Northshore Home magazine highlights the best in architectural design, new construction and renovations, interiors, and landscape design.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1206063
44 WINTER 2020 inspire nshoremag.com/nshorehome/ renovations, one of her main tasks was to open up the second floor of the ell, which had been chopped up into smaller rooms over the years. No job is too big or too small for Sides. From the Gold Coast mansions of Cape Ann to the graceful farm estates of Argilla Road in Ipswich, she has left her mark. Recipient of a 2018 Historic Salem Preservation Award for her work on a stately Chestnut Street row house (and its carriage house), she combines her clients' wishes with careful consideration of how their unique home speaks to her. "My practice has developed into working with older houses, and addressing the typical needs: updated or new kitchen, mudroom, half bath, and master bedroom suite." Thus, she strives to give the homeowners she works with "just enough" new house so that they also continue to use the old part. Attention to detail was not lacking in the renova- tion of the McIntire house. Sides's first step was to let the floor plan speak to her. "I really need to draw the floor plans of an old house to know how it works," she professes. After she goes through that drafting process, it becomes clear to her what she can and cannot do in her plans. "Circulation and proportion are so important; with the McIntire house, the harmony of the spaces is really beautiful." Even though some of the rooms were updated dur- ing the Victorian era, that did not bother Sides, who appreciates those long-ago renovations as well. Accord- ingly, her goal is to always try and save as much origi- nal building material as possible. "Every single piece of an old house is settled into fitting and supporting the house—even nonbearing walls become bearing walls." Of course, renovating an antique like the Butman- Waters House requires a significant monetary invest- ment. Another suggestion Sides made to November was to apply for historic tax credits in order to help finance the project. Doug Kelleher from Massachusetts-based Epsilon Associates, Inc., was hired to take on this aspect of the project. "Securing state and federal tax credits is a complicated and competitive process," Sides explains. "Also, you never know how much of the possible 20 percent credit you are going to receive." It did pay off for November, who was able to secure almost all of the available tax credits for his home. In order to qualify for the credits, however, the property must generate income for at least five years. Once plans were approved by the Salem Historic District Commission, November hired North Bennet Street School–trained carpenter Jeffrey Grinarml to do the restoration work. "He has no intention of doing things the quick way, but rather, the right way," praises Sides. Just one example was making new wooden clapboards of different sizes to replace rotted ones. In addition, where appropriate, Grinarml and his carpenters repurposed some original pine floorboards to create a new staircase in the ell addition. Original Indian shutters, found rotting in the attic, were restored and fitted back into upstairs bathroom window pockets. By the spring of 2019, the old Salem dwelling sparkled with new paint. Custom wooden shutters were hung, original period windows cleaned up, wide-plank pine floors polished, and the precious McIntire-carved interior details reborn. Modern amenities had also been subtly incorporated without sacrificing the historical integrity of the building. Thanks to a team effort, led by Sides, another important old house was restored for the modern era. helensides.com Wooden clapboards that were rotted were replicated for the exterior of the home. Every detail was meticulously addressed.