Two existing offers meant the Federal-style house was spoken for, however after a week of silent sulking they checked in with the realtor, just in case. In a twist of fate, it was available. They immediately hopped in the car and, with Cregan’s parents and Amigron’s mom in tow, drove to Weston to claim their home. What followed was a flurry of shopping trips across New England to outfit it with era-appropriate furniture built to last. “I can literally count on one hand the pieces in this house that are not antiques,” says Cregan.

Besides having all the delectable moldings and well-aged quirk they sought, the house checked another important box: a kitchen that they could make their own. Says Cregan, “I didn’t want to pay a surplus for somebody else’s newly renovated kitchen that’s not our taste or aesthetic.” Amigron found his job skills were transferrable to kitchen design and the pair enjoyed the ultimate collaboration: Cregan drew their vision on graph paper, Amigron put it into a 3D rendering program so they could play with finishes, colors, and textures; and an architect drew formal CAD plans for the cabinet maker. “I was a child who was obsessed with playing The Sims and building houses,” says Cregan. “And so the fact that I drew our kitchen, handed it off, and then it came to life…. My little 10-year-old self is absolutely buzzing thinking about what I’ve done.”

The goal of the all-important space—part of a 26-by-12-foot room that also houses their substantial antique dining table—was to maximize efficiency while ensuring cohesion with the age of the house. “We wanted it to feel very natural and speak to a different time but with modern appliances,” says Amigron. Soapstone countertops, sink and backsplash by M. Teixeira, aged brass DeVol bin pulls, and custom Shaker-style cabinets by Dean Cabinetry in Farrow & Ball’s Treron “really brought the history back into that room while still creating an updated space,” he says.

For as rich and nuanced as the rest of the house was, the couple recall that the living room “basically had zero personality,” says Cregan. “The only interesting thing about it was the fireplace.” Color was their starting point. The pair were immediately drawn to the saturated Farrow & Ball crimson they chose to paint their new paneling: Eating Room Red. But the company’s Uppark wallpaper wasn’t as easy a commitment. Cregan, the researcher, said, “We have to explore other options. Maybe there’s another wallpaper out there that’s better.” They flipped through thousands before returning to the very first choice. A later serendipitous Facebook Marketplace find of slipper chairs upholstered in a complementary whimsical toile confirmed the selection.

“Ultimately, we ended up making a lot of design decisions around a piece of furniture that we fell in love with,” says Cregan. Amigron adds, “I was going absolutely insane on Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, and everything I could think of.” He’d send the ad for each promising piece to Cregan, who was still working remotely from New Hampshire, saying “‘You need to drive four hours right now to rural Maine to go pick up these Hitchcock chairs!’” Lighting was also a thrilling treasure hunt since, as Cregan says, “We’re a lamp household.” They eschewed recessed lighting and used Venetian plaster on ceilings and walls to bounce light through the not exactly bright house.

“The history of [what] we’ve collected is just staggering to think about,” Cregan says. That includes the nature lovers’ multifaceted artworks, accumulated over a decade, with a healthy dose of botanical prints, gilt frames, and taxidermy butterflies and moths that hold special significance. “I love the idea of furniture and antiques as heirlooms,” says Amigron, who looks forward to their future children inheriting it all. “That’s my goal,” he adds, “to be able to pass down really, really beautiful things that have a lot of sentimental meaning.”