The addition of the dark graining adds a richness to the room.

During the exploration of the room for clues we were only able to uncover about a square inch of the original wallpaper. Not enough to determine a pattern. We were fortunate enough to locate a paper that was in a home about 26 miles from the Acklen’s home in Louisiana. A family and a house she would have known. This 1850s French wallpaper was suitable for a parlor and the site graciously allowed us to reproduce the paper.