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Inside antiques dealer Andrew Spindler’s supremely stylish—and dichotomous—home in Gloucester, Massachusetts
New England antiques dealer Andrew Spindler points to the floor in the entryway of his coastal home in Gloucester, Massachusetts. Ceramic tiles glow softly in dusty red, blue, and ochre. They flow into the living room, where they converge with massive granite fireplace stones, a Jonas Lie frieze depicting Viking ships, numerous sculptures, books, and paintings, and a superb collection of American and European Arts and Crafts furniture.
“These are Mercer Tiles,” Spindler says. “They were made by Henry Mercer in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. Today, we prize them as great examples of American Arts and Crafts.”
But the floors arenÂ’t the only notable design element of the 4,500-square-foot Shingle-style house, built in 1937. Other notable details include varied siding materials, from granite on the first floor to scalloped shingles on the second. The original metal windows represent ModernismÂ’s embrace of clean lines and new materials. When Spindler bought the house in 1992, however, the windows had deteriorated, so he replaced them with new wood ones. He points to torpedo-shaped door hinges as another Modernist touch.
“The house design is wonderful in the way it connects to the site,” Spindler says. “With wood, stone, and beautiful windows, it makes the view important, while seeming to blend into the surroundings. It’s really like nowhere else.”
As for décor, elegant and curvaceous Federal-era furniture, Italian iron lighting, a 1968 Danish Harp chair, and a massive 19th-century mahogany bed could not be more different from each other, but each looks perfectly at home in an environment that honors them without taking them too seriously.
The house may be historic, but that didnÂ’t keep Spindler from applying intense azure blue or kelly green to its walls. Stainless steel kitchen counters spell sleek function, while the roomÂ’s walls are treated to a deep aubergine. In this house, historicism does not fight contemporary tastes.