patio are visible from both the cooking and eating

patio are visible from both the cooking and eating areas of the room. The dining area shares the fireplace, a double-sided one, with the living room. A very old milking stool and andirons made by Mrs. Dickey’s father, adorn the hearth. The stones for the fireplace were picked out of the fields by the Dickeys while the house was being built, and a mason from Warrenton built the fireplace.

An old pie safe, with original screening, holds cookbooks and recipes. The floor is heart pine, with old rose head nails used as fastenings. Between the living room and the eating area of the kitchen, a unique built in china closet is wallpapered to show off the china and glass collections.

Family and friends usually enter the house from the new garden room, with painted murals of birdhouses, plants, garden pots and brick walls. Mr. Dickey laid the tile for the floor, and Mrs. Dickey did the finishing. Here the Dickey’s have more family heirlooms and other interesting items gathered over the years, both in New Jersey and in Virginia.

A chest, made for Mrs. Dickey’s birth, serves as the coffee table. A church pew and an old sewing machine, lamps and andirons made by Mrs. Dickey’s father, and a cupboard painted by Mrs. Dickey add to the mood of this large and very pleasant room.

Upstairs begins with a generous landing, furnished with a chaise lounge and some of Marlene’s paintings.

The master bedroom called the Persian room by the family, features oriental accents in bedspread, bed canopy and drapes. A large three-section mirror, an oriental chest and a large Japanese print cf waterlilies add to the opulent theme. A two-tone silk cord accents the bed canopy and continues all around the room’s ceiling.

Two more bedrooms make up the second floor. Both were originally for the Dickey’s two daughters, now grown. One has become Mrs. Dickey’s

See TOUR, Page B2