June 25, 2003
Carpenter makes the 'wood sing' Victorian
'Work of your hands is where you find your value, not your bank account' says Les Dalgliesh
By Carol South
Herald contributing writer
"God is in the details."
Steeped in a quieter era that emphasizes quality and substance, Les Dalgliesh can make houses sing.
A carpenter who specializes in Victorian restorations, the Garfield Township resident has spent 30 years mastering his craft. Along the way, he mined his passion for authenticity to make just the right cornice, painstakingly carve shaped shingles just so and create additions that honor the era and enhance the home.
From hand-carving gargoyles to leer over roof corners to shaping dozens faux iron hinges and decorations out of wood, these details are his professional foundation.
"I was thinking today that if I didn't do this for a living, I'd be doing it in my garage after work," said Dalgliesh. "It is nice to be able to do the artistic things rather than building pole barns for a living. Not that there's any shame in that, but it's not me."
Embodying a '60s era philosophy, he gets satisfaction from the manual labor driven by his vision and designs.
"For me, the work of your hands is where you find your value, not your bank account," he said. "There's a lot of satisfaction to driving by something you've done and realizing it's going to outlast you."
Dalgliesh has worked on homes throughout the region, most recently helping with the Wellington Inn project. He also has worked on the Perry Hannah mansion, now the Reynolds-Jonkhoff Funeral Home, and other buildings associated with the former estate.
A long-term project spanning 10 years has been Sunnybank, the showpiece home of Joe and Dee Blair on Sixth Street. Room by room, niche by niche, detail by detail he and Dee Blair have reworked the 1890s era house from cellar to chimney tops to garden.
With Dalgliesh translating Blair's ideas into vivid sketches, the two started with '70s shag carpets and colors, painted everything and many lost or covered treasures. The house now glows with wood and light as Dalgliesh has expanded the kitchen, fenced in the extensive gardens and created a stunning library. He built a wine cellar in the basement and made the fireplace mantel in the living room out of an old pump organ.
Dalgliesh and Blair made room for the whimsical, too. A 12-inch-deep window box containing a pretend library - complete with fake books and even a fake cat - is attached to the back of the house.
"The art of building has been lost since World War I," said Blair. "There are a rare few artisans who can make the wood sing and Les is one of them."
"In his quiet way, he's the best," she added.
Dalgliesh is a native of Eureka, Calif. Through high school he attended a one-room schoolhouse, which at one point had 14 students total in kindergarten through eighth grades.
He majored in Fine Arts, with a minor in journalism, at the College of the Redwoods. His link to northern Michigan came while he was editor of the student newspaper. The staff photo editor hailed from Leland and Dalgliesh visited the area with his friend during a school break.
He met his future wife, Sarah, and the direction of his life shifted. He settled in the area and, after a brief and unhappy stint in advertising, devoted himself to breathing life into Victorian homes.
Dalgliesh sees his work as part stewardship of a bygone era. By restoring these homes in the spirit of their Victorian builders, he gives them life to last for generations.
"There's the idea that it should outlast me," he said. "When all is said and done, nobody is going to ask me how long it took or how much it cost."