High Street Hideaway
By Eric Pacella |
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To be given a tour of Jim and Rita Langley's German Village home is not unlike an art history lesson covering the last 200 years or so, spanning the globe. Local artists' paintings hang next to pottery from India and sculptures from Africa. Sleek modernist furniture sits beside a wall of African tribal masks. Each piece is in near-immaculate condition.
The Langley's are the owners of German Village Antiques on South High Street, and the furniture, artwork, and even some of the hardware in their home is an eclectic mix of all styles and time periods. The unifying theme: quality artisanship. The antiques in their home are like a 'best of' collection: when a new piece comes in from the shop (conveniently located on the ground floor of the building), it trades places with a piece from their home.
"Some pieces we've had for most of our married lives, and other pieces come and go - everything is negotiable," Rita Langley explained.
Jim has been in the antique business for more than 40 years. He explained that his interest was initially piqued by his disenchantment with the furniture of the day.
"I just loved primitive things and old things that had character. I like Modern furniture now, but I didn't care much for it at the time," he said. "Who wants Elvis in a velvet painting hanging on their wall? I just appreciated good art."
The living and dining area is open and airy, the product of a complete gut-and-remodel job. The only things left intact in the home were a set of fixtures - a seafoam-green bathtub, toilet, and hand sink - in the guest bathroom. Jim designed the new layout, removing the existing ceiling to create vaulted ceilings 14-feet-high in the center. The home is floored throughout with knotty Australian Cypress, accented with Oriental rugs.
A four-poster bed in the master bedroom rests beside some much newer lamps with intricate glass shades. A custom-built vanity in the master bathroom mimics the crown molding along the ceiling. More custom woodwork frames an enormous bathtub, complete with air jets, adjacent to a standing shower unit with two showerheads - perfect for getting extra clean.
The home's impressive 2500-square-foot deck, Jim said, can easily fit 85 people for Fourth of July blowouts, which the Langleys host every year. Fireworks from Red White and Boom are visible from the deck, which is also a perfect place to watch the Columbus Marathon. A piece of Columbus history is found in a piece of ironwork that serves as a guardrail and showpiece, facing High Street. "The fence along the front came out of the old Franklin County Courthouse when they tore it down; [it's] from 1880," Jim said.
The Langley's home is a peaceful, secluded place, despite its downtown High Street location. The layout of the home is quite conducive to relaxation; the noise of traffic cannot penetrate its thick walls. With such a wide array of pieces from around the world, you feel like you could be anywhere, at any time, except in Columbus in 2009.
Do you live in a stylish or distinctive crib? Send us a photo and brief description of your place to be featured in next month's Cribs: submit@614columbus.com
Originally Published: September 1, 2009
