Historic Restoration

In 2008, The Rosebud Co. utilized Passive Refinishing® for the sensitive restoration of the floors in James and Dolley Madison’s Montpelier in Orange, Va., a National Trust Historic Site.

See the video >>

The Rosebud Company was charged with removing the non-Madison paints, stains and waxes from the floors, returning them to a condition very close to what the Madisons would have seen circa 1812. The Passive Refinishing method uncovered ink spills, that possibly date to the Madison’s ownership of the house, that would otherwise have been obliterated by traditional sanding. The result is the restoration of a major element of the Madison’s home.

Read the Montpelier restoration blog >>

Other historic restoration projects include:

• Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens in Akron, Ohio
• The Wren’s Nest House Museum, Atlanta
• The Henry Morrison Flagler Museum in Palm Beach, Fla.
• Rhodes Hall in Atlanta
• Stanford White’s Patterson House on DuPont Circle, Washington, DC
• Caserta II in Eastville, Va.
• Many privately owned historic residences

Our interest in older floors evolved into a desire to restore them without the inherent loss of wood from traditional aggressive sanding. Working with a new generation of chemical products and information derived from years of research, Rosebud Co. introduced Passive Refinishing® to the world of historic preservation. With many years of experience and 70,000 square feet of successfully restored wood floors, Passive Refinishing® is the recognized standard for wood floor restoration.

The Rosebud Co. started business in 1973 in Atlanta’s historic Inman Park. Developed in the 1870s and 80s, Inman Park was Atlanta’s first planned community after the Civil War. Lovely Victorian and Queen Anne homes reflected the tastes of the day and were considered the finest the city had to offer. Handsome wide pine floors and hardwoods with intricate decorative inlays turned these fine homes into showcases of interior décor.

Like many older inner city neighborhoods, Inman Park's days of glory had long passed by the mid-twentieth century. But a new type of urban warrior began to arrive on the scene in the early 1970s and these stately old mansions began to get some much needed attention. Youthful and energetic owners threw their hearts and souls into these projects and the grand dames began their renaissance. It was on these old pine floors and decorative inlays that Rosebud Co. cut its teeth and paid its dues.