By Leah Schwarting/The Natchez Democrat

NATCHEZ — While most visitors to Melrose notice the ongoing exterior work, a new interior project at the antebellum property began June 3, and the historians are getting a bit cozy.

A restoration company has been hired to redress the beds at Melrose — and also the William Johnson House — Melrose Curator Cheryl Waldrep said.

The project is part of the overall goal to give visitors a peek into what the people who called Melrose and the William Johnson House home saw every day.

Six beds are being examined as part of the new project; four of the beds are at Melrose. The project also includes a crib and a doll bed.

“Basically, if it’s a bed in this house, it’s getting analyzed,” said preservationist Natalie Larson owner of Historic Textile Reproductions.

Wednesday marked the first day in their exploratory phase.

“We’re looking for makers marks, labels, anything forensic,” Larson said.

The initial investigation revealed, among other things, scraps of original wallpaper, hinting at the bed’s original design.

Once Larson and her team are finished examining and researching the beds, the next step is to make a series of recommendations. After that, it’s on to the sewing stage, getting the beds as close to their original state as possible.

The new work is the latest in a series of renovations to the historic house by the National Park Service.

In the past, the renovations have included damage repair, refurbishing the bell system and, recently, working on restoring the house’s columns to their original faux-marble look.

“It’s like you’re never finished with these old houses,” Waldrep said.

For these repairs, however, the plan is to get the repairs done in 2016.

The year serves as Natchez’s tricentennial, as well as the NPS’s centennial celebrations.