If you’ve been thinking of ways to turn your outdoor space into the place you dream of, let’s talk. With decades of experience and hundreds of happy clients from the Seacoast to the Lakes Region, we offer comprehensive landscape, hardscape, and maintenance services. From lighting and irrigation, to patios and lawn & tree care, we’ll keep you smiling all season long.
Enjoy
If you are Selling
We will strategically promote your property with intelligent, targeted content to a local and global audience.
Kristin Hayes Claire 603-464-9448 | kclaire@landvest.com
If you are Buying
We offer spectacular properties for sale across the country. Our team will deliver the market insight needed to make your next move an intelligent one.
Andrea Tindal 603-731-1937| atindal@landvest.com
Sam Howard 603-815-2242 | showard@landvest.com
Chris Lang 802-274-4048 | clang@landvest.com
Liam Jerome 508-523-8022 | ljerome@landvest.com
More than kitchens, Vermont Cabinetry designs and builds custom quality storage solutions for your entire home. For nearly 40 years, all of our cabinets are built with the finest of materials and care here in New England. Call or email to visit our factory showroom and speak with a cabinet professional.
Experience one of the region’s largest slab yard, where you will nd a lot to choose from with more than 150 colors of granite, and quartz from names like Cambria, Silestone, LG Viaterra, and BGE Quartz. Discover a wide selection of Laminam large-size porcelain slabs used in traditional and advanced architecture and design, or explore an almost endless selection of remnants. Make an appointment to visit our new Slab Yard and Design Center and choose your perfect countertop.
Photography by Rob Karosis
52 Home, Again
What started as a simple refresh became an extended plan to return a lake house to its well-loved past. By Bill Burke
Photography by John W. Hession and Morgan Karanasios
62 Old Meets New Modern sophistication meets grand Victorian architecture. By Emily Heidt
Photography by Rob Karosis
22 From the Editor
Salads By Mary Ann Esposito
38 By Design
Net-Zero Lessons Learned By Brion O’Connor
Photography by John W. Hession
44 Our Community Building on Hope Celebrates 10 Years By Karen A. Jamrog
78 Garden Rx
Portsmouth Pocket Garden Tour By Robin Sweetser
88 At Home in New Hampshire Room for the Heart By Rick Broussard
Illustration by Carolyn Vibbert SPECIAL ADVERTISING SECTIONS 71 A sk the Experts Outdoor Living Inspiration 87 Home Resources departments
residential commercial interior design
There’s no place like to reach your advertising audience
New Hampshire Home readers invest in their homes — two-thirds of our 84,000 readers plan to remodel or renovate.* Readers turn to New Hampshire Home for inspired design and décor for their home and garden improvements.
Put your company in front of this affluent and interested audience, looking for top notch services.
Amanda Andrews is a digital content editor and podcaster based in southern New Hampshire. She is also a freelance editor for several publications and can be reached at amandaandrews@comcast.net.
Bill Burke is a contributing editor at New Hampshire Magazine and the managing editor of custom publications at McLean Communications, the parent company of both New Hampshire Home and New Hampshire Magazine. He is also the author of travel advice books on Walt Disney World, which happens to be one of his favorite places.
Rick Broussard is the longtime editor of New Hampshire Magazine. He lives in Concord.
Mary Ann Esposito is the host of the public television series “Ciao Italia,” now in its 29th season, and the author of 13 cookbooks, including her most recent, “Ciao Italia: My Lifelong Food Adventures in Italy.” She lives in New Hampshire. Visit her website at ciaoitalia.com.
Emily Heidt is the assistant editor at New Hampshire Magazine. A graduate of the University of New Hampshire, she now lives in Exeter.
John W. Hession is New Hampshire Home’s photo editor as well as a photographer and filmmaker specializing in architecture, design, food and advertising. He is currently working on a series of films for the New Hampshire Dance Collaborative. See his work at advanceddigitalphotography.com.
Karen A. Jamrog is a longtime freelancer who covers a wide variety of topics. She is a frequent contributor to New Hampshire Magazine, where she is also the regular Health Department writer.
Rob Karosis has been creating award-winning architectural photography for more than 30 years. While specializing in photographing high-end residential and commercial spaces, his expertise extends to advertising and corporate projects, including hotels and resorts, retirement living communities and golf courses. See more of his work at robkarosisphoto.com.
Morgan Karanasios is New Hampshire Home’s photographer. While she was a student in Dijon, France, she took photographs throughout Europe and continues to develop her passion for photography.
Brion O’Connor is a freelance writer and journalist whose work has appeared in many publications, i ncluding Men’s Journal, Sports Illustrated, ESPN, The Boston Globe, The New York Times, Bicycling, Men’s Fitness, Boston Magazine, New Hampshire Magazine and numerous in-flight magazines.
Contact Jessica Schooley jschooley@mcleancommunications.com (603) 413-5143 • (603) 345-2752
nnhomemagazine.com
Robin Sweetser writes on gardening for the Sunday Concord Monitor and is a contributor to the Old Farmer’s Almanac, among other publications. A former Seacoast resident, she now lives and gardens in Hillsborough.
Carolyn Vibbert is a Portsmouth illustrator whose work also appears on packaging for food and wine brands such as Barbara’s, Stone Cellars and Williams Sonoma. She is represented by Freda Scott, and you can see more of her work at fredascottcreative.com.
There are certain spaces in our homes where we actually create health and happiness. Rooms where water flows and light shines. Enjoy hundreds of bath, kitchen and lighting products in room settings that help you envision them in your home. Experience working displays that allow you to choose with confidence. Frank Webb Home’s friendly experts delight in helping you make these spaces your own. Let’s create health and happiness in your home.
MAY/JUNE 2021 V OL. 15 | NUMBER 3 nhhomemagazine.com
VICE PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER Ernesto Burden
EDITOR Erica Thoits
ART DIRECTOR John R. Goodwin
PHOTO EDITOR John W. Hession
ASSOCIATE EDITOR Kara Steere
PHOTOGRAPHER Morgan Karanasios
SENIOR DESIGNERS
Jodie Hall, Nicole Huot
CONTRIBUTORS
Amanda Andrews, John Benford, Bill Burke, Rick Broussard, Mary Ann Esposito, Emily Heidt, Karen A. Jamrog, Rob Karosis, Brion O’Connor, Joe St Pierre Robin Sweetser, Dave Turner and Carolyn Vibbert
SALES DIRECTOR
Jessica Schooley (603) 413-5143 • (603) 345-2752 jschooley@mcleancommunications.com
VP/CONSUMER MARKETING Brook Holmberg
VP/RETAIL SALES Sherin Pierce
BUSINESS MANAGER Mista McDonnell
EVENT & MARKETING MANAGER Emily Samatis
BUSINESS & SALES COORDINATOR Heather Rood
DIGITAL MEDIA SPECIALIST Morgen Connor
EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE
Erica Thoits, editor New Hampshire Home 150 Dow Street; Manchester, NH 03101 (603) 736-8056 editor@nhhomemagazine.com
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Subscriptions, New Hampshire Home PO Box 37900, Boone, IA 50037-0900 call (877) 494-2036; subscribe online at nhhomemagazine.com; or email customerservice@nhhomemagazine.com
Hampshire Home is published bimonthly by McLean Communications, Llc.; 150 Dow Street; Manchester, NH 03101; (603) 624-1442. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without the publisher’s written permission is prohibited. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any mistakes in advertisements or editorial. Statements and opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect or represent those of this publication or its officers. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, McLean Communications, Llc.: New Hampshire Home disclaims all responsibility for omissions and errors.
Restoring a home preserves more than just a building.
THERE’S A CERTAIN KIND OF MAGIC THAT HAPPENS when a place is imbued with happy memories. Through the eyes of someone who has learned to love it, most anything can become something more than it really is. Flaws aren’t just overlooked—they’re smoothed into becoming part of the charm; they’re transformed into the unique quirks that make your place unlike anything else.
When I was little, my mother’s parents and I had a spot—the Village Café in Portland, Maine. And we had rituals: I would ask a bemused (I hope) waitperson to bring my grandfather a “hanmattan” (Manhattan in non-small-child speak) with extra cherries—the not-seen-innature red kind—which my grandfather scooped out and gave to me. My usual was penne with sauce on the side, into which I oh-so-carefully dipped my pasta (losing one off the fork was an ever-present danger), and when we left, I always checked the pay phones for any forgotten change. And, yes, pay phones, plural.
I was genuinely sad when the Village closed in 2007. The regulars were fading, competition was fierce, and Old Port real estate was quickly becoming a precious commodity. Eventually, to make way for the new and trendy, the Village, with its endearing-to-me cheesy décor, oldschool food and utter lack of pretension, was pushed aside. Maybe such progress is inevitable, but there’s a cost that should be considered, or at least acknowledged, even if the outcome ultimately remains the same.
Vincenzo Reali opened the Village Café in 1936, and it stayed in his family for its entire seven decades of existence, passing down from father to son to grandson. In a city quickly changing to adapt to new tastes, a family lost a piece of their history.
In this issue, a beloved family home happily meets an entirely different fate.
When Deborah Coffin was considering her family’s summer house on Lake Winnipesaukee (see story on page 52), her goal was to preserve
the past while making way for the new. Rather than demolish the original and start fresh, as happens so often on the shores of our picturesque lakes, her love for the home— flaws and all—let her see the potential for something special.
The house, called Two Pines, has been in her family since it was originally built in the 1900s. Some of her earliest memories, she says, include summers there, catching bass from the family’s boathouse and enjoying their piece of waterfront. It’s the place she remembers fondly, not just for the location but for the time spent with her grandparents.
There was no doubt Two Pines, which had undergone some changes in the 1970s, needed some major updates. However, the mission from the start, says Coffin, was to restore the house to the much-loved place of her childhood.
While working on the story, it struck me that this is where Coffin had her version of “hanmattans” and fastidious pasta-dipping, but she had the chance to ensure those memories lived on in more than just her heart—and she took it.
Coffin and the design team found family heirlooms in the attic, including an old wooden propeller that likely belonged to Coffin’s grandmother, Betty, the first woman to earn a pilot’s license in Connecticut. The propeller now hangs on the wall of the children’s room, which is also adorned with photos of Betty and the many planes she flew.
Such connections to family abound in Two Pines, where new memories can be made while surrounded by precious reminders of the past, and traditions can continue in the place they were formed. That’s special, indeed.
When it comes to life outdoors, nothing outperforms the #1 name in outdoor living. Only Trex® is engineered to eliminate time-consuming maintenance while providing superior scratch, fade and stain resistance. From decking to railings, Trex o ers an array of eco-friendly products to help you design and build an outdoor living space to make all your dreams a reality. Visit trex.com for more outdoor living product ideas and inspiration from Trex.
Conserve bee populations with this adorable hexagonal bee habitat that encourages local pollination. Wind & Weather • windandweather.com
Light up the night with a unique sculpture that draws in an admiring crowd. Gardener’s Supply Company in Burlington, Vt. • gardeners.com
Arrange your microgreens in a vertical planter box on an exterior wall or inside the kitchen for convenience. Woodscrappers Art in Bedford • etsy.com/shop/woodscrappersart
Enjoy a cup of tea or coffee with this teak patio set. Harris Family Furniture in Chichester harrisfamilyfurniture.com
Prospect Hill Antiques is proudly partnered with Lisa Garrahan
offering full scale interior design services
Lisa Garrahan is an interior consultant available for private consultations at the Gallery. Lisa has been involved in home design for over thirty years, buying and renovating her first house at the age of twenty. She has been the lead designer on multiple residential properties in New Hampshire and Massachusetts as well as commercial office space in the Boston area. Lisa can work with you to create beautiful rooms for comfortable living — rooms that work with your family and your lifestyle.
Visit our showroom to see our lines of fine home furnishings featuring:
Revelation
Simon Pearce Stickley, Summer 2021 and custom-made furniture from New England’s finest craftsmen
Also showing Fine Art from 20 New England Artists.
Sunapee,
Sunapee Harbor Editors pick for
and
The change of seasons is our cue to move on from the comfort foods of winter.
It’s time to let go of the heavy, hearty foods of winter and welcome spring with lighter fare. For me, that means more salads, and spring offers some gorgeous vegetable choices to get us motivated.
If you are thinking that salad just means bunches of leafy greens cloaked in bottled dressing, think again— salads have moved on and up from a staid image of being one-dimensional. Think sweet spring snow peas, sturdy spinach, spicy arugula, ruby red radishes, stately stalks of asparagus, compact and meaty artichoke hearts, brilliant green fava beans, spring onions and beets—these are just some of the ingredients that can turn a salad into a work of culinary art.
Salads should have a mix of color and texture. Rice, legumes, pasta and proteins—such as chicken, seafood, eggs, tofu, steak, cheese and nuts—make a salad a complete balanced meal.
In addition to greens and vegetable salads, there are bound or molded salads—which are held together with some sort of thickener, such as mayonnaise or yogurt, or the shimmering gelatin-based ones.
Popular now are chopped salads— where the ingredients are all cut into uniform pieces.
Ever wonder where the word “salad” comes from? It’s derived from “sal,” the word for “salt.” In ancient times, salt was a valuable commodity and a form of currency. That’s where the
expression “not worth its salt” comes from. Food historians believe that wild greens were eaten with salt, and so we have salad.
At one time, salads’ place in a meal was a course by itself, usually before the main dish. Although in European cultures like France and Italy, salad is the last course before dessert.
No matter what kind of salad you crave, the dressing should comple-
By Mary Ann Esposito | Photography by John W. Hession
ment the ingredients, so the details are definitely in the dressing. Most popular are vinaigrette-based dressings made with olive or seed oils; some sort of acid, such as vinegar or citrus juices; salt; pepper; garlic; and onion. But the sky’s the limit: yogurt, poppyseed, buttermilk, honey mustard, herbs and cheese are some other popular ingredients for dressing. NHH
Lots of Asian flair and crunchy vegetables make up this light-tasting salad. Want to add a bit of protein? Chicken, salmon, cheese and legumes (such as chickpeas) are all good add-ins.
2 cups sugar snap peas
1 8-ounce can sliced water chestnuts, drained and well rinsed
¼ cup thinly sliced spring onions
4 radishes, sliced into thin rounds
½ cup mandarin orange segments
1 blood orange, peeled and cut into rounds (optional)
¼ cup sliced almonds
1/8 teaspoon poppy seeds
1. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium-size saucepan; add the sugar snap peas and boil for 2 minutes, uncovered. Drain and rinse under cold water, then blot dry with a towel.
2. Transfer the peas to a salad bowl and add the rest of the salad ingredients except for the almonds and poppy seeds. Toss gently to combine.
3. Pour the dressing over the salad and toss gently. Add the almonds and toss again. Sprinkle the poppy seeds evenly over the top of the salad. Serve at once.
2 tablespoons sunflower or grapeseed oil
2 tablespoons toasted sesame seed oil
3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
½ teaspoon dry mustard
2 tablespoons honey
1 garlic clove, finely minced
1 teaspoon grated ginger
¼ teaspoon Chinese five spice
½ teaspoon salt, or more to taste
1. In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients in the order given, and whisk until an emulsion is formed.
Turkey salad gets a flavor boost from peppery arugula, spring peas and citrus served in an avocado boat.
1 pound cooked boneless turkey breast, cubed to make 2 cups
1 cup fresh peas
1 cup arugula leaves, torn into small pieces
2 ripe avocados
Reserved lemon juice from the dressing
¼ cup sliced almonds
1. Combine the turkey, peas and arugula, and toss to combine well. Pour the dressing over the turkey mixture and toss well. Set aside.
2. Cut the avocados in half and remove the pits. Use a large spoon and remove the avocado halves from their skins by inserting the spoon between the skin and the pulp, and following the contour of the halves. Place the halves in a bowl. Pour the remaining lemon juice from the dressing over the avocados and toss them gently to coat them well.
3. Arrange the avocado halves on each of 4 salad plates and divide the turkey mixture to fill the halves. Garnish with the almonds.
Recipe courtesy of Mary Ann Esposito
1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
Juice and zest of 2 large lemons
1 teaspoon dry mustard
¼ cup honey
3 spring onions, cut into thin rings
1 teaspoon salt, or more to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
1. In a small bowl, whisk together the olive oil, 4 tablespoons of lemon juice, plus the zest, dry mustard, honey, onions, salt and pepper.
2. Reserve the remaining lemon juice to use in the salad.
SERVES 4–6
Lentils are protein-packed, as tasty cool as they are warm and perfect in a pasta salad. In this case, red lentils (which add a nice pop of color) are combined with tuna.
1 tablespoon salt, plus more to taste
8 ounces whole-wheat penne pasta or other short-cut pasta
1 cup drained, cooked red lentils
8 ounces tuna, packed in oil, drained and crumbled
2 carrots, peeled and diced
10 cherry tomatoes, quartered
1 rib of celery, diced
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 small bunch parsley, chopped
2 tablespoons capers in salt, rinsed well Pepper, to taste
1. Bring 4 quarts water to a boil in a pasta pot, add 1 tablespoon salt and the pasta; cook until the pasta is al dente. Drain the pasta and transfer it to a bowl. Combine the pasta with the remaining ingredients, seasoning it to taste with the salt and pepper.
2. Chill the pasta salad for a half hour before serving.
Recipe courtesy of Mary Ann Esposito
SERVES 4–6
Tart and fresh rhubarb rounds out the flavor of this spring fruit salad that can be served for dessert, as a healthy snack or a lunch, topped with a dollop of yogurt or cottage cheese.
2 cups thinly sliced fresh rhubarb
4 tablespoons maple syrup
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups strawberries, washed and cut in half
1 blood or navel orange, peeled and sectioned
4 kiwi fruit, peeled, cut into ¼-inch thick rounds and then quartered
2 tablespoons lemon or lime juice
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1. Combine the rhubarb, maple syrup and salt in a sauce pan. Cook over medium heat until the mixture softens into a sauce consistency. Transfer the sauce to a bowl and set aside to cool.
2. Place all the fruit in a medium-size bowl, and pour the lemon or lime juice over it; mix well. Stir in the ginger. Pour the rhubarb mixture over the fruits and stir gently.
Recipe courtesy of Mary Ann Esposito
Chopped salads are in the spotlight, and as the name implies, the ingredients are chopped, sometimes so minutely that a forkful contains a bit of everything.
1 small bunch asparagus, stalks cut crosswise into thirds
1 small hearts of romaine, cut crosswise into thin strips
2 cups chopped radicchio
1 small red onion, peeled and diced
1 cup quartered cherry tomatoes
1 cup pearl mozzarella balls
1 small zucchini, cut into ¼-inch dice
½ cup pitted whole or sliced brineor oil-cured green olives
1. Place the asparagus in a small pot of boiling water and blanche for 2 minutes. Drain and dry the asparagus.
2. In a salad bowl, arrange the salad ingredients (except for the dressing) in separate piles next to each other. Drizzle the dressing evenly over the top. Toss at the table. Serve.
3. For the dressing, whisk together ingredients in a small bowl.
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 teaspoons sugar
2 tablespoons fresh minced parsley
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Salt, to taste
Ground black pepper, to taste
Celebrating the positives provided by net-zero homes.
When Ruth Smith and her spouse, Beth McGuinn, decided to build their energy-efficient home at Featherleaf Farm in Canterbury 15 years ago, they weren’t just thinking of themselves. Instead, as their guiding principle, the couple leaned on a Native American philosophy of considering the next seven generations. Smith and McGuinn envisioned how people, seven generations into the future, would be affected by the choices that are being made today. Will the planet be healthy, sustainable and able to support its inhabitants as a result of those choices?
“The cool part about that for me is, even as people are living longer— I know families that have five living generations—none of us live long enough to witness seven generations,”
says Smith, an environmental educator for the past 35 years. “So, if we follow this philosophy, we are thinking about and caring about people we will never know. I like that process. It reminds me that I’m part of something much bigger than myself—not self-centered, but aware of my impact on others. As we created our home and live our lives, we want to offer an example and provide a gift to the future.
“Everything we do has an impact on the ecosystem that sustains us,” Smith says. “The choices people make can be beneficial or detrimental to the health of the planet and, ultimately, all of us who inhabit it. We choose, in as many ways possible, to make decisions that benefit the Earth or at least minimize harm.”
That belief led Smith and McGuinn
By Brion O’Connor | Photography by John W. Hession
to construct their super-insulated saltbox—which was designed by Paul Leveille (now with Resilient Buildings Group in Concord) and built by Bill Bartlett in Hopkinton in late 2005 and early 2006—with then-cutting-edge technologies that ensured the home would be environmentally friendly. The original 1,800-square-foot house featured two bedrooms, 1¾ baths, an office and an open-concept kitchen/ living/dining area, plus an entry, a mudroom, a screened porch and a full basement with a root cellar.
“We have since installed solar hot water with two Werner panels and a solar hot-water heater in 2011, and added 16 photovoltaic panels—3.86 kilowatts—which more than covered our electric usage in 2012,” says McGuinn, a land conservationist. “With the addition of photovoltaic, our house became net-zero. In fact, since then we have produced more solar energy than the electricity we use.”
The couple added six additional panels in 2016 when McGuinn bought a hybrid electric car (a Ford C-Max) and disconnected their propane tank, ensuring no fossil fuels are associated with the house. Smith and McGuinn heat with a wood-burning stove, consuming between 2½ and three cords of wood annually.
“More people are now seeing the effects of climate change,” McGuinn says. “This is the time to take measures to help mitigate its impacts with net-zero design, whether retrofitting or on new construction. The price is right, and the savings alone make it worthwhile.”
Likewise, Sam Evans-Brown and his wife, Aubrey Nelson, were driven by personal beliefs and financial common sense to build their net-zero home in Concord. Evans-Brown is a journalist for National Public Radio specializing
in environmental issues, while Nelson works for a nonprofit that teaches children about the country’s electrical grid. Building a net-zero home, EvansBrown says, was “partially about our belief about the future and what the world needs.”
“You can’t study climate and energy very long without getting freaked out about the scale of the problem and the daunting nature of scaling up the solutions we have already,” he says. “That says, financially, it’s a really good choice.” He adds that in his opinion, homeowners would be wise to integrate at least some of the available environmentally-friendly design options that are currently available.
Evans-Brown and Nelson played it smart, finding an “amazing” spot within the confines of the Granite State’s capital city.
“We’re four miles from my office and
Main Street, but have miles of trails and hundreds of acres of woods out our back door,” Evans-Brown says.
“We actually felt conflicted about building new at first, since renovating existing housing stock is a more important challenge to tackle, when it comes to energy and climate,” he says. “But the spot was too good of an opportunity to pass up.” Also, EvansBrown and Nelson opted to build instead of renovate “because the type of home we wanted virtually doesn’t exist—small, efficient, close enough to town to bike or walk,” he says.
“I know enough about this subject to know that buying an existing home and making it net-zero would be really, really expensive,” he says. “Not that our route was cheap.”
The resulting home the couple share with their two young children—built in 2015 by R.H. Irving Homebuilders
in Salisbury, New Hampshire—currently boasts one bathroom and two bedrooms, with a basement that may eventually house a second bathroom and third bedroom (“We’re getting there,” EvansBrown says).
The design, Evans-Brown says, is based on a concept that some Maine builders are calling the “Pretty Good Home,” where architects and builders continuously go above and beyond building code requirements, as much as they can before it no longer makes financial sense.
“The main features are that the building is super-insulated, was meticulously air-sealed, has more windows on the south-facing side to catch the winter sunlight, is all electric and has solar panels” that are tied into the grid, Evans-Brown says. “Honestly, this approach isn’t rocket science. The house is a ‘double-stud wall’—meaning there are two 2-by-4 walls, with a little 2-inch gap between them, and the whole cavity is filled with dense-pack cellulose insulation, [which is] shredded newspaper.”
Asked what feature provided the “biggest bang for their buck,” he replied with a single word: “insulation.”
“We probably spent an additional $10,000 on insulation and maybe $10,000 on the framing. Those investments, along with the solar, are what make it possible for us to have essentially zero energy costs,” Evans-Brown says. “If you just do solar without the insulation, you’ll wind up spending a lot more on your heating equipment and your solar array. Shredded newspaper is cheaper than monocrystalline silicon [the material used in modern solar cells].”
Nelson added that “air sealing,” or creating a “tight envelope,” is another critical component to an efficient, netzero home. “Plug those holes in your house,” she says.
“Programmable thermostats and appliances—water heaters especially—also make a big difference, because you can turn down the heat when you don’t
need it,” Nelson says. “Also—and this is a big thing if folks are buying or building new—the smaller your house, the easier it is to heat, clean, etc. Smaller houses are a big bang for your buck.”
The couple’s home is heated by a coldclimate, air-source heat pump, which is gaining popularity in “how to decarbonize heating,” Evans-Brown says. They also make use of a wood stove, which Evans-Brown admits is “a no-no in some net-zero definitions.”
“It’s been tricky,” he says. “The house doesn’t generate a great draft, because it’s so airtight. Operating the stove has a steep learning curve. We’ve smoked ourselves out of the house more than once, and have bought an air purifier to make sure we’re not breathing too much smoke. If someone else is using the house, [we suggest] they just run the heat-pump.”
After paying close attention to energyefficient details during the building phase, Evans-Brown and Nelson have since enjoyed considerable savings— spending less than $400 over five years on cord wood to heat their home.
“Most of the wood we have burned has come from trees that have blown
down on our property,” Evans-Brown says. “So, in the five years we’ve lived here, you can reasonably estimate we’ve saved almost $20,000.”
Their house and their family budget have also benefited from the structure’s orientation. “A south-facing aspect does a lot of work to passively heat even a conventionally designed home,” he says, adding that society, in general, “used to know this.”
“Look at old saltbox houses—the ones built back when energy was genuinely scarce,” he says. “The tall side faces south, to catch that lowangle winter sun.”
A decade earlier, Smith and McGuinn made a similar siting choice, acknowledging that “location is key,” Smith says.
“Beyond convenience to our jobs and center of community, when we were looking for land, we sought a plot that would be conducive to a solar home,” she says. “Southern exposure was obviously a key element to that.
“Although we looked at some open land, having a forested lot was appealing because we imagined using our
own wood for some of the construction. Beth is a forester by training, so it was her dream to do that,” Smith says. “We were torn about removing wildlife habitat to create our own habitation. But knowing that the land was being sold as a house lot, we justified our purchase by creating the most sustainable home we could afford and minimizing the impact around the developed area.”
At the time the couple’s home was built, it was so groundbreaking that they initially hosted tours. (Their 2005-era technology has since been surpassed by even more efficient designs.)
“We wanted the house to be a place to teach how to build a passive solar, energy-efficient home,” McGuinn says. “We’ve taken literally hundreds of people through our house to discuss its construction and how we live in it.”
Smith says the benefits of a net-zero home—even one that’s a little dated— are numerous, starting with the obvious financial savings garnered from the solar panels that produce more than enough electricity for their house and gaselectric car and solar hot water. Additional green features include a soapstone stove that uses wood harvested from
the couple’s land, copious insulation, double-pane windows, large windows on the structure’s south side and airlock doors. All these features make the house more efficient and easier to heat.
But there is also a keen satisfaction that Smith and McGuinn have—as they live in a more self-sufficient way and work together with Mother Nature to be good stewards of the planet. This requires adjusting behavior as well. “Turn things off when not in use, utilize power strips, shorten showers, install low-flow water faucets,” Smith suggests.
“ ”
The choices people make can be beneficial or detrimental to the health of the planet and, ultimately, all of us who inhabit it.
—Ruth Smith
“Whenever I hear about the existential threat of climate change, I know we are doing more than the average homeowner to mitigate that and I want to encourage everyone to do more,” she says. “We really don’t have much time left to turn the corner on climate change. It’s already happening, and unless everyone commits to reducing their consumption of fossil fuels, we will see a very different future than the one we’d like to see.
“I don’t want to be contributing to that scenario,” Smith says. “I want to be part of the solution, not part of the problem.”
There are, however, some obstacles to energy-efficient homes, EvansBrown says. The home-building industry hasn’t always been quick
our creative insight and
to adopt or embrace new design and building techniques, regardless of the benefit to the planet.
“Contractors and subcontractors are generally small-business folks who do a couple houses a year,” Evans-Brown says. “They do things the way they know and like how to do things, and resist what they perceived to be fads.
“More insidiously, building trade groups fight changes to building codes that would make some of these design changes that pay for themselves very quickly, as our case demonstrates,” he says. “This makes it easier for those in the industry to build and to sell new houses, but it’s bad for the climate, for
the long-term finances of homeowners, as well as for their health and comfort.”
Evans-Brown recommends a single website to anyone considering building an energy-efficient, environmentally friendly new home or even renovating an older home: NHSaves.com. A collaboration of New Hampshire’s electric and natural gas utilities, NHSaves provides residents, businesses and towns with information, incentives and support designed to save energy, reduce costs and protect the environment. The clearinghouse is “funded by electric and natural gas ratepayers, and delivered by Eversource, Liberty, New Hampshire Electric Cooperative and Unitil to
make our homes, businesses and towns more sustainable and more comfortable places to live and work, both now and in the future,” according to the NHSaves website.
Evans-Brown encourages all New Hampshire homeowners to take advantage of the state’s energy-efficiency program. “The state will pay you 75% of the cost of energy-efficiency improvements, up to $8,000. This includes insulation, air-sealing and other things you need to tighten up your house, including things like bathroom fans.
“We took advantage of Energy Star for New Homes, which cut us a $4,000 rebate check for building a more efficient house and connected us with an energy auditor,” he says. “We also got rebates on the more efficient appliances we bought, the heat pump and our water heater.”
Both couples exemplify a willingness to share information, enabling others to take advantage of new technology and funding provided by private and public grants.
“For us, the financial savings [of a net-zero home] were a bonus, but we did it because solar embodies who we are—people who care about the land and the environment, and who understand that fossil fuels were meant to stay in the ground,” McGuinn says. “In the ’70s climate change was not on my mind, but today, we think about and experience its impacts every day.
“I sleep better at night knowing that I’ve not only reduced my carbon footprint, but shared my experience to make that action more accessible to others.” NHH
Bartlett Builders Inc. Hopkinton • (603) 731-4312
bartlettbuildersnh.com
energystar.gov, NHSaves.com
Resilient Buildings Group, Concord • (603) 226-1009
resilientbuildingsgroup.com
R.H. Irving Homebuilders, Salisbury • (603) 648-2635 rhirvinghomebuilders.com
If home is where the heart is, then the nonprofit facilities renovated by Building on Hope (BoH) have homey-ness covered in spades.
For a decade, BoH has brought together volunteers, donors and sponsors to provide Granite State nonprofits with sorely needed physical upgrades. The nonprofits incur no debt from BoH’s work, and the makeovers are extreme in that they are radical and lightning fast, with construction typically beginning and ending within a couple of weeks (unless a pandemic happens to rear its ugly head).
By Karen A. Jamrog
While these projects might lack some of the swank and splendor that you typically see featured in this magazine, they do indeed have a lot of heart— not to mention functionality and style.
The spark for BoH came from a 2009 conversation between Rick Broussard, editor of New Hampshire Home’s sister publication New Hampshire Magazine, and Emily Shakra of Emily Shakra Design. Shakra proposed they initiate an effort to help nonprofits and the construction industry, both of which were feeling the effects of the recession. Soon, Jonathan Halle, of Warrenstreet Architects, and Karen Van Der Beken, who worked at Easterseals at the
time, joined Broussard and Shakra, and became BoH co-chairs.
Reflecting on BoH’s history, it’s clear all who have supported the organization have transformed not just physical spaces but people’s lives. For example, during the big reveal of BoH’s first project—an Easterseals boys’ home in Manchester—the resident boys had been housed elsewhere during construction and arrived back at the remodeled group home via a donated limo ride. Upon viewing the renovated building, “they couldn’t believe it,” Shakra recalls. “One boy said, ‘I never knew people cared about me.’”
Since BoH’s inception, the organization has completed makeovers for six New Hampshire nonprofits. Each project is a study in devotion, determination and creativity, as hundreds of volunteers have worked to provide maximum results while relying heavily on donated resources.
For the 2018 renovation of the kitchen in the 120-year-old building of The Crisis Center of Central NH, BoH volunteers resurrected a somewhat dilapidated space to create a modernized, attractive meal-prep and dining area. The Crisis Center, located in Concord, works to end domestic and sexual violence and provides a refuge for domestic abuse victims and their children.
When Shakra first entered The Crisis Center’s kitchen to plan the redesign, “it was like walking into an old 1920s kitchen that had fallen apart,” she says. The kitchen was cramped and inadequate for the needs of The Crisis Center’s guests. Shakra and fellow designer Leslie Rifkin, of L. Newman Associates/ Paul Mansback, Inc., removed a wall to expand the space. Anticipating the
kitchen would be a high-traffic area, the designers installed a new 10-foot island topped with durable quartz across from four commercial refrigerators. Shakra and Rifkin replaced the old, cracked linoleum with hard-wearing but visually pleasing vinyl-plank flooring. With the seating at the new island, plus additional table seating, a room that still is not overly large can now comfortably accommodate many people and enables families to eat together
A combination of open, walnut shelving and closed, white cabinetry— donated by Capital Kitchen & Baths— provides flexibility for organizing and easy access to stored items; plus, the exposed shelves also make the area feel more spacious. For the countertops, Shakra and Rifkin chose the same quartz that covers the island, replacing stained laminate. A stainless-steel Thermador range with eight burners and a griddle offers ample cooking space.
The designers selected a deep dove gray for some of the walls and trim, and repeated touches of soothing
Over the past decade, Building on Hope (BoH) has raised an estimated $6.2 million of donated labor and materials to provide physical upgrades for New Hampshire nonprofits, says Jonathan Halle, BoH co-chair. The sorely needed renovations have been a boon to the nonprofits in more ways than one: enabling them to better serve the community while also vastly enhancing the organizations’ profiles.
“Some of them, the buildings were crumbling around them,” with holes in the drywall, missing floor tiles, and ceiling tiles that had fallen out and never been replaced, Halle says.
Following BoH renovations, the transformed spaces have commonly attracted new board members, staff, volunteers and clients—one organization, in fact, more than tripled its client base—and, in some instances, have enabled the nonprofits to secure grant money. “Each one of the projects we’ve done,” Halle says, “has been a steppingstone for the organization.
“Life is driven by perceptions,” Halle says. “When people walk into a place that is completely refurbished and looks amazing … they get excited about it” and feel it is a reflection of the organization.
For sure, the kids on the receiving end of BoH projects know what they’ve got in their repaired, spruced-up facilities. The Easterseals boys’ home that BoH renovated a decade ago, for example, still “looks like the day we left,” Halle says. “The kids respect it. They’re proud of it.”
BoH’s volunteer crews pour time, heart and soul into their work, but “for every project, they say they get more out of it than they put into it,” says Karen Van Der Beken, BoH cochair. BoH has provided extreme makeovers for the following New Hampshire nonprofits:
• Easterseals (residential facility for boys in Manchester)
• Girls Inc.
• Opportunity Networks
• Manchester Police Athletic League
• The Crisis Center of Central NH
• Nashua Police Athletic League
mauve in a wall hanging, a floor rug and delicately patterned Roman shades that hang above privacy blinds. Globe pendants and recessed lighting enhance the abundant natural light in the room and make kitchen work easier, while built-in chalkboards provide a fun place for kids to doodle while mom is busy.
Removing the wall that previously separated the kitchen from the living room enables resident women who are preparing meals in the kitchen to stay within eyesight of their children playing in the living room—an important consideration for individuals who have experienced the kind of trauma that The Crisis Center residents have been through.
The new kitchen is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), open and airy, functional but welcoming. Shakra and Rifkin created a space that is homelike rather than institutional. “We completely redid it,” Shakra says, “and it turned out fabulous. We were able to make it look really pretty.”
In December 2020, BoH wrapped up a makeover of the Nashua Police Athletic League’s (Nashua PAL) 100-yearold facility. The building provides a safe haven for local youth. Here, Nashua PAL police and staff provide mentoring, academic assistance, athletics and other services for approximately 600 kids per year between the ages of 7 and 18, most of who live in poverty. Due to COVID-19, what was initially expected to be the usual twoweek BoH construction period took half a year to complete.
BoH volunteers added vibrant colors and designs to the building’s brick exterior to echo the energy and youthful vibe inside. Outside murals created by Manny Ramirez, of Positive Street Art, include a girl superhero who is nearly two stories tall. Panels designed by Lisa Law, of Lisa Law Feng Shui, and architect Kelly Leitner, of Warrenstreet Architects, flank the building’s front entrance
with rainbow-hued shapes that gently arc and undulate.
Inside is a mix of offices, learning and play spaces for the kids, a boxing ring, and more. Designers put repurposed wood to work in various areas and united spaces in the facility with splashes of persimmon throughout. Even the pool table in Nashua PAL’s first-floor game room is covered in a deep orange, and the color repeats on chair upholstery, a pendant light and decorative items in the room.
A kitchen—with a pass-through window that links to the game room— provides space for making meals and snacks for the kids, but also serves as a teaching kitchen where visiting professional and home chefs show Nashua PAL children how to make healthy meals on a budget.
BoH also knocked down walls that previously divvied up a warren of drab and cluttered spaces to construct the Creative Learning Center, a large multipurpose space flooded with natural light and further brightened by touches of azure blue. Unattractive pipes that hung overhead were removed, thanks to a new HVAC system donated by Elliot Hall, of J. Lawrence Hall Co. in Nashua. The room is now wired for today’s technology, and stocked with iPads, Chromebooks, a 3D printer and more for the kids to use. Interior designer Brenda Baron installed a border of decorative, colorful gears above the computer work area and repeated the theme with a smaller cluster of gears that liven up an adjacent wall.
Intriguing, round seating is sprinkled throughout the space, with a fun surprise: the seats wobble if you want them to—perfect for youngsters (or adults) with excess energy. Dubbed “Oodles,” from the Smith System line of school furniture, the seats have arched pieces on the bottom that allow them to rock, but they can also
be flipped to provide a flat, stable surface. The seats are a cinch to move around and can be stacked higher or lower to suit your purposes. “I got several of those because the kids are fidgety,” Baron says. “But even when some of the [adults] came in the room, they were like, ‘These things are cool! These are so fun!’”
To provide additional seats around the room’s perimeter, Baron created window seating with a patterned cushion that repeats the room’s blue color. Below, cubbies provide storage space—a priority on Nashua PAL’s wish list for BoH.
Anchoring the room is an eyecatching, custom bookcase with white, angled shelves that form a starburst shape, inviting readers to come close and pull out a book. “I wanted [the bookcase] to be like an art piece,” Baron says. “It was going to be the wowza piece in the room, but it also had to hold a lot of books. … It took probably about two hours to put it up and get it to fit together just right.”
To the left of the bookcase, a small, play kitchen provides a place to pretend. Steps away, tucked under a loft, are ever-popular American Girl dolls, complete with numerous accessories and a furnished dollhouse. Baron took care to choose dolls that reflect the diversity of the children who will play with them, and installed built-in storage beneath the doll area for the dolls and all their accoutrements, she says, “so stuff won’t have to be just sitting in a crate on the floor.”
At the entrance to the doll nook, a built-in ladder—chosen over a spiral or regular staircase because it minimally impinges on nearby space—enables kids to climb their way up to a reading loft where ultra-comfortable gaming chairs await. The striped chairs swivel and recline, and because they are low to the floor, provide a
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
perfect solution in a space with limited headroom. Wall sconces cast a soft, mellow glow and enhance the daylight that streams through a window. “Older kid” books line the shelves against the back wall, ready for those who want to explore other worlds and lives. Because
the loft is a bit separate and accessible only to older kids due to the ladder entry, it holds special appeal as a more grown-up retreat. “The kids get to sit up there and read, and it’s just like their own little hangout,” Baron says.
Small details play a vital role in
designs of any budget, Baron says, and the Creative Learning Center was no exception. From repeating colors— Baron even spray-painted the inside of a pendant light to match the hues of the room—to sanding and repurposing an old, beat-up butcher-block table to create an appealing, solid-wood counter for the play kitchen, “it’s the little touches that bring the room together,” she says. “And a gallon of paint goes a long, long way.”
The folks at Nashua PAL couldn’t be happier with their BoH makeover. “At every turn, it exceeds all our expectations,” says Shaun Nelson, executive director of Nashua PAL. “I see the building as a tool for our organization to use to access, strengthen and educate our young community members. We’ve been doing this for a lot of years … and did a good job before, but with this new building, now we can do it even better.
“In every room,” Nelson adds, “you can feel love. … We’re going to change kids’ lives in this building.” NHH
This is a fraction of the 2,000 people and companies involved in these extensive projects. Visit buildingonhope.org for more information, to learn about the selection process and to find out how you can help.
The Crisis Center
Capital Kitchen & Bath • (603) 225-8300 capitalkitchenandbath.com
Chapman Construction/Design (603) 413-7777 • chap-con.com
Emily Shakra Design • (603) 661-4969 emilyshakra@aol.com
L. Newman Associates/Paul Mansback, Inc. (603) 533-5576 • lnewman.com
Nashua PAL Creative Learning Center
Brenda Baron • (603) 589-8800 nhhomes.com/agent/brenda-baron
J. Lawrence Hall Co. • (603) 882-2021 jlawrencehall.com
Lisa Law • Lisa Law Feng Shui • lisalawfengshui.com
Kelly Leitner • Warrenstreet Architects warrenstreet.coop
Manny Ramirez • Positive Street Art positivestreetart.org
NH Custom Builder • (603) 673-7751 nhcustombuilder.com
Turnstone Corporation • (603) 249-9300 turnstonecorp.com
What started as a simple refresh became an extended plan to return a lakefront home to its well-loved past.
By Bill Burke
WHEN IT CAME TIME TO RENOVATE her home on the shores of Lake Sunapee, Deborah Coffin had one thought in mind: Maybe it was possible to go home again.
The three-story home, which has been in the family since it was originally built around 1900, had undergone a few changes in the 1970s and was in need of some upgrades. Rather than create an unrecognizable structure where the home known as “Two Pines” stands, Coffin saw a chance to return the house to the much-loved place she knew in her childhood. Some of her earliest memories include summers on the water—catching a bass from the family’s boathouse and spending time along the 400 feet of waterfront.
The mission, then: to renovate while honoring her family’s past by retaining the soul of the home.
“From the very beginning, my goal was to maintain the integrity of the house and its age no matter what I did,” Coffin says. “It was my opportunity to take care of all the things that Dad never got around to and make it mine. We used to spend the month of August here when I was a child. We’d come up every summer—my mother, my brothers and I—and be here with my grandparents. I have incredibly fond memories of being here. Dad would join us on the weekends so we could all spend time with my grandparents. It was really a family place and everyone enjoyed being here and being on the water.”
To help with the effort, she reached out to longtime friend and designer Annie Ballin, of Annie Ballin & Co. in New London, who shared her vision.“The guiding principle in
all the decisions we made was to retain the original feel,” says Ballin, who served as principal designer on what would become a multiyear project. “The trend is to tear down these lake houses and rebuild. For a variety of reasons, there are times when it’s necessary and the right thing to do. Without doubt some of these rebuilds are stunning. Deb just didn’t want to do that. We all felt that it would have been a shame if Two Pines had been demolished.”
When work first began, the idea was to give things a refresh. But once the pair rolled up their sleeves, possibilities began to reveal themselves. A number of design iterations were considered, concepts were discussed and the idea of reaching out to skilled craftsmen was broached. The next step: bring in Brent Stocker, of Stocker Woodworks in Sunapee. A fourth-generation builder, Brent—and the Stocker family—is intimately familiar with the area, its structures, its
history and what the lake means to those who call it home.
“When Brent walked in, he said, ‘I have a feeling my grandfather worked on this original house.’” Ballin says. “There was a cool energy. All of a sudden, the creativity started percolating. It was so exciting. He came on board with his son, Josh, and his crew. From there, it was such a happy, happy project. The energy in the house was always good.”
The team of Coffin, Ballin and Stocker began collaborating on ideas for the original lake house. The classic old New Hampshire feel was already “gorgeous,” Stocker says, with a clean look of no moldings, trim only around the doors and windows, and eye-catching bead board covering the timber frame. But the creativity was flowing, and the scope of the project grew.
Addressing the St. Charles Kitchen, installed in the 1970s, was among the first projects. Sue Booth, of Vintage Kitchens
in Concord, joined the team, helping to decide what changes could be made, how the kitchen could be returned to its original look and feel, and how flow and convenience could be improved. The wish list included a new door, two dishwashers, an electric cooktop, plenty of storage and a custombuilt island.
“She was a perfect complement to the team,” Ballin says of Booth. “She’s so talented. She, Brent, Josh, Deb and I spent a lot of time figuring out how the kitchen was going to work.”
The original kitchen had only one door, so a second one was added, which improved access and allowed in more natural light.
“The kitchen is still in its original footprint,” Coffin says. “My intention was to make it similar to the kitchen I remembered as a kid and to the place where I spent time with my grandmother. We painted the cabinets the same color they
were back in the day, and we did open it up. It used to be chopped up, somewhat, and now it’s wide open. It’s pretty spectacular.”
Booth provided an island and drawers, and Stocker built a custom top from white oak. There were no beams in the old kitchen ceiling, yet Stocker was able to add some and tie them with those in the adjoining rooms, maintaining continuity and giving the impression the new kitchen beams were original.
“He married the old parts and the new parts of the house seamlessly, and he did the same thing in the entryway,” Ballin says.
The dining room jogs to the left, and opens into a great room that was in the old summer room, which now houses couches, a piano, and a staircase up to the second and third floors. There, bedrooms feature original shutter doors, and a honeymoon room with a view of the water connects to the children’s room, which now holds a particularly notable piece of Coffin family history.
“We found some great things in the attic,” Ballin says. “Deb’s grandmother was the first female to get a pilot’s license in the state of Connecticut. She had a seaplane that she flew to Two Pines from Connecticut. We found a beautiful old wooden propeller that we suspected would’ve been hers. Deb and I decided the children’s room should be designed with her grandmother, Betty Coffin, in mind.
The décor centered around her various talents. The walls are adorned with the propeller, and found photographs of Betty and the many planes she flew. Another interesting find we incorporated were her original oil paintings of different planes she owned.”
On the third floor, a large hallway with two oversized closets leads to a twin room with iron beds and an archive room, where much of the family's history, photos, movie reels and trinkets were discovered. Much of what was found needed expert preservation and attention. Deb and Annie relied on the talents of David Putnam, of Claremont Custom Framing, to assist with all these details.
The entire house was updated, and the foyer got a makeover—putting another important family heirloom frontand-center. Guests are now greeted at the front door by the original “Two Pines” sign.
“The original two pines fell down in the hurricane of 1938 and are no longer with us,” Coffin says of the direct link with the past. “But this is one of the original signs.”
Just to the right of that front door is the new garage, and above it, Coffin's studio—an open, welcoming space bursting with creative spirit. Cross over a covered bridge walkway, above landscaped gardens and stone walls, and into the studio proper. Fabric and materials of every color and pattern line shelves, and a central table and desk serve as a hub for this skilled quiltmaker. To date, Coffin and a handful of like-
Adding to and renovating Two Pines presented a creative challenge: filling it with appointments, fixtures and furniture that would fit the feel and the vibe of this much-loved generational home.
The core team of homeowner Deborah Coffin, designer Annie Ballin and builder Brent Stocker took their search on the road.
“We did a lot of salvage and antique shopping,” Coffin says. “We spent a lot of time at Nor’East Architectural Antiques in South Hampton. We found lots of treasures there.”
A bed for the master bedroom was located at Prospect Hill Antiques in Sunapee. “On one of our trips, Deb spotted a stunning antique bed. She loved it, but it had to be transformed into a king size,” Ballin says. “A local craftsman, Max Brown, did an amazing job replicating exactly all those carvings.”
The trio took their search from Sunapee to destinations around New England and beyond.
“We had an absolute blast going to salvage places in Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, just looking for old pieces we could reuse,” Stocker says. “We reused a lot of old furniture and doors. Two of the stained-glass doors in the bedroom came from Staten Island, New York.”
While the Two Pines project is not quite done—the boat house is in need of repairs and will get a makeover next year—the team intends to stay together to see it through.
“Normally, every project has a dam, but this project went so smoothly. I can’t think of one thing, not one hurdle that we ran into that slowed it down or impaired us at all. The chemistry was good; we were all on the same page,” Stocker says.
“And one nice thing about Deb is she could make a decision instantly,” he adds. “If you have a question for her, just give her a few options and she’ll have an answer for you. We were never waiting on decisions, and those decisions were never incorrect. It all worked out perfectly.”
minded craftspeople have made and donated more than 500 quilts to Turning Points Network in Claremont.
“We get some pretty amazing letters back from people who are grateful to have something to snuggle up in during a tough time,” she says.
Stone pillars replaced wooden supports under the front porch, and Stocker began eyeing the small crawlspace under the house. He pitched an idea to Coffin that would solve access issues, make it even more useful year-round and provide some much-needed additional space: It was time to add a basement.
“My dad always wanted to do that,” Coffin says. “But at that point, he was in his 80s and didn’t have the energy to go through with it, so I did. And it has made life so much easier. The only access to the furnace was from the outside of the house through snowbanks or what have you. Now, I have a full basement. I think it’s been the most worthwhile money I’ve put into this house. Also, all the windows look out over the lake. If you have to be in a basement, it’s a really nice one.”
If there is a soul to Two Pines, it may reside in the office. It’s Coffin’s favorite room, and it’s where she spends the majority of her time.
“It was my dad’s office,” she says. “A long time ago, it was the original entrance to the house. When my dad made renovations, he changed that and walled it off. But it gives me a view of the property from two, very large windows. It’s command central for me, and because it was my dad’s space, it’s kind of special.”
However, the stunning porch, which has a broad view
The porch, with its stunning views of the lake and the boathouse below, is one of homeowner Deborah Coffin’s favorite parts of the house.
Below: From left to right are Josh Stocker, Annie Ballin and Brent Stocker, with Deb Coffin (plus Molly and Mable) in front.
of the lake and boathouse below, is her favorite warmweather spot.
The house—which sits atop an emerald lawn that slopes down to the waterfront of Sunapee Harbor, not far from Dewey Beach—was previously a sage green. It was given an entirely new look thanks to a custom color—Coffin Blue. It serves as an appropriate touch to an ongoing journey to a family’s past.
“It’s a privilege to be a part of this historical project— not simply for all the wonderful design elements, but for the opportunity to infuse my work with the work of a very talented team of professionals and Deb,” Ballin says. “A house
is a place for bodies and objects to reside. A home is a place for your body and spirit to thrive. Two Pines is a home and will be for generations to come.” NHH
Annie Ballin & Co., New London • annieballin.com
Claremont Custom Framing and Art Restoration • (603) 543-9992
claremontcustomframing.com
Little River Oriental Rugs, Concord • (603) 225-5512 • nhrugs.com
Nor’East Architectural Antiques, South Hampton • (603) 394-0006 • noreast1.com
Prospect Hill Antiques, Sunapee • (603) 763-9676 • prospecthillantiques.com
Stocker Woodworks, Sunapee • (603) 763-2410 • stockerwoodworks@comcast.net
Vintage Kitchens, Concord • (603) 224-2854 • vintagekitchens.com
Modern sophistication is layered on grand Victorian architecture.
By Emily Heidt
Left: The view on arrival shows glimpses of the ocean while the Victorian house follows the tiered curves of the land, cascading down to the shoreline.
Above: The breakfast nook with its open, vaulted ceiling and picture windows allow for airy, warm and inviting views of the coast.
Set back from the shores of North Hampton stands a house that has evoked timeless, casual elegance throughout its history—a concept the homeowners wanted to continue through the renovation process of this storied Victorian home.
Built in the 1890s, the home summons an era of times gone past with its grand architecture and romantic spirit. The original home included a front entry, parlors and a dining room. The original design followed tradition in orienting the rooms to the entryway; the kitchen and butler’s pantry were situated on the oceanfacing wall in the back of the house with a buzzer system throughout for servants. A new kitchen was built in the 1990s, complete with a view of the ocean. Additionally, a new deck was added to the front, and outside stairs now connect the upper and ground levels.
When the current homeowners purchased the home in 2015, they were excited to mix old and new style elements to give it a muchneeded makeover. “We grew up near the ocean in Long Island and have always been drawn to the coast,” one homeowner says. “We knew we wanted to combine the ornate, eccentric interior design and architecture in the original home with the stunning ocean views outside the windows.”
The couple met in New York City and moved to Hampstead, but their goal was always to retire by the ocean. After 25 years, they realized they no longer wanted to wait for retirement to make the move.
“We decided to dip our toes into the home shopping process, and stumbled upon this house on a whim and knew that was it,” one homeowner says. “We fell in love with the Victorian details throughout and wanted to keep the classic look, while also bringing in polished hints and elements to
make it feel like a peaceful, inviting retreat. We imagined being able to walk from room to room with ease, and have the same comfortable flow throughout the house.”
The couple spent a few months developing a vision inspired by the home’s original blueprint, and they worked with TMS Architects in Portsmouth to bring that vision to life. Their plan: demo and rebuild a new, Victorian-inspired home that honored the home’s originality and charm, and reflected the tranquility of the ocean around it.
architect Jason Bailey says the couple wanted a sophisticated design that reflected the natural beauty of the coast year-round. “We knew they were there to enjoy the ocean,” he says. “So we planned on adding as many large windows as possible, as there wasn’t a lot of daylight in the house to begin with.
“We also wanted to make sure the design was consistent from one room to the next, because it felt a bit disjointed as it was. Our goal was to have all the rooms run from one side of
the house to the other, and connect them through the common corridor so it never felt like you were interrupting the space. We wanted to re-create the same classical nature of the house by combining period details with contemporary standards of comfort and style.”
A small entry porch beckons guests to the front door, where they are met with stunning ocean views
(framed by custom linen and velvet drapery) down the central hallway. The 5-foot-wide corridor spans the length of the house with two elliptical arches and sweeping windows adorned with gracefully arched muntins that allow sunlight into every corner of every room. The grand curved stair next to the entryway door was created from the original home’s design, and the
crystal chandelier above reflects the delicate, Victorian details scattered throughout the house.
Beyond the entryway, the interior captures what the exterior projects: clean lines with classic, refined finishes and textures that mirror the tranquil surrounding coastal landscape. That relaxed, modern feel continues with the interior design. Interior designer Cristina Johnson,
of TMS, planned to carry the soothing elements from the ocean into the overall feel of the space. She achieved this by using subtle blues and carefully placed pieces of art.
“We used shades of blue and sand generously to create a harmonious feel throughout the home with references to the coast,” Johnson says. “We pushed the boundary between fancy and casual by using natu-
ral linen and sea-grass wall coverings for texture and warmth, and dark-stained white oak flooring to ground the space.” Johnson chose artwork—which included a combination of photographs, giclée art prints and a few of the homeowners’ art pieces—to further evoke a calming sentimentality throughout.
Each room’s hand-picked furnishings played off the
Gothic-inspired style that Johnson and the homeowners developed alongside the more traditional, Victorian pieces in the home. “Each of the decorative fixtures—like one of the chandeliers in the main entryway—was carefully chosen as simple, coordinating styles to carry each room to the next,” Johnson says.
“We used custom, oversized lounge chairs uphol-
stered in a Ralph Lauren floral print, and a Louis XIVstyle desk chair and desk to add a sense of romance and charm,” she says. “We also played up the patterns and finer details—like the glass buttons in the living room pillows—to balance the pop of velvet used in the bottoms of the curtains.”
Johnson’s attention to detail can be seen everywhere in the home, from the arabesque tile pattern used in iterations for floors, backsplashes and fabrics, to the custom roman shades, furniture pieces and unique, bronze light fixtures.
The interior design details brought Bailey’s architectural design to life. “What made the project so successful is how we were able to mix and synthesize the interior with the architectural details,” Bailey says. “We featured a sculptural millwork throughout the home, like the carved newel posts prominent in the front entry and carved rosettes. The dramatic oval windows and arches featured in the breakfast nook and master bath opened up the space, and Cristina added accents— like the two chairs in front of the picture windows off the kitchen or marble tile accents in the master bath— to create a seamless balance in each space.”
Making good use of romantic, perennial elemental details was a big part of Bailey and the homeowners’ vision, and was even more
important in the design of the exterior of the home.
“We started with adding shingles to replace the white clapboards that wrapped around the corners of the house to bring it to a more modern period,” Bailey says. “We added dormers to help bring visual interest to the roof and add light to the second floor.”
The circular stair, archways and stonework around the base of the home also tied into the deck supports to make them feel more weighted and connected to the Tuscan columns and
surrounding landscape. The foundational stone arch on the ground level created a focal point in the middle of the house, while also inviting the organic development of other stonework to be added—like the stair from the first floor to the ground level—and even space for a master bath off the second floor
“The entire home was built with comfortability and longevity in mind, especially with the improved coastal views and relaxed outdoor spaces,” Bailey says. “The home will be enjoy-
able and relevant for years to come, and for the couple’s friends and family to delight in no matter what season they are visiting.”
One thing the coastal retreat has proven: Rebuilding and transforming a home doesn’t mean you have to lose the original home’s unique charm along the way. “It’s important to have a team around you that you trust through every step of
the building process, from the planning to designing,” one homeowner says. “It was a joy to honor the first house that we met and feel its presence in each room as we move throughout our day today. My husband and I look forward to continuing to welcome family and friends into our home to relax and enjoy its view, comforts and tranquility for many years to come.” NHH
Now more than ever, homeowners are realizing the importance of utilizing their entire property, from creating patios and gardens to kitchens and entertaining spaces. But where to start? What plants grow well in your area, and how do you plan for blooms all year long? What stone is right for a patio or a new built-in pizza oven? Should you buy a gas or wood fire feature, and how close can it be to the house? How do you take care of your new outdoor “rooms?” Can you expect a return on your investment when the time comes to sell? The advertisers here have answers to those questions and more, and can help design, build and maintain your ideal outdoor space.
John Stephens, NHCLP Design | Build Manager of Stephens Landscaping stephenslandscaping.com
Hayden McLaughlin Owner of Belknap Landscape Co. belknaplandscape.com
Brie Stephens Realtor of Lake Life Realty lakeliferealty.net
Joe Rogers Owner of Granite State Stonescapes granitestatestonescapes.com
Daniel Gordon of LandCare Stone and Stratham Hill Stone landcarestone.com
Alex Stewart Sales Representative of Ideal Concrete Block Company, Inc idealconcreteblock.com
John
Any outdoor space that makes your land more usable is the best option.
—Brie Stephens
Stephens, NHCLP Design | Build Manager of Stephens Landscaping in Moultonborough
Brie Stephens, Realtor of Lake Life Realty in Moultonborough
Q: How does investing in outdoor space increase your home’s value?
A: Making the land on your property more beautiful, accessible and enjoyable adds significant demand for the entire property. In today’s market, increasing the usable space outside your home is
like adding more of a footprint to your lot. These projects enhance the look and functionality of your property and can offer recreational benefits as well. New Hampshire has seen an influx in outdoor projects since COVID-19 hit; being home has taken on all a whole new meaning, and your home’s value is affected by what similar property owners are doing. If others are building outdoor kitchens, patios or leveling green areas—all of which enhance their homes’ outdoor use— the values will go up. What your property looks like on the outside also builds buyer anticipation—and
sets expectations—for what’s inside, and how well you care for the entire home
Q: What outdoor projects are best to increase our home's return on investment (ROI)?
A: Any outdoor space that makes your land more usable is the best option. If you have a steep lot, or unstable ground where it would be difficult to entertain, walk around or lounge, making those areas more accessible is a great way to increase ROI. Enhancing how you get around the property, and adding more space to enjoy
A professional design build company will give you a personalized process to help turn your dreams into reality.
—John Stephens
the outdoors—such as including walkways, steps and patios—are great ways to increase ROI.
A popular project for this purpose is an outdoor kitchen. When designing an outdoor kitchen, some features to include could be built-in appliances, grills, a fireplace and seating areas. The best part about these outdoor spaces is that potential buyers begin to envision themselves cooking and entertaining guests, helping them to fall in love with your property.
Q: How do I begin to plan an outdoor space?
A: Choosing the right company is critical. A bad design or poor plant selections can actually lower the value of your home. A professional design build company will give you a personalized process to help turn your dreams into reality. When developing new outdoor spaces, there are numerous details
and decisions that need to be made, but a good relationship with your company will make the process very enjoyable. Step one is to develop a master plan for your property to determine that all wants and needs are met, and that they fall within state and local guidelines. The project can then be broken into phases, if desired, while still ensuring a
perfect outcome when the last phase is completed.
Stephens Landscaping’s partnership with Lake Life Reality allows us to work together to access, design and deliver the best return on your investment for landscape projects, specializing with waterfront properties. >
❛❛ Whatever you choose, fire adds something special
to a landscape.
❜❜
—Daniel Gordon
Q: What are the benefits/ drawbacks to a fire pit/table?
A: We love fire features—they’ve become a big part of our product lineup. We sell both types of fire units at our stores and, ultimately, we sell more wood-fired units than gas. Here are the general pros and cons of each:
Gas options are generally more expensive to install and maintain. Be aware that if the unit isn’t frequently used, parts and pieces that sit idle can deteriorate, and will need to be replaced.
Gas has to be professionally plumbed and installed, and a tank needs to be maintained and filled. For our New England customers, wood is generally more accessible. Our customers tell us that the wood options can be more versatile in terms of cooking or even roasting marshmallows—many prefer wood for that reason.
Wood has a different and perhaps more inviting ambiance. The crackle, aroma and warmth of a wood fire is much different than gas. Even on a warm summer night after a day of play, a wood fire is a won-
it's the White Mountains of New Hampshire or the sand on our coastal beaches, stone is the backbone and the backdrop—it all started with stone. That said, plants and greenery are what tame the landscape and soften the scene.
In terms of sheer maintenance, brick and stone are built to last forever. We sell hundreds of options of clay brick and concrete pavers, and although technology has taught us how to make a better brick, virtually every New England town has a portion of the original bricks that were used to build our landscapes and buildings two to three centuries ago.
derful spot around which to gather.
Gas, though, does have advantages, particularly if space is tight or you need to be sensitive about proximity to others. Smoke from a wood fire can disturb close neighbors, or can be considered a nuisance in some urban settings.
Additionally, zoning rules will generally stipulate that any feature with an open flame must be located at least 30 feet from the nearest structure. With a gas-burning feature, that distance is sometimes reduced. We caution all buyers to consult their local ordinances regarding fire features, especially if the unit is intended for a permanent setting within the landscape.
Whatever you choose, fire adds something special to a landscape. More often than not, customers who didn’t include a fire feature in their plans often wish they had, and end up adding one later on.
Q: What style of natural landscaping would result in low maintenance?
A:
Brick and stone are always considered to be the lowest maintenance portions of any landscape—stone, especially, is the backbone of virtually every landscape the world over. Whether
Stone is a whole other animal in the world of a natural and lowmaintenance landscape. In those same New England towns, granite, blue stone and the indigenous rocks that make up our very bedrock have been cultivated and used to build everything that New England is known for—and they’re still standing with little or no maintenance.
When we speak with our customers about their projects, we don’t necessarily focus on which brick or stone will last the longest (because they’ll all outlive us), but more on what mood or ambiance they want the landscape to convey, or what that space will mean to them.
Brick and stone each have their own feel and contribution to the spaces we use, and each one presents very differently. More often than not, it doesn’t come down to one or the other, but rather using a mix of both.
Brick and stone work together wonderfully, and when paired with plants, fire features and furniture, the spaces created will be those in which we tend to gather the most. At the end of the day, brick and stone will silently support everything placed in, on and around them, and they ask for little or nothing in return—except to be used and enjoyed.>
Having a flower garden adds color and beauty to an outdoor space.
—Hayden McLaughlin
Q: How often will you come to perform maintenance?
A: Maintaining your landscape depends greatly on the plants, features and desired outcomes for your property. We don’t follow a one-size-fits-all approach as that seldom produces the best results. Instead, our dedicated account managers get to know each property and formulate a customized approach. While some tasks, such as mowing, may occur weekly, other tasks, including dethatching, deep-root fertilization and hardscape cleaning/ sealing, may occur annually. We also consider how and when you use your property. In our area, many homes are weekend or seasonal
the only touchpoint. Our team seeks to understand what is happening on the property consistently by doing quality assurance and viability checks. These checks may result in a change of maintenance schedule or tasks we perform. Your property is ever-changing, and the best maintenance program is responsive.
Q:
How do you keep a flower garden blooming constantly?
retreats, so we cater our schedule to assure our clients get the most out of their time on the property. Finally, we proactively check properties. Many landscapers will review your property while there to maintain it, but that should not be
A: Having a flower garden adds color and beauty to an outdoor space. Many property owners prefer for these features to have blooms consistently throughout several seasons. This can require some effort and knowledge to achieve, but it essentially depends on two factors: planning and maintenance. First, plant flowers that bloom at different times. Utilizing a bloom calendar, which is commonly available online or at a local plant nursery, will give you an idea of when plants are expected to bloom. This helps create a plan for installing plants with complementary blooming periods to allow consistent blooming across a longer time. Second, give your plants the things they need to bloom. Planting in the right lighting and soil will affect a plant's ability to produce flowers. Maintenance, including weeding, fertilization and deadheading, also plays a role. Property maintenance will create conditions that encourage blooming occurrences as well blooming duration.>
The vibrancy and life of natural stone cannot be captured by any other product out there.
—Joe Rogers
Joe Rogers, Owner of Granite State Stonescapes in Goffstown
Q: Why should homeowners consider using natural stone?
A: Natural stone is unique, exceptionally durable and has a timeless quality that never goes out of style. Natural stone will not fade or wear over time; in fact, it looks better with age. The vibrancy and life of natural stone cannot be captured by any other product out there. Because of its unique characteristics, no two stones are exactly alike—they are not made from a mold. Natural stone can be shaped, trimmed and chiseled to take on any specifications without losing coloration or effect. Some of our favorite natural types include granite, field stone, blue stone, Goshen stone and reclaimed brick. Let us help you choose the perfect option for your home! >
Alex Stewart, Sales Representative of Ideal Concrete Block Company, Inc in Westford, Massachusetts
Q:
What type of hardscape do you have a passion for building?
A: More than ever before, we have all come to appreciate the home we live in, and value it as a place for shelter, comfort and celebration. Just steps outside our back doors, patios have become part of today’s lifestyle. They serve as transitional spaces that extend our family rooms into the outdoors where we spend time, entertain friends or just get away from it all. Even a quaint backyard patio with a cozy firepit can be a lively gathering spot for relaxation and conversation. As a fourthgeneration family-owned business, Pavers by Ideal takes great pride in seeing homeowners and contractors transform outdoor living spaces using the products we manufacture.
With our wide selection of shapes, colors and textures, every project is unique and can be done to fit any budget. New England has been our
home since 1923, and it’s why we invite homeowners to Come Home and Be Home with Style. •
Just steps outside our back doors, patios have become part of today’s lifestyle.
—Alex Stewart
This annual tour offers inspiration for small-space gardening.
After last year’s Portsmouth Pocket Garden Tour—an annual tradition on the Seacoast since 1989—was delayed until September due to COVID-19 concerns, co-chairs Susan Peterson and Lauren Katz have decided to return the tour to June this year.
“It’s the beginning of the growing season, gardeners can get ideas for their own gardens and have time to implement them, and it’s a wonderful way to start the summer season in the Seacoast,” they say.
By Robin Sweetser
The self-guided walking tour of South End properties will feature six gardens from previous years and six new ones. This is a major fundraiser for the Unitarian Universalist South Church, which will be getting a
new slate roof this summer. Due to the construction work, home base for the tour— which normally begins at the church—is expected to be at Strawbery Banke Museum’s Puddle Dock. “We are looking forward to sharing the South Church Pocket Garden Tour with those who’ve visited before and with newcomers,” say Katz and Peterson. There are many issues to overcome when gardening in a small space, but the rewards outweigh the work involved, leading to some surprisingly beautiful results. The Pocket Garden Tour offers a chance to see how some innovative gardeners in Portsmouth have risen to the challenge. Last year’s tour highlighted homes in the Middle Street area. Here are a few
From problems to possibilities Janet Prince and Peter Bergh resurrected their home and garden from a severely neglected property on Lincoln Avenue. (Read the story of their home renovation project in the January/February 2018 issue of New Hampshire Home.) “There was no garden at all, and the house and yard were in blight condition,” Prince says. A huge wisteria vine had taken over the back of the house, where it burrowed under the clapboards and was starting to grow through the second-floor windows.
Prince and Bergh called on landscape architect Terrence Parker, of Terra Firma Landscape Architecture in Portsmouth, to transform the tiny open space wedged between the back of the house and the garage into a relaxing retreat. “The roots that had run rampant from the wisteria vine
Landscape architect Terrence Parker, of Terra Firma Landscape Architecture in Portsmouth, offers the following suggestions:
• Plant in masses to encourage pollinators.
• Select for great foliage before flowers because leaves are less ephemeral.
• Leave the dead perennials over the winter to create habitat. The world is rapidly losing insects.
• Plant more ferns; they are essential for the green palette and calm the mind.
were the inspiration for the paving pattern,” says Parker, who replicated the design in cut bluestone. “The wisteria roots led me to create linear elements in the stone pattern of the terrace that suggested a look of structured wildness,” he explains.
In the angled beds around the perimeter of the terrace, Parker has planted many shade-loving plants, including ferns, hostas, astilbe, heucheras, aruncus, actaea and perennial geraniums. Upright Japanese “Sky Pencil” holly bushes provide vertical elements along the 6-foot high, horizontal-cedar-board privacy fence. An Eastern redbud provides some shade. “The terrace is mostly shady,
but in the summer, they get mid- to late-afternoon direct sun for a few hours, hence the need for the redbud,” Parker says.
Fire and water are represented with a custom-designed, spherical bluestone fountain and a square, Cortensteel firebox. “[Prince and Bergh] also wanted the suggestion of a barrier from the abutting park,” Parker says. “That planting had to remain open for their view out into the borrowed landscape, so highbush blueberries were used to line one side of the driveway, forming an edible hedge.”
Dwarf hinoki cypress and amsonia flank the front steps, and next to the back door, there is a large, raised bed
full of herbs and vegetables. “My husband is a great cook,” says Prince, “so we grow tomatoes and have an herb garden.”
Living large in small spaces
When Nancy and Brian Pearson moved into their townhouse in 2011, roughly 90% of the yard was asphalt. “It went from the street, to the foundation, around the garage and wrapped around the other side. It’s a two family house, and our side is about a tenth-acre. We kept just enough asphalt to park our cars and dug up the rest,” Nancy says.
The couple kept half the space as open lawn for their dogs to enjoy and enlisted the design services of Jacquelyn
BY
Nooney to create two outdoor rooms in the other half. “One is for dining, where we chose a travertine patio and planted an ivy wall on the garage to give it an Old World feel,” Nancy says. “The other space was for sitting, where we chose pea gravel and a custom fire pit/sculpture created by Terrence Parker and blacksmith Peter Happny.”
When the dogs passed away three years ago, Nancy dug up the remaining piece of lawn and created a pie-shaped kitchen garden where she grows summer veggies, such as tomatoes, beans and peppers. “I also have a tiny orchard now with strawberries, blueberries, peaches and pears. I call it Tenth Acre Farm,” she says.
“I have a very disciplined philosophy: If it isn’t beautiful or edible, it isn’t welcome,” Nancy says. “I like the ease and drama of foliage, so we have these magnificent arborvitae, boxwoods, the wall of luscious Boston ivy, and perennials like multicolored coral bells, hostas, peonies, clematis and
BY SARA
This year’s Portsmouth Pocket Garden Tour is scheduled for 5–8 p.m. on Friday, June 25, and 10 a.m.–4 p.m. on Saturday, June 26.
Tickets go on sale in early May online at portsmouthnh.com or the Unitarian Universalist South Church website at southchurch-uu.org. Tickets will also be available at several Seacoast retail locations.
If you are feeling hemmed in and limited by a tiny in-town lot, invest in a pleasant day touring the gardens of the South End. It will be time well spent. You are sure to pick up some useful tips for transforming your postage stamp into a mini-paradise.
Follow @portsmouthpocketgardentour on Facebook for details.
several apricot Knock Out roses that bloom all summer.”
Bobbi Slavin has lived in her Portsmouth home for over 30 years.
“When we moved in, there was no real garden,” she says, “just some straggly-looking forsythia by the back fence and a few struggling rose bushes around the porch.”
A former middle-school art teacher, Slavin is now a professional photographer. Both fields have given her a great eye for color and composition, which is evident in her garden design. The lot is long and narrow, and fairly shady. “At first, I just put plants in randomly. Most of them died because I didn’t know what I was doing!” she says. “I quickly learned the benefit of finding out what worked and survived, and planted them in multiples.”
As trees have been removed from her own lot and neighboring ones, more sunlight is reaching into her yard. “There is a bit more sun now, but the front of the house is still the best spot for the sun-lovers,” she says.
A winding brick path leads to the patio at the rear of the house. Rather than one large garden, Slavin has planted many small ones around the perimeter of the yard and patio, and has built a center island garden in the middle of the yard.
One of her favorite plants is a rhododendron she bought almost 30 years ago. “Its size has a grounding effect on the plantings around it,” she says, “and I have pruned it to a sculptured shape.”
Other favorites that do well in her growing conditions are hostas, astilbe, heuchera, coneflowers, rudbeckia, bee balm and Shasta daisies. “I love my baptisia,” Slavin says. “It is in the island bed, and when the sun gets behind it and shines through, it is beautiful!”
Several clematis vines and a climbing hydrangea add height to the garden. Slavin has a 30-year-old goatsbeard plant (Aruncus) that is a magnet for bees. “I have started putting down a lot of groundcovers too,” she says, “creeping Jenny, different colors of ajuga, some sedums and lily-turf.”
Slavin collects things like driftwood and shells to use in her gardens, and has a number of sculptures— angels, frogs and mermaids are favorites—as well as birdbaths and a small fountain. “We are so close to the ocean, and there are some beautiful pieces of driftwood that make good backgrounds for my vignettes,” she says. “I am hopelessly visual and see my yard as a canvas.” NHH
Atmos Fire Cages, Portsmouth • (603) 531-9109 atmosfirecages.com
Churchill’s Garden Center, Exeter • (603) 772-2685 churchillsgardens.com
Peter Happny Blacksmith, Portsmouth (603) 436-4859 • peterhappny.com
Rolling Green Nursery, Greenland (603) 436-2732 • rollinggreennursery.com
Terra Firma Landscape Architecture, Portsmouth (603) 430-8388 • terrafirmalandarch.com
Wentworth Greenhouses, Rollinsford (603) 743-4919 • wentworthgreenhouses.com
BY
Your home should reflect who you are and what you love. The Accent team is creative and committed—combining experience and innovation with a friendly, low-key approach. The results are rooms that become the heart of your home: beautifully designed spaces that will be an expression of your lifestyle for years to come.
112 Lafayette Road, North Hampton (603) 964-1771 • accentonkitchens.com
NEW HAMPSHIRE DESTINATION
Castle in the Clouds
Once called Lucknow by its original owners, this stunning estate was built in 1914 on a mountaintop overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee. Today, visitors of all ages enjoy tours of the historic Arts and Crafts mansion; dining on the lake-view terrace; hiking the estate’s trail system; and exploring woodlands, waterfalls, and lake and mountain vistas.
586 Ossipee Park Road, Moultonborough (603) 476-5900 • castleintheclouds.org
KITCHENS AND BATHROOMS
Rumford Stone
Rumford Stone is the choice of homeowners and design professionals when it comes to the finest in natural stone, quartz and porcelain surfaces. Begin creating a new countertop for your kitchen or bath at the Rumford Stone Design Center featuring the region’s largest slab yard. If you can dream it, it is probably here. From selection to fabrication to installation, our experienced staff will make the process easy and enjoyable.
Pembroke and Bow (603) 224-9876 • rumfordstone.com
Rolling Green Nursery
Explore and stroll nine acres of display gardens and stone paths. We grow an uncommon palette of annuals, herbs, perennials, vines, flowering trees and shrubs. We also offer custom patio containers and provide beautiful hanging baskets. We stock varieties of Japanese maples, and large and dwarf evergreens. Our staff is knowledgable and passionate about plants. Visit our website for events, hours and directions. Visit us for plants, seeds, advice and inspiration.
64 Breakfast Hill Road, Greenland • (603) 436-2732
RollingGreenNursery.com
KITCHENS AND BATHROOMS
Belletetes
Whether your project is large or small, complicated or simple, Belletetes takes your ideas and makes them happen. We have all the tools, products and skills necessary to make your project a complete success. Specializing in lumber, decking, windows, doors, paint, stains and flooring—as well as fixtures and cabinets for kitchens and bathrooms—we have everything for your remodeling needs. And don’t forget to take advantage of our free estimates!
51 Peterborough Street, Jaffrey • (603) 532-7716 • belletetes.com
We are a full-service landscape architectural design/build company based in Sunapee, New Hampshire, and serving New England. Our team of landscape architects, engineers, horticulturists, stonemasons and other specialists is committed to realize your visions for your outdoor living spaces. We deliver unique, functional and environmentally sensitive design solutions. Sunapee • (603) 763-6423 • dblandscaping.com
Emotions aside, home is where your stuff fits.
MY FIRST HOME (after leaving my parents’ house) was a closet.
I’d just moved 150 miles to the west of my family in northwest Florida to attend a junior college in Tallahassee, riding the matriculation wave with some of my more academically gifted friends who were going to FSU.
We shared a Victorian house on College Avenue with a big, glazed-tile fireplace but not many bed rooms. Hanging off the back of the house was a large sleeping porch—a lovely Southern innovation for summer nights before air conditioning. The porch was walled by screens fitted with big, wooden jalousies to shut out the night air, but you could hear the sorority and frat parties late at night. That cool space had been claimed, but between it and the rest of the house was a storage closet, about 4 feet by 10 inches, that had its own window. I lived in and out of that space for two semesters. It was my pad. I had a place for everything (I didn’t have much), and tricked it out to my liking with my books, a table and a teapot. I could even entertain a guest or two.
My experiment in independent living didn’t last long. I was soon back at my parents’ house, with all my stuff but sans diploma, to ponder my options for the future.
My current home, in which I’ve now lived for half my life, was where my mother-in-law was raised and courted by my father-in-law. When my wife and I were newlyweds, this 200-year-old farmhouse—situated in the heart of the Capitol City of a strange, distant land known as New Hampshire— was offered to us if we would simply move 1,000 miles north and be companions for my wife’s grandparents during some of their final years.
By the way, such multigenerational nesting is currently all the rage. A recent Pew Center poll determined that as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, 52% of people ages 19–28 were presently living with their parents or grandparents—the largest percentage since the Great Depression. our young, growing family into a completely furnished (and occupied) home seemed a the opposite of my college closet dwelling. We still had to find and make room for our stuff, but most of the spaces were already full of sentimental treasures and décor that had been a constant for a generation or two. Eventually, we found a place for everything and tricked out our space to our liking. We even had guests.
Now the house is all ours, although the garage and basement have plenty of vestiges of the past—old tools of mysterious function, anachronistic oddities (like a big bottle of pure DDT!) and countless forgotten keepsakes. Add to that the residue of three children, all technically out of the nest but with quite a few of their own keepsakes (still precious and remembered) on display here and there.
Home is indeed where your heart is, but human hearts come with a lot of baggage. The first step in making a house a home is usually making some room for it all. And it’s smart to remain prepared for the possibility that some of your nestlings might suddenly decide to check back in for a year or three.
The parsimonious Yankees who designed our house didn’t provide any huge closets, and those we have are full. But, hey kids, the mudroom is large enough for a pallet and dresser. NHH
By Rick Broussard | Illustration by Carolyn Vibbert
