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"We've kept our Victorian heritage but lost our old-lady look."

That's how Judy Powell describes the extensive renovation of the historic Dayton Woman's Club at 225 N. Ludlow St., the second-oldest building in downtown Dayton.

The breathtaking results will be on display for the next 11 days as the Spring Designer Show House for the Dayton Society of Interior Designers. "The Crown Jewel of the Gem City" has been a joint effort between the club's membership and the designers, who donated their services.

"We have entered the 21st century," Powell said. "It will make a big difference for brides and for having events there. We hope it will help us to promote the club as a venue for businesses and to attract new members and businesspeople. "

The first public tours last weekend provided encouragement that they accomplished their mission. "Oh, I would love to get married here," one young woman told her friend.

"All you have to do is to find the groom," her friend replied.

Sharon Bledsoe, past president of the Dayton Society of Interior Designers, said it was an easy decision to pick the Victorian mansion built in the late 1840s by prominent Daytonian Robert W. Steele. "It's a lovely Dayton landmark and there aren't a lot of houses still standing from that era," she said. The building still boasted most of its original woodwork and plaster molding.

Much of the "new" look was scavenged by designers from remote corners of the building. They dug out paintings long stored in the basement and polished silver platters and tureens. They framed artifacts such as the blueprint from the Woman's Club's original "planting plan" and the signatures from the 1936 "China Fund" to purchase new dishware. They refurbished Victorian furniture. Noted Bledsoe, "We bought very little that was new, yet it's totally transformed."

DWC President Carol Houck said, "You look around and ask yourself, 'Did we really have all this?' " She estimates the cost of the renovation would be triple the $108,000 the membership has raised to date. "We couldn't have done this without the designers," she said.

The designers stripped away the sheer curtains from the bay window in the front parlor, showing off the gorgeous mahogany shutters.

Woman's Club volunteers stripped away the ornate wallpaper which gave way to camel-colored walls. The rooms are further brightened by chandeliers in the ballroom and mirrors on the dining-room columns. "Everything seems so much more airy," said member Barbara Shepard of Troy. "It's in such good taste."

Member Mary Rish of Kettering said the designers modernized the building without damaging its historic integrity. "It isn't simply a place to eat; it's a place to enjoy your surroundings," she said.

The public can get a peek through tours, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day except Monday. ($12 in advance, $15 at the door.) Daily events range from today's Tea-licious tea seminar with Cindi Remm to Friday's Urban Nights event from 5 to 10 p.m. The proceeds will be donated to the scholarship fund for the Dayton Society of Interior Designers as well as the preservation of the Dayton Woman's Club.

"We are very dedicated to Dayton's not losing another piece of its significant history," Powell said, "and we're on our way."

The club may be modernized, but Shepard believes the elegant results would meet the approval of Robert W. Steele, who purchased the property in 1848 for $6,800.

"He would like this very much," she said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2209.

For more

about the Spring Designer Show House, visit www.thedaytonwomansclub.com.

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