The original Greek Revival structure in Salt Point, New York, dates from the 1840s. Its columns were rebuilt using traditional methods.

In the rolling countryside of Salt Point, New York, sat an 1840s Greek Revival with a history as rich and varied as its democratic style. Known as the White Pillars Farm, the stately house had “good bones” but needed work after sitting in quiet decay for years—and a few very unfortunate additions didn’t help the condition of the house. Although the building needed a major overhaul, a professional couple looking for a weekend getaway fell in love with the historic 120-acre farm complete with pond, open fields, and evergreen forest. Just over an hour from Manhattan, the commute was convenient for weekend visits, so they purchased the house and set about looking for an architect who could help with the renovations.

The couple had seen the work architect John Murray had done to his own Greek Revival farmhouse in Chatham, New York, and they knew his firm, John B. Murray Architect, could help them with their project. “The house is a wonderful example of the Greek Revival style,” says Murray. “It also has quite a colorful history.” In the 1940s James Forrestal, Secretary of the Navy and then Defense under Presidents Roosevelt and Truman during World War II, purchased the property. The house was full of wonderful memorabilia from that era, including old photographs of hunting parties and social gatherings. In fact, Roosevelt himself used to make the short drive from Hyde Park in his convertible to visit the home.

At the Beginning

The owners had no preconceived notion of what they wanted in the house; they just knew they needed ample space for family and friends to come and visit, and wanted guidance with their decisions. “The old house really needed everything,” says Murray. There was no insulation in the walls, all the mechanical systems were antiquated—even the temple pillars had rotted through and needed to be replaced. “A large addition went onto the back of the house in the 1950s,” says Murray, “but unfortunately it needed to come off—there was nothing salvageable.”

In the mudroom, Murray incorporated beadboard, shelving, and dog-eared molding around the door to keep the look simple.

Murray ended up razing the mid-twentieth-century addition and extending the massing of the main house by a third. This new addition is recognized through a slight offset of the roofline. In conjunction with the extended massing, Murray added three flat roof additions to the north side of the house. “We looked at examples of the Greek Revival style throughout the area to get ideas on how to approach the design of the new additions. Flat roofs were common on Greek Revival structures, often appearing in the front of the building,” notes Murray.

These additions incorporate a new kitchen and a breakfast room, family room, and guest suite just off the north side of the house. “We really wanted to create light-filled spaces in the new additions,” says Murray. The kitchen is situated on the east side of the house to catch the early morning light, while the family room, located on the west side of the house, takes advantage of the afternoon light. “We added a bank of windows, French doors, and transom windows to engage the spaces with the landscape,” notes Murray.

Although Murray wanted to preserve as much of the original fabric of the house as possible by keeping original windows, doors, and a pediment fanlight, it essentially had to be gutted. “We approached the process of the renovation by really peeling back the layers to the house,” he says. The old portion was taken down to the studs to install insulation and new plaster. “We restored as many historic windows as we could. We also incorporated bronze screens, screen doors, and removable storm sashes—there is no insulated glass, which adds to the authenticity of the house.” The only exception to the single-paned glass is in the French doors and transoms off the kitchen, family room, flower room, and mudroom, which are made with insulated glass.

A simple colonial mantel dresses the fireplace in the dining room.

Murray also redesigned the front hall stairs, creating a freestanding staircase. This open stair, which seemingly floats above the stair hall, makes the hall leading into the living room more spacious and creates a better proportion. A small antique chest and chair occupy the space under the stair, creating the perfect spot for keys and mail. The simple tapered balusters and curved newel create an understated elegance in the space. A second winding stair at the back of the house has a very simple articulation with a rounded, tapered newel post. A random-width scalloped wallboard becomes the backdrop.

The general contractor, George Carrothers of George Carrothers, Ltd., also rebuilt the four fluted columns in mahogany. “He assembled them as they would have been originally—in staved boards,” says Murray. The result of the restoration, renovation, and sensitive additions to the old Greek Revival is success—not only in its design and execution, but also as a warm and welcoming getaway for the homeowners to enjoy for years to come.

The farmhouse kitchen sink looks into the light-filled family room.

On the ancient post road to Montreal sits one of Montpelier’s oldest houses, an 1800s Cape with hints of Greek Revival flourishes. The original structure is in pristine condition. Two large rooms off to each side of a center stair hall provide ample light through antique window openings. In the more recent past, the home was expanded by 1,000 square feet to accommodate modern amenities—a den and garage in 1950 and an “Olde German style” family room in the 1970s. These new spaces, tacked onto the back and side of the house, took away the dining room’s sole source of natural light.

Paulette Fiorentino-Robinson and Steve Robinson had thought of moving from the old Cape, they disliked the additions so much. They approached architect Sandra Vitzthum, a third-generation Vermont native with a great sensibility for creating thoughtful new spaces on older structures, to redesign the rooms. “These really were ill-conceived spaces,” says Vitzthum of the 20th-century additions. “They seriously compromised the original house.”

The couple wanted the interiors to connect more cohesively to each other as well as to the gardens and pool. “The house needed a mudroom, more kitchen storage, and a dining area that didn’t feel like a dark cave,” says Vitzthum. She set about planning the new design within the existing footprint of the mid-century additions. Paulette wanted an open airy floor plan filled with natural light. She also wanted to keep a traditional look to the rooms to honor the age of the original structure.

The kitchen dish cupboard has glass cabinets as well as glass at the back of the shelf to allow for more light through the pantry skylights.

“It was like putting a 3-D jigsaw puzzle together,” says Vitzthum in regard to creating new spaces that would work for twenty-first-century living. Vitzthum began her layout by relocating the new kitchen to where the dark dining room used to be. The original space had 7’6″ ceilings and no windows, making the room dark and gloomy and not a place Paulette wanted to entertain. It took a bit of convincing on Vitzthum’s part to get Paulette to agree to the new kitchen in this placement because of the room’s dark stigma.

A stairwell in the dish and storage pantry leads to a laundry room.

Vitzthum explained that this was a central location, and she wanted to bring the kitchen back to the heart of the home. To open the spaces up to one another, and to the light, Vitzthum took down walls between the old dining space, den, and family room. “You can stand at any point in the new plan and look through to the other spaces and even outdoors,” says Vitzthum. The low ceilings were removed to expose beams and offer a lofty atmosphere. “We took the rooms down to the studs and rebuilt all the floors so they would be level,” says Vitzthum. The airy structure is articulated with posts and beams that provide visual transitions between the different rooms.

Paulette and Steve love to entertain, so the kitchen had to be not only functional, but also comfortable and aesthetically pleasing. Vitzthum created ample workspace by incorporating a center island as well as two additional serving peninsulas between the dining room and family room. The counters also act as dividers between the spaces. An old powder room was converted into a dish pantry with open shelving for additional storage space. And to further the transparent feel in the kitchen, the kitchen shelving has two-sided glass cabinets that look through to the new pantry where the cellar stair wall used to be.

Appliances are tucked into the north wall of the kitchen. Vitzthum kept original beams exposed to pay homage to the home’s age.

The north wall of the kitchen houses a Sub-Zero fridge behind a custom panel door and two wall ovens. The stove is located in the island; under-counter island drawers hold pots and pans. The cabinets are traditionally inspired, with Vitzthum’s signature substantial bracket detailing. Vitzthum often designs cupboards with open shelving reminiscent of freestanding furniture into her designs. “These tricks can really give a kitchen an older feel,” she says. The demolition revealed the Cape’s original post and beam home frame, which Vitzthum kept exposed for an added sense of age.

Not only were walls taken down and windows added, but skylights also were introduced to the pantry to offer more natural light. To further brighten the space, the color palette was kept light and ethereal. The floors, a unifying element throughout the new space, are blond maple; countertops are pale green granite; and upper cabinets are painted white, while the lower cabinets are white with a touch of greenish blue. The ceiling is also painted a creamy white with a touch of pink. “Pink helps create peace and harmony within the space,” notes Vitzthum. The walls throughout the kitchen, pantry, and family room are also painted white, completing the ethereal look.

The dining room is now where an old 1950s addition used to be. The windows overlook the terrace and gardens.

A dining room takes the place of the 1950s den, and opens up onto the terrace and gardens. Two windows were added on the north side of the room for additional light. The family room now has three south-facing windows overlooking the pool. Vitzthum added beadboard to the cathedral ceiling for texture in the family room. She also had the chimney rebuilt and resurfaced. Again, additional windows next to the fireplace were added to wash the space in light. Vitzthum incorporated bookshelves and a window seat into the space, as well as a state-of-the-art audio and sound system concealed in the walls. For more energy-efficient rooms, she also specified radiant floors and super-insulated the walls to R-40 and the roof to R-60.

“You can achieve just as much light, utility, and beauty in a traditional design as you can in a modern design,” Vitzthum points out. And the addition to this old Cape proves just how well it can be done.

The fluted square columns of the colonnade frame the corbelled brick fireplace in the 1920s parlor.

There are fortunate house-hunters who find fulfillment on the very first afternoon searching.“I wanted to fall in love, not just buy a house. It was going to be the first house I had ever lived in by myself,” remembers Sandy Miller, who was prepared to spend months looking. But on that soon-to-be auspicious day, an acquaintance “said to me, ‘Why don’t you look at Jane’s mother-in-law’s house? It’s going on the market on Sunday.’ The lady gave me directions, and I drove over and bought it!”

Sandy, who owns an antiques store called Earthly Possessions, in Milton, Massachsetts, knew she wanted a house with a sweeping front porch and lots of historic detail. The yellow house in Wollaston (a neighborhood of Quincy) had those, including the original windows with period muntin patterns in the top sashes. “Just for the windows alone, I knew I wanted the house,” she admits. “When I looked in the window, I was thrilled to spy bungalow woodwork details.”

Sandy had been looking for a cottage-sized home—cozy yet big enough for her varied antiques. This one “had a dilapidated two-car garage—I needed a garage—and sat on an oversized city lot.” Although she was enchanted, Miller says that at the time the house’s history eluded her. “Initially, I didn’t realize that what I was looking at was an Arts & Crafts bungalow of the early 1920s.”

Along with updated wiring and a new roof for the garage, Sandy needed storm windows that wouldn’t conceal her beloved decorative sash. The kitchen was also in need of immediate attention. “I was able to incorporate the gumwood wainscoting and door frames into a scheme that fit my goal: having a kitchen that looked like it had always been there.”

After the systems work was done, Sandy got right to decorating and displaying her collections. “I used Benjamin Moore paints,” she says, “and I began with the living room, dining room, and hallways, choosing a soft, pale peachy-yellow that complements the dark woodwork and picks up the golden oak floors. The den is a pale-green that frames the view of the back garden.”

The charming bedroom is centered around an antique brass and iron bedstead. Antique quilts lie on the bed; a collection of vintage tea sets sits on a Victorian wall shelf.

Sandy juxtaposed her collection of Victorian architectural fragments onto the Craftsman-style woodwork trim. Mid-19th-century furniture pediments sit atop door and window casings in a few strategic locations, lending a pleasant quirkiness to the interior. While her interior furnishings leave a historical impression, she didn’t adhere to a particular era or style. Most of all, the house is a showcase for her possessions. Sandy is an inveterate collector—when she gets focused on something, she proceeds to acquire with abandon.

Nowhere is this more evident than with her extensive collection of antique dishes. Sandy focuses on pre-1890 Staffordshire transferware in a variety of forms and colors; decorating a white ground are motifs in blue, brown, green, purple, and black. “In the built-in cupboard in my dining room, to my embarrassment, even the drawer is filled with cups and saucers.”

Spool furniture is another passion: rustic items incorporating discarded spools. Sandy has more than 30 objects, including a rocking chair and various stands and tables. She had shelves built on either side of the fireplace to balance the ornate staircase at the other end of the parlor. The top shelf is reserved for her glass trumpet vase collection. These hand-blown, Depression-era pieces were fashioned in a variety of colors; her favorites are blue, amethyst, gold, and shades of green.

Her rarest pieces are a small collection of “motto” prints, which Sandy explains are made by laying ferns on photographic paper to form phrases such as “God Bless Our Home” or “The Lord Will Provide.” They are then exposed to light, creating a black and white print. “I have found only five in my life, and they are among my most treasured belongings.”

The kitchen blends new and old with stainless steel appliances and traditionally styled cabinets.

No one is more particular about a kitchen layout than an experienced cook, which is why Audrey Anderson worked closely with clients Nick and Karyn Downes to design this kitchen for a Shingle-style house on the coast of Rhode Island. As a private chef with ten years of experience who has traveled all over the world, Karyn knows too well what makes a kitchen user-friendly.

“We used to work on private yachts, in close quarters, so Karyn is all about using things practically and making good use of space,” explains, Nick, who managed the project. Karyn’s input was key to not only the room’s overall layout and cabinet features, but also the selection of its top-of-the-line appliances. “There are several appliance choices now, and Karyn has cooked on all of them; she knows the best firsthand,” Nick adds.

The kitchen has all the modern conveniences, such as a double oven and a warming drawer.

Once the 48″ Sub-Zero refrigerator and 36″ Wolf cooktop were chosen, the couple worked closely with Anderson of Apex Kitchens & Baths in Middletown, Rhode Island, to create a kitchen that is great for cooking, entertaining, and unwinding, while appearing both understated and elegant. “It was a wonderful space to work with,” says Anderson. “We didn’t want to be fussy, but we added really nice details and made sure to keep it classic.”

Close inspection reveals a variety of timeless details, such as white subway tile and decorative corbels in the backsplash area. The countertops—gray-blue soapstone that will patina over time—lend a traditional touch, as does the Eastern white pine floor. “Each 12″ board was hand nailed; they look as though they’ve been there for 100 years already,” says Nick. Other time-honored elements are a mix of glass and solid cabinet doors with brushed nickel bin pulls, knobs, and cupboard catches.

The Downes entertain a lot, so the kitchen works almost like a catering kitchen; however, it is still warm and inviting for family downtime. To achieve both ends, the kitchen includes all the latest amenities such as two catering favorites, an espresso machine and a warming drawer, plus two ovens and a professional range hood placed over a center island, whose seating area offers views to the water.

With its own sink, dishwasher, and under-counter refrigerator, the butler's pantry acts as a functional preparation space.

To fit the kitchen into the inviting family room environment, Anderson designed custom Shaker-paneled cabinets. Finished simply with white paint, the cabinets were customized with toe-kick valances for a traditional furniture-like look. “The ceiling height allowed for stacked cabinets,” explains Anderson. “We used glass on the top, so it wouldn’t look too heavy.” Also, the crown molding matches the molding in the family room.

Off the kitchen is a formal butler’s pantry. Again, turn-of-the-twentieth century touches, such as a plate rack over the sink area and zinc counters (plus a high backsplash), were incorporated. “This is not just an extra space, it was thought out,” notes Nick. “A catering staff can work in the pantry away from the main kitchen, and it has access to the dining room.”

Rounding out the multipurpose kitchen is a desk area—Anderson’s nod to modern needs. “People live in their kitchens,” says the designer, “and this desk does not interrupt the kitchen’s look, but it is still accessible. It allows the owners to put down a pocketbook, sort through mail, or check e-mail.”

“Our goal was to blend traditional with a more contemporary style, which is hard to pull off,” observes Nick. “Every detail was scrutinized; it was a real labor of love. Now, two years later, there is not one thing we would do differently.”

Lauren Parlin chose the vibrant paint colors for her new home and business in Hague, New York

When the youngest of Lauren and Ken Parlin’s three children had left home for college, the couple thought it was time for a lifestyle change. Having lived in suburban New Jersey for many years, they always felt drawn to their long-time family vacation destination in the Adirondacks. “We’d summered on Lake George and love the area,” says Lauren. One afternoon they were biking past an old general store in the hamlet of Hague—a summer community vibrant in the early twentieth century—and were intrigued by its charm. “We forgot all about it until it came up for sale, and we went to take a look,” says Lauren. Although the original general store had been divided into four separate rooms to create a private residence, the couple’s two daughters thought it would be the perfect place for Lauren to open a café and for Ken to telecommute from. The couple put in an offer on the structure and began to look for an architect who would have the sensibilities needed to bring the charming storefront back to its roots.

Uptown Downstairs

“I actually found Sandy Vitzthum on the web,” says Lauren. A Vermont architect, Vitzthum had the philosophy toward renovating old buildings that Lauren and Ken were looking for. Once Vitzthum was on board, the couple planned their renovation strategy. They decided to start with the first floor and turn back the clock. Although the structure originally was built as a general store in the 1880s, the building had been reincarnated several times over the years, operating as a shop, a boarding house for local miners, and even as a taxidermy. Many of the original design elements still existed on the main level. Intact were its open shelving and varnished plank walls. The floor was in fairly good condition as well. Vitzthum, working with contractor Tom LaPointe, removed the interior walls (leaving the support beams in place), which opened the space into one large dining room. Next, Vitzthum transformed an old shed room off the back of the general store into a commercial kitchen. LaPointe added support beams in the basement to shore up the floor to carry the weight of the commercial range. The downstairs also had to pass fire safety code, so LaPointe incorporated double layers of fire-retardant Sheetrock into the kitchen ceiling and walls.

Uptown Upstairs

The general store's original floors were painted for easy cleaning.

The upstairs of the building, which the couple decided to make into their home, had not weathered the years as well as the first floor. The rooms had gone through many renovations over the decades and had lost much of their original character. Dropped cork ceilings and faux paneling adorned the small “boarding house” rooms. Lauren wanted to bring the décor of the first floor into the upstairs living space. They also reconfigured the floor plan, orienting the dining room, living room, and kitchen to the back of the house, which had views of the brook and woodlands. Today these spaces open onto one another—five beams help divide the room functions.

To re-create the charm of the shop upstairs, Vitzthum gutted the interiors and introduced appropriate details evocative of the space below. Horizontal and diagonal paneling was brought in as wall covering. Made of 3″ fir boards, the paneling was finished with a coat of varnish to give it a warm patina. LaPointe installed new wide-plank white pine floors finished in tung oil. Vitzthum also had the windows replaced with Kolbe two-over-two sashes. She custom-designed the window muntins to match the original window profile. LaPointe salvaged as much of the interior woodwork as he could. He carefully removed and later reinstalled the window trim with bull’s-eye corner blocks.

A salvaged Glenwood stove adds authenticity to the kitchen.

Lauren also wanted to create more sleeping quarters, so Vitzthum explored how to best utilize the attic space. She transformed the third level by simply incorporating two shed dormers with casement windows, which provide additional space, natural light, and ventilation. In addition to re-creating the interiors and adding more bedrooms, Vitzthum added a two-story porch onto the back of the building that opens onto a bubbling brook. The screened porch off the upstairs living quarters is accessed through a set of glass doors off the dining room.

Salvaged Interiors

“Lauren was instrumental in re-creating authentic interiors,” says Vitzthum. “She has a great eye and scoured salvage and antiques shops for age-appropriate items for the house.” Salvaged blackboard was transformed into the kitchen counters, an old Glenwood stove graces the kitchen, and the built-in living room cabinets are faced with antique glass cabinet doors. The new staircase leading to the third floor—which replaced an old spiral wooden staircase—has an antique newel post and several antique balusters. LaPointe turned new balusters to match the old counterparts. An old milk bowl became the sink basin for the bathroom. “All these pieces lend authenticity and character to the house,” says Vitzthum.

Uptown Exterior

Vitzthum incorporated new exterior details into the design, including a two-story porch that overlooks the brook.

LaPointe introduced Charles Eastlake-inspired decorative cutout balusters to the two-story porch. He had seen the design on a hotel dating to a similar time period as the shop and felt it was an appropriate choice. To keep the proportions of a Victorian-era porch, Vitzthum chose to incorporate two railings to meet today’s height code requirements. “Older porch railings were typically 30″ high, but today if you have more than a 30″ drop, you have to add a 36″ to 42″ railing,” she explains. A simple railing tops the adorned piece strictly for safety.

Lauren chose paint colors that she felt would be forgiving to the original clapboard on the house. A dark olive green  with mustard and tangerine trim creates a handsome face to Uptown’s customers. Today, Lauren is chef/owner of the restaurant. It’s open during the height of the summer and fall season, when you can find Lauren greeting patrons. When the season quiets down, the couple often invites family and friends to join them for holidays. “It’s great to have a commercial kitchen and seating for 30 right in your own home,” says Lauren, who loves to entertain. The place offers the perfect environment for the couple to enjoy both their public and private realms under one roof.

In the main hall, wood floors are marbleized, the block print paper pattern dates to 1776, and the ca. 1880 Wilton stair carpet is a reproduction.

The patterns and colors may be unfamiliar to modern tastes, yet the harmony of design in this New England house is clear. Walls, ceilings, floors, and furnishings support and accentuate each other. The owner selected materials accurate for the period—and consistent not only in palette, but also in scale and pattern. By building a vocabulary in the spirit of Georgian and Federal styles, she created authenticity with carpeting, wallpaper, and paint colors. That’s the lesson for those who seek to re-create a credible “historic interior”: Whether your period is 1670 or 1940, holding to a standard will get you there.

This residence is prominently located in a large district of 18th- and early 19th-century brick buildings in an old seacoast town at the Massachusetts/New Hampshire border. Built in 1777, it served as a family home for a century and a half, but was eventually acquired by a local church parish, which used it as a religious school for decades. As is often the case, church administrators were concerned with issues other than historical sensitivity. Central walls on the first floor were ripped out to create large classrooms, in which iron desks were bolted to original floorboards. The students long ago departed, and by 2002 the neglected manse lay abandoned, awaiting wrecking ball or savior.

The house found a savior. The brave new owner, a committed former resident of a Federal house, took it upon herself to restore the structure not just for her own family’s tenure, but also with the past and future in mind. Some of her decisions were clearly informed by her passion for historic preservation.

Interior restoration started with a scrap of wallpaper. The pattern, now known in its reissue as ‘Votive Goddess,’ was painstakingly reproduced as a block print. In an unusual treatment, it had been hung originally in both the best and everyday parlors, accompanied by a different color for the woodwork in each room. This presented an interesting challenge during selection of a Brussels carpet that would be used for both parlors. The decision: Use the same pattern and colorway for carpeting in both rooms, but add a border in the best parlor—truly a luxury in the 18th century.

The old kitchen has an original cupboard painted in period colors.

The owner’s passion for period-appropriate lighting led her throughout the Northeast. She also commissioned some meticulous reproductions, most notably the sprawling chandelier in the best parlor and the lanterns in the hall. These are strategically placed with a drop to 5’8″ from the floor.

The owner indulged her decades-long fascination with girandoles and mirrors, which are displayed throughout the house. A longtime collector of (Boston) North Shore antiques, she was able to furnish the rooms as soon as construction ended, as her spoils were safely in storage.

Bathrooms are a challenge for those of us who re-create the past in hopes of stepping back in time—especially if that time is the 18th century. Chamber pots and washbowls are rustic and quaint on display, but never so in practice. So one of the spare bedrooms was converted into a luxurious bathroom decorated with historical textiles and wallpaper, making it a “toilette” and dressing room. While the illusion of history is present, so, too, is hot and cold running water. A modern HVAC system is concealed within the eaves on the third floor, behind original hand-skived boards.

Both the best and everyday parlors were hung—originally and again now—with the same wallpaper, but with different paint colors on trim.

The exterior of the building was treated to a substantial restoration as well; three missing chimneys were replaced, along with the dormers and front portico. It was easy finding bricks to match the one remaining chimney: They had been dropped down the flues to rest in the basement. Because of the dwelling’s prominence, several archival photographs from the 19th and early 20th centuries existed to guide reconstruction of the façade. Save for one window bricked up during an early 19th-century modification of the dining room, the house today looks just like it did in 1777.

Although the owner took a scholarly approach, and the house is firmly rooted in the Georgian and Federal periods, it doesn’t feel like a museum. Rooms are comfortable, vibrant, and alive. As historical as the interior is, the house gives no impression of having been shuttered up at some point in the dim past.

Sources

Historical wallpapers: Adelphi Paper Hangings
Period carpets: J.R. Burrows & Co.
Windows, millwork: Architectural Components
Architectural preservation: David C. Webb, Newbury, MA: (978) 462-9312
Restoration masons: Richard Irons, Limerick, ME: rickirons.com
Architectural conservation services: Andrew Ladygo, Manchester, MA: (978) 525-3090
Preservation, decorative painting: Finch & Rose, Beverly, MA: (978) 922-4950
Decorative arts: Will Perkins, Ipswich, MA: (978) 356-5171
Restoration contracting: Vincent Richard Harrild/Harco Restorations, West Newbury, MA: (978) 462-4938

The tavern room, which serves as the main entrance, is also the breakfast room. Clusters of drying herbs hang over antique furnishings.

In a tale of adaptation and evolution, our central characters are Bob and Carol LeBeau, Massachusetts transplants who moved to coastal Maine in the 1980s. They had to adapt as they looked for the perfect plot of land and built their dream house. Ever since, their tastes as collectors have continued to evolve. “We live with and use everything,” Bob says, as the couple’s grandson runs freely around a house filled with antiques.

“We built the house in 1984,” Bob recounts. “We wanted to reproduce an antique gambrel. We salvaged the posts and beams from a 250-year-old timber frame barn and planned for that in the design, incorporating the structural elements—they span the entire width of the house.” The residence includes the house and a garage arranged on a single axis; these are separated by a one-story breakfast room that steps back, as if the house had a wing.

The LeBeau family’s efforts went on long after 1984, for they’ve continued to experiment and improve the interior and landscape. “It was a learning process,” Bob says. “When we moved in, we wallpapered, but eventually decided to strip the paper and stencil the walls.” Now almost every room includes decorative painting. But the treatments, too, evolved. “When we first stenciled, it was too bright, so we went back and glazed the walls over the stenciling with a wash to give it ‘age’.” Bob also painted geometric stenciled designs on the floors. Carol and Bob then commissioned local artist Tony Castro to paint the stairwell walls in the manner of the old itinerant painters, such as Rufus Porter and Moses Eaton.

The three-bedroom, one-and-a-half-bath house is home to inveterate collectors. Stoneware, spongeware, and redware fill shelves, and pewter is artfully displayed. As with their embrace of decorated walls, the LeBeaus came to their appreciation of painted furniture over a period of time. “When we moved in, we furnished in Ethan Allen pine,” Bob admits. “As we went antiquing, we started by collecting refinished pine pieces. We spent our weekends going to shows and auctions, and as we gained more knowledge, we began to appreciate the original, early paint on the better pieces, so that’s what we began to focus on.”

With a minimal use of standard cabinets, the kitchen blends in nicely.

Prominently featured in the couple’s collection are three tall-case clocks. “Two are from Connecticut, and the third is from Ireland—that one has wooden works.” The couple’s favorite pieces are a blanket chest with a false upper drawer in the dining room, and a six-drawer chest in the master bedroom, both with their early finishes. Antique chairs, cabinets, and tables have been carefully chosen to create the historical interior.

The LeBeaus labored to ensure that modern systems are unobtrusive; they concealed electrical outlets wherever possible and selected lighting fixtures that could be electrified with minimal impact. “In fact,” Bob says, “the dining-room ceiling doesn’t have electricity; we just use candles!” In the design of their kitchen, the couple chose to downplay the presence of appliances and concealed the refrigerator. The black range, from a restaurant supplier, blends seamlessly in its fair impersonation of a 19th-century cook-stove, complementing the simple cabinets.

The six-drawer chest, in its original finish, is a cherished possession of the LeBeaus. The couple hired a local craftsperson to make bedhangings like those that would have been found on their antique bed.

Just recently, the LeBeaus purchased an 18th-century paneled wall and fireplace surround with old paint, and will install it as the central focus of their parlor. Care has been taken so that the old work won’t need modification.

Outside, the grounds and gardens are the result of years of painstaking work. The sprawling back yard is framed by stone walls, which the LeBeaus built themselves. “Whenever we had some free time, we’d go out and build a section,” Bob says. The couple also created a pleasing array of beds in the yard, along with a vegetable garden surrounded by a picket fence to deter wildlife.

Even though their home is furnished with an abundance of antiques, Bob and Carol refuse to be held prisoner by them. “We live with and use everything,” Bob says, as the couple’s grandson runs freely around the house. Although they don’t see themselves as Luddites, the LeBeaus “don’t have a computer, cell phone, or fax machine . . . we don’t need them. The television is hidden in a cabinet,” Bob says. “But we do buy candles by the gross!”