A century is a long time, and not all past owners respected The Beach House's architectural integrity. When Queen Anne architecture went out of style in the last years of the 19th century and the clean-lined Craftsman took over as a design movement until the 1930s, the house was remodeled to that style.

When the current owners purchased the property in 1997, they hired Dennis Will, a North County carpenter who specializes in antique home restoration. In fact, Will's won a 2001 award from San Diego's Save Our Heritage Organization for the gazebo he designed and built on the grounds of the Victorian. Click on: SOHO Award for Best 2001 Craftsman. The Eastlake gazebo with Swiss Alpine overtones, was built from incomplete plans from an 1880s design book Coons provided.

To ensure accuracy of the restoration, the owners brought in Bruce Coons, executive director of San Diego's Save Our Heritage Organization. Coons, whose wife Alana also is a historian and architectural restoration consultant, says this house is one of very few homes in Escondido on the National Register of Historic Places.

Now, more than a hundred years after it was first constructed, the Queen Anne mansion has returned to its original glory. Below are some of the features of this incredible property:

Wallpaper:
Lighting was dim 100 years ago and it is one reason Victorian wallpapers were highly reflective. The house is a virtual gallery for historic wallpaper from Bradbury & Bradbury. Wallpaper designers William Morris, P.B. White, Christopher Dresser, Walter Crane, among others used opposite sides of the color wheel to intensify colors. Throughout the house walls resemble bolts of fabric unfurled, one atop the other. But not randomly; overlapping patterns have a unity of color and symmetry suggestive of parquetry. For example, paper in the double parlor features Japanese-inspired fans, birds, parasols and cherry blossom, with forget-me-nots and lightning bolts on the ceiling. The Garden Room is papered in celadon and peach with patterns of dragonflies, hummingbirds and lilies. The Master Bath is done in a "Neogrec" pattern similar to Greek Revival. A team of installers who specialize in Victorian wall coverings flew in from Nashville and San Francisco to custom-cut each section. It took them four weeks to do every hallway, wall and ceiling in the 3,300 square foot house.

Paints & Painting:
Every square inch was painted by one man with a brush, Leonard Olsen. Paint colors, with the help of restoration architect Ione Stiegler, based on a sample of Victorian wallpaper: pale yellow and green trimmed in darker green and terra-cotta red.

Master Bath:
A clawfoot tub, set within the front turret's bay window, has nickel-plated cast-iron corner pieces and a black cast-iron center medallion.

Victorian Fireplace:
Blends authentic and replicated elements. Decorative tile was custom-made by Minton, an English company that predates the Victorian era. Its elaborately carved mantel likely is similar to the one torn out in the 1920s.

Window Covering:
Hand-loomed Nottingham lace from England.

Custom made by craftsmen include:
Copper downspouts; curved mahogany stair rails; spindles and moldings hand-milled; cornices replicated and replaced; alternating rows of round and square shingles.

Gardens:
Landscaping is true to the period: acanthus shrubs; boxwood hedges bordering rose bushes; a cactus and succulent garden; and a rustic willow arbor planted with wisteria and grapes. According to Coons regarding the arbor and gazebo, "nothing like them has been built in San Diego County since the first decade of the 20th century."

A further list of restoration work done on this Victorian house is available to serious buyers by the owner.