This is just one of the ways Eastward Companies integrated
the original elements of the home into the renovation. The
original doors were refinished and then distributed throughout
the home, where they were best suited for use and visual appeal,
such as a pocket door in a newly added first floor half bath.
The beams have been repurposed for aesthetics, with modern
structural elements hidden behind. Marsh explains that a huge
piece of engineered lumber stretches across the main room,
disguised behind the old wood, which still exhibits the mortice
and tenon and the grading of the lumber.
Interior posts are also still in place, symbolically designating
the stepping off point into the newly enlarged living space. “It’s
the way people want to live today,” says Marsh. “We can give
specific rooms their own dedicated space, but still make them
open to everything else.”
The kitchen is new, as is the side wing with two-car garage,
laundry room, separate entrance and second-floor guest suite.
Even though these spaces are contemporary additions, their
design incorporates nineteenth century ambiance, such as
refurbished barn doors used for the guest bedroom closet.
“They tied this entire wing in so beautifully with doors and
beams,” says Cathy, who requested that modern flooring in the
great room be replaced with original wood. “The new hardwood
floors just didn’t work for me,” she says. “They had old boards in
the barn, so we had them done to match the original floors.”
The 1823 house had two floors, but the upstairs now houses
additional bedrooms, baths, a sitting area and a laundry room.
Marsh again incorporated antique wood, doors and beams into
remodeled spaces, while still making the home eminently livable.
“Every bedroom has its own bath now and we used glass panels
to not interrupt the view, “ says Marsh. The upstairs sitting area
features a wet bar, balcony and a gas fireplace, which brings
the total number of fireplaces to seven, including the outdoor
fireplace that is part of a sunken brick patio area, accessible both
from a finished walk-out basement and the exterior yard.
Access to the three levels of the home provided Marsh with
one of his biggest challenges. “We were never sure where to put the
stairwell,” he says. “Originally there was a really steep staircase at
the front entrance, then there was a back staircase, then it was over
near the kitchen, which didn’t really serve the house well.”
Ultimately they moved the staircase to its current location
at the far side of the living area, which helped to create a perfect
nook for Cathy’s piano. “I said to Richard the only thing I really
needed was a place for my piano and my grandfather clock,
and both fit perfectly.” In fact, the Morrises were thrilled to
find that all their furniture seemed to match their new home
AT HOME ON CAPE COD 44 • SPRING/SUMMER 2019