Northshore Home magazine highlights the best in architectural design, new construction and renovations, interiors, and landscape design.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/579535
112 W H A T T H E Y B O U G H T W A S A H I S T O R I C cottage-turned-farmhouse, which had been added onto over time. What they envisioned was a home whose design fulfilled years' worth of accumulated wishes. What they achieved was a seaside charmer that delights in all four seasons. "I'm all about renovating houses," admits the owner, who, along with her husband, enjoys the challenge of finding the potential within existing structures. "It's something we find really fun." The couple has lived in Manchester, in a few different places, for 30 years. "We moved into one home that was sort of a builder's night- mare, fixed it up, sold it, and moved into a beautiful 1860 summer home that we renovated from top to bottom," she relates. When friends approached them about buying their 1820 farmhouse, set on a four-and-a-half-acre lot, they found themselves drawn to the opportunity. The property's amenities, including its proximity to town, the train, and the beach, were hard to pass up. A path leading down to the beach that begins right across the street was an added bonus. Upon purchase, the home consisted of an existing street-front cot- tage with an added wing off the back. However, the owners' wish list, which included a large kitchen, family room, mudroom, garage, and master suite, meant that a combination renovation/addition project was in order. The pair turned to friend and architect John Olson, princi- pal of Manchester–based Olson Lewis + Architects, to realize their vision. "They wanted the house to fit them, almost as if they were build- ing it from scratch," says Olson. Making the existing structure, with its predominance of small spaces, feel new again was no small feat. The process involved preserving the integrity of the historic structure