In 2016, renovation work had halted on the historic clapboard house at 302 Elm Street which suffered from weather and water damage. The place needed new owners to rescue and restore the 1901 Colonial Revival.
“We looked at the house seven times before we made an offer,” said Jen Adams, who bought the house with her husband, Jeff Sternal.
“We had been looking for 5 years,” said Sternal, a software developer. “This house was on the market for a couple years and had three deals fall through,” added Adams.
The house’s condition may have been a factor. Severe water damage had ruined the house’s entire right side. “ ‘Not for the faint of heart’ was in the property’s description,” said Adams, a Professor of English at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.
New to historic home renovation, they consulted an architect friend, decided it was worth the effort and made their bid.
Two years and a remarkable transformation later, the couple earned the Northampton Historical Commission’s venerated historic preservation award.
Their home will be featured along with five other award-winning historic Northampton homes in this year’s inaugural Home Tour co-sponsored by the Friends of Cooley Dickinson and the Northampton Historical Commission on Saturday, June 29.
The project began in April 2018 and was completed in September 2018 while the family was in Oxford, England for Adams’s work. Their trio of support — architect, Jody Barker, contractor John Sackrey of Sackrey Construction and realtor Kate Carney Iles of Maple and Main ably managed the process.
“Our contractors did an amazing job,” Sternal said, “We delegated a lot because we were over there and we trusted them. We were on the same page about almost everything. Our great agent Kate Carney Iles of Maple and Main helped facilitate a lot, too.”
A wall of photos by the kitchen helps show what they were up against. “A lot of it was just exposed walls,” said Sternal, many gutted down to the laths.
The kitchen was most difficult because they wanted to build in sufficient cabinet and counter space while maintaining openness. Barker drew up at least eight designs for it. Today, abundant sunlight washes through the room, where pendant fixtures hang over a peninsula breakfast bar.
An original, carved acorn finial anchors the curved wooden staircase in the entryway and the dining room is covered with antique wallpaper depicting sweeping landscapes.
Preserving these features while updating the house required real professional ingenuity. Pointing to a charming narrow closet in the entryway, Sternal said, “This closet wasn’t there. They just built it out of wood they recovered and the door they found.” They also tucked a clever half-bath underneath the front staircase, a feature “our architect dubbed the Harry Potter potty,” said Sternal.
Next to Harry Potter is a narrow, almost secret back staircase. “We both love the back staircase, especially the comedy that ensues when two people are trying to find each other but use different staircases,” said Sternal.
Upstairs, they modernized water damaged spaces and converted a former art studio into a master suite and laundry room. The master bedroom, painted white and dove grey with a deep burgundy statement wall, maintains its original sconces.
Walking onto the second-floor deck, Sternal pointed out its significant restoration. “The balustrades were miserable. They were eaten, some of them looked like corncobs. What’s worse is the posts had rotted and were hazards.” Refurbished with bars and fitted collars returned them to their former glory.
And would they do it all again, knowing what they know now,?
“Yes, I think so,” said Sternal. “It is doable, and you can go through it without losing your mind.”
“We really like our house,” added Adams.
The are 5 other historic homes on the Home Tour, in addition to 302 Elm Street: 41 Lyman Road, 30 Munroe Street, 78 North Elm Street, 62 Chestnut Street and 123 Meadow Street. Tickets are $25 and available at the Cooley Dickinson Hospital (CDH) Gift Shop, Cooper’s Corner, State Street Fruit Store, Essentials and The Baker’s Pin. On the day of the event, June 29, tickets will be available at the CDH Gift Shop. Proceeds go to the Friends of Cooley Dickinson.