Although nearly two years went by from the first whispers of intent to the last detail hammered into place, homeowners Charlie and Dianne Grondine and daughter Emily never flinched from their vision for the once-endangered 1893 Colonial Revival house in Westford, Massachusetts. Dianne and Emily pictured a home with the elegance of the Gilded Age restored, meanwhile Charlie envisioned maintenance-free, energy-efficient living. All saw the property, which includes a carriage house, as a multigenerational home, with Emily and her fiancé Ethan Hudon living in the main house and Charlie and Dianne moving into the carriage house once it is renovated.
Initially built for a wealthy textile merchant, the stately residence had endured time, weather, and even fire with many original architectural details intact. The Grondines, with their aspiration of honoring both history and sustainability, turned to TOH home builder Charlie Silva for the renovation, which was documented as part of the 46th season of This Old House.
Elegant Echoes of the Past
“I admire the homeowners’ dedication to preserving as many original elements as possible, while also creating a comfortable home with their own design aesthetic,” says TOH host Kevin O’Connor. Even though the house had been damaged by a fire years earlier, hints of its early opulence remained. Taking center stage, literally, is the main entry’s grand staircase. The architectural spine of the house, the staircase once again exudes late 19th century grandeur with its original white oak stair treads, rich mahogany banister, turned balusters, and paneled wainscot stripped of their lead paint and beautifully refinished.
“The staircase has seen generations walk up and down those steps,” says Dianne. “We couldn’t imagine the house without it, and we knew from the start it would be a primary focus.” Emphasizing the grandeur is an antique brass and glass-droplet chandelier Emily bought and had rewired and restored by a specialist to hang above the staircase from the second-floor ceiling. An avid antiques shopper, Emily prowled many Massachusetts and New Hampshire shops and co-ops to find everything from the chandelier to early-1900s tables, chests, and other focal pieces for every room.
Less opulent than the grand staircase but equally meaningful are original details such as the delicately restored carved head casings over the first-floor parlor doorways, a type of flourish rarely found in new construction. In the front and rear parlors, bay windows once again are hung with stained-glass interior shutters—some original to the home and restored by a stained-glass artisan.
“Everywhere we could, we restored or rebuilt for an authentic 19th century look even if we used new materials,” says Charlie. The window seats in the bay windows of the back parlor and dining room are a prime example, rebuilt in the same design as those found in the house but using cabinet-grade birch plywood and the skills of TOH general contractor Tom Silva and carpenter Kevin Rafferty.
“The original details in this house speak to an earlier time and it’s a pleasure to be able to honor that tradition,” says Tom.
For the exterior, Charlie used maintenance-free materials on every surface but a passerby from the town’s main street would never know. Clad in a composite siding that visually mirrors classic wood clapboards, the exterior looks every bit the 1893 original. The house’s signature front portico, once the dignified entryway for guests arriving in carriages, looks true to the original because Charlie used an historical photo as the model for the new cellular PVC railings and trim. Fiberglass gutters instead of wood, metal roof shingles replacing fire-damaged slate for the hipped roof, and a widow’s walk complete the illusion.
A New Chapter
Inside, the layout largely remains true to the home’s roots with updates to ensure the space supports a 21st-century lifestyle. The rear of the home now features an open-plan kitchen and dining area, with a modest bump-out that accommodates a deck off the kitchen. Beneath the deck, a greenhouse provides a gardening hub and looks like it was always there thanks to TOH mason Mark McCullough’s painstaking work to use original granite—preserved when an opening was cut into house’s foundation to create an opening for a garage—as veneer for the greenhouse’s concrete foundation. Upstairs, a large primary bedroom includes a newly added sunroom bump-out while an adjacent bedroom has been converted to use as a media room.
The kitchen particularly reflects the next evolution for the house, with many of the design decisions made by daughter Emily. “I had strong opinions about what I wanted for the kitchen, particularly no upper cabinets, no center island, and lots of pale green” says Emily, who likes a streamlined look, ample windows, and a soothing color scheme. The kitchen’s quartzite countertops running along two perimeter walls provide plenty of prep space and the adjacent dining room is the preferred spot for casual or formal meals.
The dining room walls speak to the homeowners’ love of history and design: a mural they commissioned, hand-painted on canvas, portrays a foxhunt scene winding through Westford’s historic landmarks and a thistle border, a nod both to the Scottish ancestry of the house’s original owner and local pride.
Systems for Delivering Comfort
While much of the charm lies in what has been preserved, the home’s invisible systems reveal its forward-thinking underpinnings. For HVAC, a state-of-the-art air-to-water heat pump system now delivers heating, cooling, and domestic hot water through a high-efficiency mini-duct network. “This air-to-water system is something we have never used on a TOH project but it is an emerging trend,” says TOH plumbing and heating expert Richard Trethewey. “It not only keeps the interior comfortable in winter and cool in summer but also maintains the clean lines and uncluttered ceilings that define the period of the house.”
Homeowner Charlie Grondine applied his interest in energy efficiency to the source of the electricity that powers the new HVAC system as well. On part of the property, solar experts installed a ground-mounted solar field composed of 36 photovoltaic panels generating nearly all the home’s electricity. “I’m glad we had the land to accommodate this system,” says Charlie, who had his heart set on solar but knew the house’s hipped roof, dormers, and widow’s walk left no room for a roof-mounted array.
TOH landscape contractor Jenn Nawada incorporated classic and practical elements in her landscape plan, choosing hydrangea for granite planters, apple trees out front, and screening around the backyard’s solar field consisting of crabapples layered with viburnum. “We will make sure the trees don’t throw shading on the photovoltaic panels,” says Jenn.
History Redesigned for the Future
With architectural splendor restored, there is plenty of future proofing as well. The rebuilt attic has insulated walls ready to be finished so the space can become a playroom or home office, with dormers and high ceilings providing a sense of spaciousness. The attic also includes a stairway to the widow’s walk complete with a well-sealed operable hatch. Best of all, the central staircase stands ready for a bit of romance to come: Emily and Ethan plan to be married in the house with the stair landing providing the perfect spot for a wedding photo. “We have seen wedding photos taken in that spot years ago,” says Emily. “The house is living up to our vision in every way.”
