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If you have a moment, our President, Marian Haberman, and our VP of Sales & Marketing, David Haberman, would like to share with you, a little history of Eastender Restoration. David had been a lawyer for 35 years, and Marian had taught College English....but way back, when we were newlyweds, beginning both our marriage and careers, weekends were often spent in upstate New York, at Country Inns and Bed & Breakfasts, providing inexpensive getaways. Over the years, these initial two day sojourns, became a mainstay of our vacation choices. We eventually expanded the weekends into longer stays and extended our boundaries beyond upstate New York. We explored B & Bs from Virginia, Washington D. C., and the Mid-Atlantic DelMarva Peninsula through all of New England and into Canada. When our two daughters came along they were exposed to these vacations on Cape Cod (Massachusetts), Penobscot Bay (Maine), and Acadia (Maine) to Quebec and the Laurentians in Canada. For 30 years we had been nurtured by these wonderful old period homes, and had developed an abiding love and interest in "antiquing" especially in the rural areas we visited. Efforts at creating the charm and feel of an Early American - Colonial or Federal, in our 1952 split level house never quite made it, despite extensive alterations. It was inevitable that our fascination with the architecture, furniture and furnishings of period houses, would eventually prompt us to buy an old house. In 1989, we found just such a house located in the heart of Long Island, just minutes away from the law office, courts and universities. When first seen by our friends, the house (an altered circa 1835 Georgian farmhouse) was described as charming ("it's old") and quaint ("it's very old"). Warnings from all quarters cautioned us about the hidden headaches inherent in our find. A contractor friend pointed out the condition of the roof, the siding, the windows, the heating system, etc., etc., etc. We turned deaf ears to these well intentioned admonitions, pointing to the two beautiful acres, the wonderful location and the low taxes. In truth, the desire which had begun three decades earlier, and nurtured over those 30 years, to live in, and run a B&B, overrode all good common sense and "throwing caution to the wind," we bought the home. It has been 11 years since we moved into our "dream house" and we must admit that the decade of the 90's was quite an adventure, perhaps summed up best by this anecdote. In the 1980's, Tom Hanks and Shelly Long had starred in the charming movie "The Money Pit," and every time that movie was shown on television, day or night, we would get a phone call from one of our dearest friends reminding us to watch it...again and again and again!! Ironically, the house that was the center piece of "The Money Pit," is just a couple of miles from our house, so its relationship and referrability was more than just a look at two old houses, and while we have not gotten our house to look quite as exquisite as they did in the film, we have come a long, long way. It was this process of restoration and renewal of our home that completed the journey from weekends away, through extended vacations, and finally to creating Eastender Restoration. In the months to come, we will share with you the trials and tribulations of old house ownership, looking for architectural elements which you are told "just aren't made anymore" to locating sources and artisans. We will share experiences about decorating, furnishing and nurturing your home and yourselves. The furniture and furnishings in our home, now includes much acquired over the 30 years of weekends at country inns which usually included "antiquing," and yard sale "scavenging," and has been affectionately labeled as "old and brown." The architectural elements, on the other hand, were not acquired quite so easily, which ultimately generated our company, Eastender. Our 40-year journey has culminated in Eastender Restoration, where design professionals can now find just about everything they want and need, to provide their clients with that special "old house" ambiance in their newer homes, and a source, as well, for the highest quality restoration items and handcrafted furniture reproductions and furnishings that enable a restoration to be, not only accurate, but beautiful. We hope you enjoy your visit to E-Restores, and that you find that what we have told you about Eastender, is in fact, what we promised. If it is, we know that you'll come back, and we hope you'll tell your colleagues about us. If there is anything that we have fallen short on, or anything which you believe will improve this site, please let us know. Marian and David Haberman
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