In our era of highly customized, down-to-the-studs renovations, it’s rare to see a project where the designers go out of their way to leave things just as they are—and not because of budgetary constraints. During the update of this 18th-century farmhouse in the Berkshires, both the clients and the designers—Lauren and Suzanne McGrath of McGrath II—agreed that it would be a shame to alter the quirky layout of the property, not to mention its hodgepodge of beautifully weathered wooden beams.
“Sometimes someone hands you a project that really doesn’t need to be gutted, where the best thing to do is just embrace it and make it work,” says Lauren. “This house to me is romantic, it has a real soul and great bones.”
Originally built in 1764, the wood-sided, two-story home has mostly low ceilings, small bedrooms, and an odd configuration on the ground floor, with a foyer, living room, and dining room coexisting in a sort of open space. Old beams on the ceilings, door frames, and in the simple timber staircase, which were left untouched during a 2006 renovation, provide hard-to-replicate rusticity. The work that was done back then included the addition of a 1,000-square-foot wing holding a double-height parlor, as well as a study with a bedroom right above it. Luckily the owners at the time also wanted to preserve the home’s character and designed the addition to blend in with the original structure. “It was very well done, very cohesive,” says Suzanne, Lauren’s mother and longtime design partner. “Our clients hired us to retain the charm but make it feel more elevated.”
