200
house in Ipswich that was on the
National Trust for Historic Preserva-
tion's Most Endangered Places list,
architect Mathew Cummings has
become somewhat of a champion of
old houses on the North Shore. In-
stead of suggesting that clients tear
down well-worn dwellings and start
fresh, he looks at ways to restore the
building—always seeing potential
in these antique beauties no matter
how dilapidated they may be.
)or a barn in ToSsfield,
Cummings advised his clients, Sa-
rah and Jon, to save the structure.
"Sarah and Jon had me out to assess
The 1790 barn
was restored to
be part of the
living space.
if the barn was salvageable—they
wanted to repurpose the build-
ing into a great room and master
suite," says Cummings. Sarah and
Jon were thrilled with this news.
Other architects had told them
that the structure was unsound
and needed to be torn down. "We
wanted to preserve the building but
thought it would be too expensive,"
says Sarah.
The barn is attached to a hand-
some 1870 Victorian and makes
a prominent statement along
the main roadway. The idea was
to expand into the barn, which
would offer the couple additional
living and storage space over
four levels. The design program
called for creating a great room,
a master bedroom and bath suite,
an exercise room, a play loft, a
After restoring a First Period
