Attracted by the historic home’s original plasterwork, hand-stenciled ceilings, and milled details, a noted fine artist and her family became the new owners in 1998. The Willet Street home’s original mechanical equipment, the heart of which is a large steam heating system, would have provided a relatively high level of comfort for its time. While its steam heating still works well — with several modern upgrades — the home was built well before the availability of residential air conditioning.
The preceding owners would have tried to keep cool in the summertime using the passive approach: curtains closed during the day with windows open wide at night. Because her work was being affected by the high heat and humidity in her third floor studio, the new homeowner wanted air conditioning, but did not want to compromise the house’s historical integrity with a conventional cooling system, which, at best, would have required removing and repairing plasterwork, if not architectural details, to install ducts. Multiple window units also were not considered an attractive option.