The renovation of a 1909 Arts and Crafts house in Arlington, Massachusetts, stands as a master class in balancing historic preservation with modern living requirements. The project, featured on This Old House, transformed a once-cramped and disjointed home into a bright, open, and family-friendly residence while honoring its original craftsmanship. For homeowners and professionals undertaking similar whole-house renovations, the strategies employed here offer valuable lessons in structural engineering, material selection, and period-appropriate design. The approach taken by the designers and builders demonstrates that a 1908 Craftsman bungalow can gain modern indoor-outdoor great rooms without sacrificing its architectural soul. This article explores the key design decisions that made this renovation a success.
Structural Innovations That Opened the Floor Plan
The single most impactful decision in the Arlington renovation was the structural re-engineering of the rear of the house. The original floor plan suffered from compartmentalized rooms and poor circulation, particularly between the kitchen, dining room, and living areas. The solution involved removing the entire rear wall and replacing it with a 28-foot-long, 10-inch-high steel I-beam weighing approximately 1,000 pounds.
Steel Beam Integration for Open-Plan Living
The steel beam allowed the creation of a seamless connection between the kitchen and family room, two spaces that had previously been entirely separate. This single structural change made it possible to design a floor plan where the family could gather, move freely, and entertain without the bottlenecks that had plagued the original layout. The beam also supported the new three-story, 890-square-foot rear addition, which became the cornerstone of the entire renovation.
Three-Story Addition Design
The addition was carefully planned to maximize usable space on each floor while respecting the existing rooflines and neighborhood context. Key features of the addition include:
- First floor: A single-story family room extension that projects 14 feet into the backyard, featuring a vaulted ceiling, walls of windows, and a new fireplace and chimney
- Second floor: A master suite with a dedicated bathroom, addressing one of the home’s most significant deficiencies
- Third floor: A light-filled craft and play space, plus an expanded home office area
The first-floor footprint is deliberately the largest, creating a generous main gathering area that anchors the home’s social life. The family room’s vaulted ceiling gives the space an airy, generous feel while maintaining the home’s traditional massing from the street.
Why Steel Beams Work in Historic Renovations
Steel I-beams offer several advantages when renovating older homes. They can span greater distances than traditional wood framing, require less depth for equivalent load-bearing capacity, and allow for larger window openings. In the Arlington project, the steel beam made it possible to have a family room defined entirely by windows, flooding the space with natural light and providing direct access to the backyard patio.
Preserving and Restoring Original Craftsmanship
A defining feature of any Arts and Crafts home is its woodwork. The Arlington house contained extensive original white oak wainscoting, ceiling coffers, crown molding, and hardwood flooring that had darkened significantly over more than a century of use. The homeowners initially considered painting these elements white to brighten the interior spaces.
The Decision to Restore Rather Than Paint
Midway through the project, the painting contractor performed a test strip on a section of the living room’s original white oak wainscoting. The removal of accumulated grime and darkened finish revealed wood that was too beautiful to cover. This discovery led to a complete change in approach for the entire first floor. The restoration process involved:
- Careful stripping of all original woodwork including wainscoting, ceiling coffers, crown molding, and window and door casings
- Sanding of white oak flooring on the first floor and birch flooring on the second floor to remove surface wear
- Application of a matte-finish water-based polyurethane clear coat to preserve the lighter, natural appearance
- Repointing of the living room brick fireplace and repair of the painted clay mantel using new cast-cement pieces
The results proved that the original craftsmanship was worth the extra effort. The restored woodwork now provides warmth and character that painted surfaces could never replicate. This approach aligns closely with the principles seen in restoring a 1925 Craftsman Sears kit house where preservation meets modern living.
Material Choices That Bridge Past and Present
The kitchen cabinetry exemplifies how the design team married traditional craftsmanship with contemporary aesthetics. Perimeter cabinets received a brush-painted white finish, while the expansive island was crafted from rift-sawn white oak with a custom whitewashed hand finish. Rift-sawn oak provides a clean, straight grain pattern that reads as both traditional and modern. The island’s finish uses a water-based dye sealed with a flat-sheen urethane, giving it a delicately bleached appearance that keeps the space feeling light and current.
| Material | Original House | Renovation Treatment |
|---|---|---|
| White oak wainscoting | Darkened shellac finish | Stripped, clear-coated with matte polyurethane |
| White oak flooring | Worn, darkened finish | Sanded, sealed with water-based clear finish |
| Birch flooring (2nd floor) | Aged, scratched | Sanded, sealed with water-based clear finish |
| Kitchen island | N/A (new) | Rift-sawn white oak, whitewashed finish |
| Kitchen cabinets | N/A (new) | Brush-painted white, period-style hardware |
| Fireplace mantel | Painted clay, cracked | Repaired with cast-cement pieces |
Kitchen and Family Room as the Heart of the Home
The most dramatic transformation in the Arlington renovation is the new kitchen and family room combination. The original kitchen was a cramped 1960s galley layout with no connection to the rest of the house. The redesigned space now functions as the central hub where cooking, dining, and socializing happen simultaneously.
Kitchen Layout and Features
The kitchen is designed around a marble-topped center island that runs parallel to a full wall of cabinets. This layout creates an efficient work triangle while keeping the island accessible for casual dining and conversation. Notable features include:
- Double wall ovens with a convection steam oven stacked above
- A gas cooktop with a custom vent hood fashioned from nickel silver and brass over a stainless steel liner
- A lower section of the island designed as a dedicated baking center for the family’s young daughter
- Built-in banquette seating in an eating area positioned under a bank of windows
- Clear glass pendant lights above the dining table for an airy, unobtrusive effect
- Refrigerator and freezer units finished with painted wood panels to blend with cabinetry
The material palette uses natural stone, wood, and metal finishes that echo the Arts and Crafts tradition while reading as thoroughly contemporary. The glazed-tile backsplash behind the cooking wall adds color and texture without overwhelming the space.
The Family Room Connection
The adjoining family room features a vaulted ceiling, walls of windows, and a gas fireplace that serves as the room’s focal point. French doors provide direct access to a new brick patio laid in a herringbone pattern, extending the living space outdoors. The connection between kitchen and family room is deliberately seamless, allowing parents to supervise children at play while preparing meals and enabling the free flow of guests during gatherings. The homeowners noted that before the renovation, birthday parties required single-file service from the tiny kitchen to the dining room; now the entire first floor accommodates large groups with ease.
Outdoor Living Integration
The landscape design by Kim Turner added brick patio space and perimeter plantings that provide privacy. The patio is easily accessed from the family room and has become a favorite spot for family gatherings. This indoor-outdoor connection was a priority for the homeowners, who wanted to maximize their usable living area.
Lessons in Period-Appropriate Renovation
The Arlington Arts and Crafts renovation offers several takeaways for anyone planning a similar project, whether on a historic home or a newer property seeking character. The project’s success came from a willingness to adapt plans based on discoveries made during construction and a commitment to using materials and techniques that honor the building’s original design language.
Design Principles for Historic Renovations
Several principles guided the design team and can be applied to other projects:
- Let the architecture lead: Interior designer Jill Goldberg emphasized that the architecture itself should be the standout feature. Interiors provide a subtle complement using neutral earth tones rather than competing with the building’s character.
- Preserve what you can: The decision to restore rather than paint the original woodwork added cost and complexity but preserved irreplaceable craftsmanship.
- Add thoughtfully: The rear addition was designed to be clearly distinguishable from the original structure while remaining visually compatible, a best practice in historic preservation.
- Plan for real life: Features like the mudroom entry, the baking center for the child, and the easy-access patio all addressed the family’s actual daily needs rather than abstract design ideals.
Hardware and Finishing Touches
The selection of authentic reproduction hardware was critical to the project’s success. Traditional Craftsman-style drawer pulls, cabinet knobs, and door hardware reinforce the home’s period character even in newly constructed areas. For those undertaking similar work, selecting authentic reproduction hardware for historic home renovations ensures that new additions blend seamlessly with original fabric. The same principle applied to lighting fixtures, tile patterns, and paint colors throughout the house.
The second-floor hall bathroom illustrates this approach well. Cement floor tiles with a pattern reminiscent of English Arts and Crafts design pair with a reproduction vanity and period-style fixtures. The result feels original even though everything in the room is new. Similarly, the third-floor craft room uses shiplap-style pine walls and ceiling to create a bright, casual space that references traditional American vernacular building.
Homeowners considering a full renovation of a historic property can also draw inspiration from projects like the Felix Gans House Craftsman bungalow preservation in Little Rock, Arkansas, where similar challenges of balancing modern function with historic character were addressed. Whether the goal is a complete gut renovation or a phased approach, the core principles remain the same: respect the original design, use appropriate materials, and never lose sight of how the space will actually be used by the people who live there.
In the end, the Arlington Arts and Crafts renovation succeeded because it treated the house not as a museum piece but as a living home. The Deldon family now has a space where their daughter can run laps around the first floor, the dog can sleep by the fire, and guests can gather around the kitchen island without lining up single file. That balance between honoring the past and enabling present-day family life is the ultimate goal of any successful historic renovation.