Where Things Left Off…
Ringing in the New Year has me reminiscing about many things, both business and personal. Our home restoration/renovation project has felt never-ending, given that it seems to always get whatever time we have left after prioritizing client projects, other passions, and much-needed rest and relaxation. As the new year rolls in, I’ve taken a moment to really appreciate the things currently in my life, both big and small, and this massive home restoration/renovation has been one of them.
Despite feeling a lack of progress, when I took the time to reflect on the first entry documenting this journey written in October 2024, major things have indeed happened.
Where things left off from October 2024, we had just closed in the exterior walls on the first floor of the cape and just started to remove the interior walls on the first and second floors to accommodate the updated floor plan and add some needed reinforcement. As the snow started to fly, we opted to remove the back portion of the roof to allow for a full shed dormer to take its place; this gained so much more usable square footage on the second floor. In addition to the work inside, the roof with its "not-so-original" slates was removed along with the original shakes underneath to allow for proper sheathing and to remedy discovered leaks and water damage. With all the new framing came new electrical, plumbing, and insulation… since the corn cobs, barn board, and scabbed-in styrofoam didn’t provide enough R-value. No wonder the heating bill was always high and it was, still, always so cold!
Something I forgot—and for good reason—was our determination to sandblast the original beams of the home to reveal the stunning hand-hewn details and original wood finish, minus 250 years of wear, tear, and exposure to life. It was a messy but very successful effort, and I think everyone who lent a hand was more than happy for it to be done.
The warmer weather brought on the outside work, moving beyond the flashy green ZIP board to something more period-appropriate. The color was selected from California Paints’ "Historic Colors of America," which is a collaboration to provide period-accurate colors for various historical eras; we opted for the Colonial Period. In addition to the decorative details and hidden gutters, the exterior was finished with a cedar shake roof to truly speak to the original home, along with stunning copper gas lanterns.
Inside, we've received drywall and the majority of the varying-width wood floors have been installed. The floors on the first floor were not original to the home, and the boards on the second floor were only doubled-up planks that had been painted and patched over the years, offering no privacy and a little too much bounce. No worries, though—the original wood was salvaged and will be reworked into other aspects of the home. The new primary bath was adorned in the most stunning and unique marble. A clawfoot tub located in another bathroom is being refinished to take its new place in the primary suite.
We’ve also started installing millwork and discovered WindsorONE’s Classic Colonial collection, designed by Brent Hull, founder of Hull Historical Millwork and an expert in restoration and historical architecture. This all finally leads to the finishes. This is where progress really feels like it has slowed to a crawl, but good things take time. Paint colors have been selected, along with some fun and bold wallpaper choices. In an attempt to give a nod to the past, we’ve opted for custom doors, ornate wall paneling, and built-ins. So many built-ins! I look forward to how this will provide necessary storage and organization.
Again, this restoration/renovation is a fine line of balancing modern amenities with historic character and charm. If you have managed to read this far, I think it’s apparent that a lot has happened over the past year, despite it feeling like time has, at times, stood still. I look forward to sharing our progress and hope that 2026 allows for more time to do so. I hope another year doesn’t pass by without more frequent updates—but if it does, I hope the next update is a finished space for this phase of our passion project.
Cheers to 2026 and making things beautiful!
