Wrap-up

December 1, 2017

Today we celebrate 16 years since our move to Perry, Maine. We discovered 'Down East' on our honeymoon and a couple of years later left an increasingly hyper-gentrified Hamptons for a bucolic 8 ½ acre farm on Boyden Lake. Our restored 1890s farmhouse, complete with his and hers studios, was featured in the June issue of Down East: The Magazine of Maine.

We are grateful to neighbors, friends of the original family and Golding ancestors who have generously shared stories, photographs and family heirlooms with us.

This year we were fortunate to work with clients whose goals leaned strongly towards preservation and restoration. These are special opportunities for us. Successful hunts for antique hardware, lighting and appliances; plus following the home's ancient 'tells' made these projects especially authentic. A bit of magic always happens when a room or project comes to feel as though it has always been that way.

In August we completed phase 1 of the restoration of the historic 'Holmestead' front door portico. Its graceful 'S' shaped support brackets and acanthus leaf finials - returned to the crispness they once had when new. An unanticipated bit of serendipity occurred when we discovered, hanging in plain sight, on a nail between two studs, in the corner of the properties' original barn, a rough wooden 'S' shaped template. When we held it up to the portico brackets it was a perfect match. After 167 years residing untouched in the old barn, it has found a new home on display in the museum next door.

Special thanks to the great, great granddaughter of the home's builder who responded to our queries - graciously sharing stories and images of her ancestor, master builder and architect, Asher B. Bassford. One is a photograph of Bassford in top hat and fine clothes posing with great dignity taken about the time of the Civil War.

In September we took a much-needed break to see old friends on Long Island and catch up with the restoration at the Ketcham Inn. The day we arrived restoration specialist, Scott Brown, was just putting the finishing touches on a massive walk-in hearth with beehive oven he was recreating in the earliest section of the inn; a settlement cottage dating to 1690. By the weekend we were enjoying a hearty stew cooked in a cast iron pot and bread baked in the brick oven for the fireplace's maiden meal. The Ketcham Inn recently received a grant from the Robert David Lion Gardner Foundation to develop educational historic cooking programs which are bringing life back to the 300-year-old inn.

Visit our facebook page to see before, during and after photos of the kitchen, pantry, bathroom and library projects.

Click here for the history of our home, virtual tour, and before & after slide show.

(click photo to view larger image)