A Fine Carriage House Becomes a Refined Home

BY BARBARA RHINES

A couple with deep roots in Concord had the good fortune to inherit a property with an old carriage house near Concord Center. While already happily living in Concord, this inheritance posed the question: Where would they like to spend their retirement years?

After consulting with the real estate company LandVest, they decided on the less likely candidate for their home—the unrenovated, unheated, uninsulated 1870s carriage house. Its prime location was ideally suited to their desire to age in place, and they did not want to sell a property that had been in the family since circa 1870.

The unrenovated carriage house.

Photo courtesy of the honmeowners

It took personal research and a high level of collaboration with experts in barn restoration, architecture, kitchen design, and landscaping to take a four-stall horse barn and turn it into a home. The result is an exquisite historical renovation, fitted for every modern need.

To be clear, this was no ordinary carriage house even at its inception. Built in a whimsical Carpenter Gothic style, the level of workmanship and design signaled the esteem in which the original family’s horses and carriages were held. A ventilating cupola edged in gingerbread trim and topped with a sleek finial showcased the latest building innovations and style during the midVictorian period.

In the process of raising the building to create a new foundation.

Photo courtesy of the homeowners

But in 2012, the couple was greeted with the reality of a structure that had never been designed for heating and perched on its original brick-faced porous stone foundation. In fact, other than basic roof repairs, the carriage house had remained unchanged and unused since 1949. “A raccoon had moved into the cupola,” recalls the homeowner.

During the 18-month planning process with the architectural team, the couple found a book, Cottage Residences by Andrew Jackson Downing, written in 1850. Design XV, “A Carriage-House and Stable in the Rustic Pointed Style,” seemed to be the inspiration for their own carriage house in terms of layout and facade. This book, along with Downing’s The Architecture of Country Houses (1850), became their references for making decisions on period-appropriate colors and understanding the architectural components of the carriage house’s design.

Photo courtesy of the homeowners

The couple felt that the original footprint should remain unchanged, so their builder lifted the entire structure and dug down to pour a new foundation, creating a finished lower level. The first floor was reconfigured into living space and the hayloft re-imagined into a music studio. Original doors, trim, and trusses were retained whenever possible. Woodwork was recreated where needed, and the symmetry of the facade was respected, including keeping the original stable doors.

The couple now walks to all that Concord offers and retreats to this gem of a property. Saving a rare example of a 19th-century outbuilding in Concord Center and repurposing it to meet today’s needs is exactly what historical preservation seeks to accomplish.

Barbara Rhines is a freelance writer in the Boston area specializing in architectural history, home renovation, and the decorative arts.