Buying the oldest house in a historic New England town comes with a mix of charm and unexpected challenges. When Craig Carswell closed on the 1750 Georgian in Winchester, Massachusetts, the framing and foundation appeared sound, and the wiring and plumbing had been updated. He imagined relaxing in the backyard surrounded by mature fruit trees. But a brutal nor’easter soon revealed the reality: frosty drafts cut through poorly insulated walls, shattering any romantic notions about living in a house nearly three centuries old. After marrying Katie Kissane, the blended family of seven found themselves squeezed into a home with a tiny kitchen and only one and a half bathrooms. The couple turned to Cummings Architects and Windhill Builders to rethink the sprawling historic property, embarking on a preservation-minded restoration that would honor the past while serving a modern family. Similar transformations are gaining momentum across the country, as seen in how adaptive reuse transformed a 133 year old Seattle landmark into a LEED Platinum community hub, proving that historic buildings can be reimagined for contemporary life without losing their soul.
Preserving the Historical Exterior
The exterior of the 1750 Georgian had weathered nearly three centuries of New England winters. The original wood shingles were dried out and weather-beaten, and the paint was peeling in large sections. The restoration team made a deliberate choice to replace the shingles with traditional white cedar clapboards, a material that would have been era-appropriate when the house was first built. The siding was painted Benjamin Moore’s Stuart Gold, a warm historical hue that gives the home a welcoming presence on its Winchester street. The trim was finished in White Sand, providing a crisp contrast that highlights the architectural details.
The front entry received equally careful attention. A custom eight-panel door was commissioned from Matt Diana Housewright, fitted with salvaged period hardware including strap hinges, a box lock, and a skeleton key that looks as though it came straight from the 1700s. The door was painted a custom color that complements the gold siding, and new sconces from Lucia Lighting flank the entrance. This level of dedication to authentic details mirrors the approach found in this 120 year old cabin restoration, where preserving original character was the guiding principle throughout the process. The result is a home that looks as though it has been lovingly maintained for centuries rather than extensively renovated.
Building a Thoughtful Addition for Modern Living
Rather than carving up the original floor plan, which remained largely intact, the design team envisioned a rear addition that would house the spaces the family needed most. The addition includes a new kitchen, a casual family room, a laundry room, and a mudroom with individual lockers for each child. A back staircase, a typical feature in larger New England homes, was added along with an extra bedroom and three much-needed bathrooms upstairs. This approach of expanding rather than subdividing preserved the historic layout while providing the square footage a family of seven requires.
Excavating for the new foundation proved to be one of the most challenging aspects of the project. As the team dug down to prepare footings, they encountered a massive granite ledge just inches from the original stone foundation. Contractor Shawn Cayer spent two days carefully breaking down the rock using a CAT excavator fitted with a hydraulic hammer. Once the ledge was lowered to the required depth, he pinned the new footing to it with rebar, successfully marrying the modern foundation to the centuries-old one. This delicate approach to working alongside historic structures echoes the principles discussed in rejuvenating old porch restoration with modern materials, where thoughtful integration of new techniques with old structures yields lasting results. The finished addition shows no visible seam between old and new, a testament to the craftsmanship involved.
Designing a Kitchen That Honors the Past
The farmhouse-style kitchen is the heart of the new addition and the centerpiece of daily life for the Carswell family. Designed with wide aisles for easy circulation, the kitchen features two sinks, a pro-style range, and a French-door refrigerator. Custom cabinets from Ipswich Cabinetry in Benjamin Moore’s Dune White keep the space bright and airy, while honed black granite countertops add a grounded, sophisticated element.
What makes this kitchen truly special is the thoughtful use of salvaged materials. The island features a top made from locally sourced reclaimed yellow pine, chosen because the couple wanted a surface that could withstand homework sessions and daily spills while developing character over time. The brick backsplash is particularly meaningful: it uses handmade original bricks that were discovered inside an upstairs bedroom wall, where they had been used as insulation for centuries. This approach of repurposing materials from within the same building creates a continuity that cannot be replicated with new products. The thoughtful use of color throughout historic renovations is explored further in how fresh paint transforms historic building interiors, drawing lessons from a landmark Masonic lodge restoration, where period-appropriate palettes played a similarly transformative role.
The kitchen flows seamlessly into a casual living room with French doors that open onto a new stone patio and a metal-roofed side porch. The transition from the original house to the addition is invisible to guests, who move from the wet bar in a former bookshelf alcove to the kitchen without noticing any change in character.
Restoring Period Interiors with Authentic Materials
Inside the original portion of the house, the team faced the challenge that nearly all of the historical fabric had been lost over 275 years of continuous occupation. Original clapboards, flooring, and paint were long gone. Lead architect Mat Cummings helped Katie select period-appropriate paint colors that would work together across the ground floor rooms. Scraping layers of paint off the parlor mantel revealed fragments that hinted at its original color, guiding the restoration.
The foyer was transformed with new oval windows on either side, bringing light into what had been a dark entry. The front staircase, a prominent architectural feature, was restored with black-painted treads and white risers for crisp contrast. The walls were painted Benjamin Moore’s Covington Blue, creating a bright and welcoming entrance. The rooms on either side of the foyer were returned to their intended Colonial uses: the hall for dining and the parlor for sitting by the fire.
Flooring was a critical decision. Decades earlier, two stories of original flooring had been removed and replaced with strip maple. For authenticity, the team chose knotty eastern white pine, the material that would have been used in the 1700s. The planks were laid in varying widths, 10 to 16 inches downstairs and 10 to 14 inches upstairs, and face-nailed with old-style square-cut nails. These new boards will shrink, gap, and mellow over time, developing the same character as the original floors that were lost.
| Room | Wall Color | Trim Color | Key Feature |
|---|---|---|---|
| Foyer | Covington Blue | Cream Fleece | Oval windows, restored staircase |
| Parlor | Sailcloth | Great Barrington Green | Original fireplace, antique furnishings |
| Dining Hall | Horizon | Philadelphia Cream | Colonial-style chandelier |
| Kitchen | Manchester Tan | White Dove | Salvaged brick backsplash |
| Master Bedroom | Wedgewood Gray | Coventry Gray | Original fireplace |
| Master Bath | Wickham Gray | Coventry Gray | Double-height ceiling, claw-foot tub |
A wet bar was installed in a former bookshelf alcove off the front hall, with custom cabinets in Benjamin Moore’s Philadelphia Cream and period-appropriate knobs and pulls from House of Antique Hardware. Throughout the house, antique or hand-planed doors were hung instead of standard modern doors, with door frames adjusted as needed and vintage hardware sourced to match.
Adding Modern Amenities Without Compromising Character
The second floor received the most dramatic transformation. Where the family had once shared a single and a half bathroom, they now have four bedrooms and three new bathrooms. The original bed chamber, now the master bedroom, retains its original fireplace and gets the best natural light in the house. Adjacent to it is a luxurious new master bath with a double-height ceiling and clerestory windows that flood the space with light.
The master bath balances vintage character with modern luxury. A marble vanity and claw-foot tub evoke a traditional aesthetic, while the glass-and-marble walk-in shower is thoroughly contemporary. The closet features a rustic barn door made from wood salvaged during the construction, adding texture and a connection to the building’s past. Upstairs, the third floor houses two additional bedrooms and a playroom with its own bathroom. In one of the children’s bedrooms, a section of original handmade clay bricks was framed out as an accent wall, keeping a visible link to the house’s history.
The laundry room, which had been a drafty space with a door to the outside, was relocated to the addition. It now features chevron-patterned wallpaper in orange from Serena and Lily, an industrial utility sink from Advance Tabco, and cheerful Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter walls. The mudroom, created in the footprint of the original kitchen, provides each child with a dedicated storage locker, solving the chaos of five children entering and leaving at different times.
Today the Carswell home is a National Register-listed property that functions perfectly for a modern family. The restored exterior, thoughtful addition, and carefully curated interiors demonstrate that historic preservation and family-friendly design are not mutually exclusive. As Craig Carswell reflects on the project, he notes that the work they did will likely still be standing in another 200 years. The restoration required patience and a willingness to address unexpected challenges like the granite ledge, but the payoff is a home where the family of seven gathers comfortably for movie nights, meals, and everyday life. For homeowners considering similar work, updating parquet floor restoration and refinishing offers practical guidance on bringing aged flooring back to life, a process that follows many of the same principles of patience, authenticity, and skilled craftsmanship that defined this project. Craig sums it up best: in some respects, he feels more like a caretaker than an owner, knowing that the house has been around for a long time but still has a long time yet to go.