Hospitality & Hope

The LGH Designer Showhouse at Pineapple Manor

Pineapple Manor: 

A Community Cornerstone

Sometimes, it’s easy to forget that even the grandest manors were built to be homes. The 2017 United Auxiliaries to Lancaster General Hospital Showhouse at Pineapple Manor, coming to Millersville in November, reminds us that a historic Victorian mansion, smothered in wallpaper but otherwise sound, can spring to life as a family home and community asset.

The showhouse is slated for the recently purchased and named Pineapple Manor, inspired by its stained glass hutch adorned in pineapples, the symbol of hospitality upon entering the home, and its location on Millersville’s Manor Avenue. Before that, it was known to generations of Lancaster County residents as Harnish House and, for the past 38 years, the Scheid Mansion. Sitting grandly at the intersection between Lancaster City and Millersville, the three-story white home with black shutters, wraparound veranda and mansard roof has always been a showstopper. Now, it’s a showcase of design innovation, ideas for family living and at the center of community giving.

In 1885, prominent Lancaster businessman John S. Landis and his wife S. Elma Leachy Landis built their new home in Millersville. They joined other upstanding citizens in a popular “trolley suburb” of the day, the kind of neighborhood accessible to work by trolley but peacefully away from the sights and sounds of Lancaster City.

In the coming century, a star-studded array of owners would leave their marks on the region. Renowned artist Jeannette Hess opened her home for exhibits by local artists. The Rev. Benjamin Bausman maintained the strength and integrity of the Reformed Church in America. Oliver Shenk’s industrial business ventures supported jobs and a thriving economy. The Harnish family, living here from 1910 to 1979, was active in community affairs, law and Millersville governance. The most recent owners, Paul Scheid and his wife, ran a produce business their family still operates today at the other end of town.

All of it was nurtured under the high ceilings of Millersville’s only Second Empire-style house. The home is so ingrained in the community that residents still drop by to share memories of harvesting walnuts from the grounds or building a trap door to the third floor.

The new owners, Don and Keely Heany and their daughter Hazel, who moved in during spring 2017, plan to maintain the tradition of a welcoming space that is a family home, B&B and community asset. Even restoring life to the pillared, wraparound porch belongs to the quest. Here in this 19th-century home, gatherings will create connections and inspire new ideas that will build community well into the 21st century.

The Cause:

Child Life Program

Over 70 years, the United Auxiliaries to Lancaster General Hospital has raised $10 million, largely for medical equipment. Then in 2016, the all-volunteer organization successfully ventured into supporting programs that ease the journeys of LGH patients, raising $1.5 million for Ann B. Barshinger Cancer Institute’s Survivorship and Supportive Services.

Thus, the 2017 showhouse benefits a $500,000 pledge toward a planned Child Life Program. Through Child Life, health providers build the capacity to help children and their families manage the stress and uncertainty of illness, injury and medical treatment. Through play, education and compassion, certified Child Life specialists keep children on track developmentally and help families emerge intact from crisis.    

“We want to help patients and families cope with their medical experiences,” says showhouse chair Carol Reichler. “Children, especially, are very fearful of going to the hospital. Child Life uses play and incorporates education and self-expression activities to normalize their hospital experience.”

Since branching into the human side of supporting health care, United Auxiliaries has received messages of gratitude from doctors and patients who found supports when they “really didn’t know where to get them,” says Reichler. “We are here to support the hospital, but we’re also here to support the betterment of the community health system. We’re so very, very proud to be part of it.”

The Showhouse:

A Community Event

The showhouse at Pineapple Manor “just blossomed” after the Auxiliary approached the homeowners with the idea, says Reichler. The event features:

  • Eight to 10 rooms designed in the unique styles of local designers.
  • Gallery of the works of local artists (just as 1890s resident Jeannette Hess did!)
  • Gallery of student artworks, plus children’s activities and sales of books to stock the Child Life library.
  • Unique products and gifts from vendors.
  • Workshops, including some held in the home’s old summer kitchen.
  • Stay tuned next month for more special event details.

2017 United Auxiliaries to Lancaster General Hospital Showhouse at Pineapple Manor:

November 2-5 and 9-12

Thursdays and Fridays 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Saturdays and Sundays 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For tickets to see the showhouse and attend special events, visit:

http://www.lancastergeneralhealth.org/LGH/Our-Services/United-Auxiliary.aspx

Plus follow along with Pineapple Manor on Facebook and Instagram for renovation updates and sneak peek details before the big reveal.

MEET THE DESIGNERS

The Kitchen:

Sandra Steiner-Houck / Steiner-Houck & Asscoiates LLC, Studio of Design / steinerhouck.com

Shawn Reimold / Martin Appliance / martinappliance.com

As every family knows, the kitchen is the beating heart of the home. At Pineapple Manor, it is doubly important as the birthplace of tempting breakfasts for B&B guests, dishes prepared for elaborate parties and simple family dinners.

Keeping with the home’s Southern feel, the owner wanted a plantation kitchen, splashed with lighter finishes and bathed in natural light from windows once partially obscured by dark cabinets, paneling and faux beams from another decade’s renovation.

Designer Sandra Steiner-Houck looked beyond the pre-showhouse kitchen’s dark cabinets and low-hanging beams. She found fun and inspiration in the home’s spectacular style, with “the big windows, the high ceilings, the architectural moldings, the staircase.”

“Oh, the house is amazing,” she says.

Steiner-Houck’s redesign uncovers the windows, magnifies the ceiling height with taller cabinets, and hangs a beautiful chandelier in the center. Countertops are honed from leathered black granite with copper veining. A natural limestone one-by-one tiled backsplash is uniquely set on the diagonal as a nod to the pineapple stained glass adjacent. Both the counters and backsplash are from Natural Stoneworks in Lancaster (naturalstoneworks.com).

Finally, in this house full of doors, an extraneous door to a back hallway is sealed, adding wall space for the refrigerator plus more privacy for an adjoining first-floor bedroom.

The design springs from the needs and tastes of the homeowner, with a big dollop of inspiration from the house itself.

“You’re starting with a unique space that already has some character,” says Steiner-Houck. “We want to complement it and make it feel like what we put into the space was original, that it feels like part of the architecture and not an afterthought.”

Under that showpiece copper-brass hood is the handpicked range, a 48-inch BlueStar in custom white with brass accents, from Martin Appliance. The cooking capabilities anticipate the day when Pineapple Manor welcomes B&B guests.

“The biggest thing to remember is functionality,” says Martin Appliance’s Shawn Reimold. “Certainly, there’s eye appeal, but it also has to function as well.” The BlueStar is “a commercial-quality unit made [locally in Reading] for the home.” This model features eight burners, a charbroiler and a griddle plus dual ovens. The zinc and brass hood—another showpiece—is custom-fabricated by New Holland-based Horst Sheet Metal.

In this kitchen, the refrigerator will not be the first thing that catches a visitor’s eye. Steiner-Houck’s design installs the 36-inch built-in Jenn-Air refrigerator, the Miele dishwasher and a Jenn-Air microwave drawer in a seamless meld with the cabinets, “so your eyes are going to be drawn to the range and the hood,” Reimold says.

The Laundry and Wine Lounge

Wine lounge beside the upstairs laundry room? Brilliant!

Martin Appliance will also equip the second-floor laundry with a Speed Queen washer and dryer, once again relying on commercial-grade products for the home and B&B. Handwoven laundry baskets and reclaimed wood crates will accessorize the space, plus there is a shelf for hangers, Reimold says.

With more than enough bedrooms to go around in this home, one will be converted to a library and wine lounge. Martin Furniture (martinfurniturepa.com), part of the Martin Appliance family, furnishes the space in a nautical/industrial theme.

A rustic cart with industrialized steel wheels sits on a gold-toned rug, recalling the pineapple in Pineapple Manor. An old-world map hanging on the wall is lit with Victorian-style lamps and lanterns. For a relaxing evening, guests can cozy into rustic leather seating and enjoy a sampling from the wine station.

The Living Room:

Henrietta Heisler / Henrietta Heisler Interiors / henriettaheislerinteriors.com

Tom Henman / Tom Henman Decorative Painting, LLC / tomhenman.com

Welcome to “elegant casual,” in the room where the homeowners will live and entertain guests.

An Asian-themed credenza inspired the décor in this long room graced with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking trees and greenery. The hint of Asian décor gives a nod to the Victorian trends of the original home but is modernized for 21st-century tastes. The feel imparted by a beautiful cherry blossom tree just outside is repeated in the furniture and the walls with a framed custom mural by Tom Henman flanking the fireplace.

“This is a place where the family can relax but can also feel proud to show to the people they’re entertaining,” Heisler says.

It’s all part of making the front part of the home into a showcase. Visitors will enter the elaborate marble and tropical foyer, encounter the carved stair rail, marvel at the tall pocket doors, and be dazzled by the intimate dining room and grand living room just across the hall.

“That part of the house should be particularly special,” says Heisler.   

For the showhouse living room, Henman will apply stenciling on the wall, “softer and subtle, with some metallics. The possibilities for stencils are endless. You’ve just got to have a good vision.”

Heisler believes the room’s design is “Timeless, but still today’s timeless. It’s not a recreation of a Victorian mansion. It is a modern interpretation of the fine furnishings that would have been in a Victorian mansion.”

The Dining Room:

David Lyall / David Lyall Home & Design / Davidlyalldesign.com

This dining room is slated to host a diversity of people in coming years, from home residents and family to B&B guests and event attendees. So the esthetic needed is “simpler, cleaner, a little more handsome, as opposed to pretty,” says designer David Lyall.

This space accommodates. Though it features some of the same breathtaking elements seen throughout the house, including pocket doors and floor-to-ceiling windows, the space speaks more quietly. No bay windows here. No carved wood.     

“It’s a good, classic dining room,” says Lyall. “Good bones. Big windows. In a way, it’s the quintessential dining room.”

The fewer-frills look matches Lyall’s design philosophy.

“I always go with less is more, but I like to put quality pieces and quality material into the space,” he says. “I love layers, but I don’t want to use so many layers that you lose sight of what’s in the actual space.”

His vision features “an amazing table with phenomenal chairs, a stunning chandelier, some oversized pieces of art, and a wonderful textured wallcovering in French grass cloth.” The table could be a simple but high-quality parson’s table, with chairs that “give a nod to the era of the house, but modern and clean.”

In any dining room design, Lyall strives for a neutral look that allows seasonal decorating changes, “so you’re not locked into an absolute color theme.” The final result will be “sophisticated, understated, timeless, adaptable.” The “wow” chandelier makes the unexpected statement that Lyall strives for.

“One of the biggest compliments I get,” he says, “is when someone walks into a room for the first time and says, ‘I would have never done that, but I love it.’”

Hazel's Hideaway:

Janelle and Jake Stoltzfus / JKS & Co. / jksandcompany.com

Mary Jo Huyard / Savannah House / savannahhouselanc.com

The homeowner had a pink-and-white gingham bedroom as a child, and she has always wanted the same look for her 5-year-old daughter. Imagine her surprise when, in one of those “meant-to-be” moments, the child’s bedroom designer’s plans included pink-and-white buffalo check inspired by the personable little girl.

“I feel like she needed lots of color, and yet I wanted something that would age with her,” says Janelle Stoltzfus, of JKS & Co., Lancaster. “Not something that would be for a toddler or 5-year-old, but something she would really enjoy when she’s 14.”

The resulting design in lush pinks, creamy linens and “little pops of green and yellow” shows that “having a beautiful space and a functional space is possible,” says Stoltzfus, “without investing thousands and thousands of dollars.” The bed is a family heirloom that will be refinished and repurposed for the next generation. She continues, “When you walk into a space to tuck your kids in or read them a book, you should feel that it’s a personal retreat for yourself.”

The room’s custom drapes are designed and made by Mary Jo Huyard, whose new showroom, Savannah House, opens in Lancaster in fall 2017. The buffalo check is likely to appear here, hanging on gold hardware with glass finials that recall the home’s many glass doorknobs.

The opportunity to design for a showhouse is “very exciting,” says Huyard. She named her business after the Savannah area, where she grew up, and Pineapple Manor’s architecture reminds her of the homes she knew then. With its big porch, she says, “this is a Southern house.” Another twist of fate for the homeowner from the South.

The Veranda:

Joyce Burkholder / Penn Stone Outdoor Living / patiopennstone.com

Outdoor living expands the space of the home, as demonstrated on Pineapple Manor’s signature wraparound porch with vignettes from Penn Stone Outdoor Living. With seating from its lines of well-crafted outdoor furniture in the front and even a dining area or two around the side, the possibilities on display are comfortable and inviting.

“You bring the comfort of indoor living outdoors,” says Joyce Burkholder, who shares responsibility for designing Penn Stone Outdoor Living’s retail spaces.

The groupings will feature Anywhere Fireplace, a line of ecofriendly, affordable tabletop fireplaces that can be used indoors or out, even in a covered setting.

“They’re great little splashes of ambiance,” says Burkholder. “They’re well-styled. They create a sense of warmth for any space, inside or out.”

Floor coverings will come from Mad Mats, woven from recycled plastic. Overall, the approach enhances a porch functionality, in stylish fashion.

“Your entertaining and your family time are no longer confined by the walls of your home, or even by the backyard,” says Burkholder. “The porch becomes a wonderful transitional space.”

The Guest Room:

Alison McIndoe / AK Interiors / Akinteriorsllc.com

Alison McIndoe stands in the first-floor guest suite before showhouse renovations get underway. “There should be a transformation in here, right?” she says of the mauve flowery room last updated in the 1980s and most certainly ready for a makeover. The grand guestroom that the owners will name the Scheid Suite in honor of its last occupants features high ceilings, tall baseboards and beautiful bay windows.

“Our vision is to keep with a classic, timeless style that pays attention to the architecture of the home,” says McIndoe. “We’re going to put a fresh spin on it.”

A new wallcovering will lighten the walls. A metal canopy bed will make a statement. In this room, the glass panes of the bay window curve at the top, but that unique feature was once hidden behind blinds and sheers. Those one-of-a-kind windows dictate the final look of the treatments, whether side panels, bottom-up shades or sheers.

“We definitely want to highlight the architecture and really make these windows the wow feature,” says McIndoe.

A chandelier would look off-center in relation to the bed placement, so McIndoe envisions a beautiful semi-flush ceiling light fixture “to give it a little sparkle. We’re going to brighten up the space and make it livelier and more energy-filled.”

McIndoe will also coordinate the vestibule leading into the room, for “a nice entrance to the bedroom suite.” The home itself inspires the design.

“We love little details like the crystal doorknobs,” she says. “Even the baseboard is gorgeous. They don’t make them like this anymore.”

The Canvas:

Two Dudes Painting Company / twodudes.com

York Wallcoverings Factory Store / yorkwallstore.com

A great work of art starts on a fine, fresh canvas. Two Dudes Painting Company is responsible for repainting the home’s vast stretches of baseboards and window frames, and the ceilings, too. Two Dudes is also stripping the wallpaper that covers not only every inch of wall but even some steam pipes, says co-owner Peter Barber.

“It gives a more consistent look throughout the house. This lays the groundwork and creates a clean palette for everybody to start working from. They can build their own personal styles in each room.”

That house-wide “level playing field,” as Barber puts it, makes sense for many homes. In this case, the trim is repainted in a clean white, “something neutral enough that everybody can build off of.”

In the first-floor common areas, York Wallcoverings is supplying the wallpaper, which was chosen by the homeowner. Prints reinforcing the Southern style feature leafy palms in the entrance vestibule, an airy green bamboo lattice up the foyer wall and below-stairs nook, and a chinoiserie of colorful flowers and birds in the kitchen entry.

All are York Wallcoverings’ innovative SureStrip, their new line of removable papers. To hang, spray the back with water. The real magic happens when it’s time for a change.

“When you want to remove this, it will literally come off in one sure strip,” says York Wallcoverings’ Lori Freet. Unlike the 6,000 square feet of space with every wall covered in wallpaper at the start of the transformation, it is sure to be a showstopper when it’s complete.

The Master Suite:

Michael Shank / Interiors Home, Lancaster / Interiors-furniture.com

Today’s bedroom is “a retreat as well as a place to sleep.” That’s according to Michael Shank, director of design at Interiors Home, Lancaster, who is designing the showhouse master bedroom. Here, the homeowners will retreat to a bedroom of walls in soothing cerulean blue. Cozy seating allows them to “put their feet up and read a book before hopping into bed,” Shank says. “Comfort is the key.”

Floor coverings will offer “something nice under your feet, so when you step down in the morning it’s a soft, warm feel.” Window treatments will be adaptable, possibly able to be closed when the mood strikes to “wrap yourself in the room” or opened to the view of greenery. After all, says Shank, when the leaves are in bloom outside this high-ceilinged home, “it feels like you’re almost in a treehouse.”

See the Designer Showhouse when it opens

November 2-5 and 9-12

For tickets and more information contact Meridee Duplissey at 717-544-4661 or email UAinfo@lghealth.org.