We started with an historic home on a dirt road in the countryside of Massachusetts which had been uninhabited for several years. Our clients came along at just the right time to resurrect this beautiful bit of history. By carefully preserving the antique portions of the home while renovating and adding to the newer sections, we were able to create a home that has a foot in several centuries. Best of all it still feels comfortable on that [...]
About half of the work in our office is new construction and half renovations and additions. When designing a home from scratch some of the most important elements to study(besides the clients wishes) are views, site features, sun and wind direction, and the approach to the site. The most important single element in an addition/renovation is the existing building. Sometimes the portion you save and restore is key to the rest of the project. Although it is almost [...]
A Few of Our Exhibitors Saturday, September 24th, 2011 From 10:00am to 5:00pm Four years ago we gathered friends and colleagues in a huge tent to showcase their craftsmanship, their technology, and their art; we called it Fine Home Source. The organizational feat is overseen by our office manager and event planner, Lois. Meanwhile, everyone else in the office does their part to make this a wonderful show, while maintaining our day jobs. In one place you can talk to [...]
I have worked on many old homes over the years, including my own. The ‘Holy Grail’ of old home restorations is to find an artifact that reveals something about the early or original owners. Those who are lucky enough to find an artifact, solidify the link between our century and theirs and their families and ours. I have never found anything like that, but have been content with initials on beams and the well-worn marks in our floors. [...]
Every project reaches a phase during construction, which only an architect can love. There is that point in major renovations, when structural elements have been completed, but little of the trim or details have been put back in place. None of the proportions, which make a building sing, are visible yet, and all the rough edges show through. When this ungainly stage coincides with the spring mud season, we have a big mess. On the other hand, hope [...]
You never know what you will find while renovating an old house. As we continue to follow the progress on the renovation of an eighteenth century farm house, the point is driven home even deeper. The contractors removed the rotting floor boards from the back porch and got a big surprise. I too was startled when I almost steped into the 30 foot deep hand dug well while on a site visit. We were amazed at the beauty of the [...]
We have heard many rumors about this house. Perhaps it was on the underground railroad, or the original owners had slaves, there is a '57 Chevy buried in the back yard...
Most American homes built in the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries were farmhouses. We were predominantly an agrarian society living on family farms. Today’s suburbs were once pastures. Quite a few modern subdivisions include an old farmhouse, which at one time was the only house in sight. When the farm families grew and their circumstances improved, it was natural to expand the homestead. It is rare to find an old house today that has not been renovated and added onto over [...]
