Preserving a Historical Framingham Home

Our client, Mike, is the proud owner of a historical home in Framingham. His house was once owned by one of Framingham’s most prominent citizens, Jonathan Maynard. Born in 1752, Maynard graduated from Harvard and in 1775 immediately joined the fight for America’s independence from Britain. Maynard fought at Bunker Hill, Cambridge, Saratoga, and Stillwater. He was captured at West Point and held in a prisoners’ camp for two and a half years. After his release, he was awarded the rank of Captain. Maynard then became a teacher, justice of the peace, town selectman, state representative, and senator. He was also assigned the questionable position of “Guardian of the Indigenous People of Natick”.

The Jonathan Maynard House was built in 1738 several years before John Maynard’s birth. This house is still gorgeous, filled with unique original woodwork and fireplaces. Our client needed to renovate and refresh his home, but he also needed to protect the historical aspects of his home. Mike needed to adhere to Framingham’s strict renovation guidelines for historical homes. The rules allowed our client to renovate his home, but the cultural, architectural, social, and economic history of the Jonathan Maynard House had to be protected and maintained. Since we just celebrated our nation’s birthday and Revolutionary War heroes like Jonathan Maynard, it is a treat to share this beautiful project with you. 

Mike was renovating his home and needed to have the paintwork and wallcovering installation completed carefully, respectfully, and with expertise. His home is filled with gorgeous wood trim, shutters, built-ins, and cabinetry. At one point during the renovation, he was afraid that he would have to get rid of a sturdy, expensive kitchen island. We repainted it so that it was preserved, but fit in seamlessly with the refreshed look of the kitchen. It meant a lot to him that he did not have to get rid of this beautiful kitchen feature.

We painted the kitchen island and all of the cabinetry with Advance Satin from Benjamin Moore paint. For the kitchen’s color palette, we matched a gorgeous color called Mole’s Breath from Farrow & Ball. We decided to use Benjamin Moore’s because we find Advance Satin to be incredibly durable for cabinetry. Cabinets are touched very often in the course of the days, months, and years so it is necessary to use a very durable paint product. Before painting the cabinetry, which lines a substantial amount of wall space, our painters removed all of the hinges and sanded the wood. They then cleaned the wood using a de-glossing product. After cleaning, they primed the wood cabinetry pieces using BIN primer. When the primer was completely dry, the painters finally painted the cabinetry with three coats of paint.

Our client also needed to refresh the look of the billiards room. Usually, we remove the existing wallpaper before installing the new wallpaper. On this project, we could not remove the original wallpaper. This is not a common occurrence, but it does happen sometimes. Instead of removal, we sealed the existing wallpaper with Gardz. Careful and thorough sealing ensures that the existing wallpaper remains flat, securely adhered to the wall surface, and does not interfere with the newly installed wallpaper. The sealing technique basically provides a ‘new’, stable surface for the wallpaper that will be applied over it. 

The amazing craftspeople from Bradshaw Wallcoverings installed a wallcovering from Walnut Wallpaper. The wallpaper pattern is Bullerswood which is decorated with a rich beige and grey palette. Installing wallcovering in an antique home can be especially challenging as these houses often have design quirks due to their age, the time they were built, and settling over the years. Our client needed the rooms wallpapered correctly despite the odd angles of his antique home. Our installer ensured that the wallcoverings were cut precisely and efficiently. He laid out the wallpaper and studied the design. The rooms consist of many window and door ‘breaks’ which interrupt the space of the wall surfaces. The design had to be balanced and centered wherever it was applied to the various wall segments. Bradshaw Wallcoverings created ways to cut the paper so that the pattern seams matched exactly. If they had followed the typical wallpaper installation instructions, the paper would have been misaligned and there would have been a substantial waste of product and a hefty increase in cost to our client. It is this expert technique and exquisite results that make us trust the independent and creative thinking of our project collaborators like Bradshaw Wallcoverings. We solve and prevent problems for our clients. Our collaborators have to be capable of the same.

We painted the billiards room trim work, shutters, doors, and mouldings with the color Purbeck Stone from Farrow & Ball. Again, we used Advance Satin from Benjamin Moore and matched the color our client wanted. This room also features an eye-catching accent wall. We painted this design feature with Gray from Benjamin Moore. The accent wall provides a gorgeous dividing line between the pool table area and the seating/television area. It also provides a “rest” for the eyes from the wallpaper pattern.

Every room in this antique home features an incredible amount of wooden trim work, as well as gorgeous wooden shutters with their glorious mouldings. In the dining room and office, our client chose to have us custom match the original trim and door paint color. The “older” color blends beautifully with the new wallpaper patterns. The walls of the office featured a beautiful wallcovering by Zoffany. The pattern is Richmond Park in Evergreen. The color palette is exquisite and retains the antique feel of the home. The dining room features another bold wallpaper pattern. 

Refurbishing this historical home was such an honor. Mike was faced with the challenge of renovating and redecorating a historical gem. Indeed, he owns the home, but he is also its steward. The renovation project required adherence to historical home preservation rules. The house required that we respect its quirks and age. If the rules weren’t followed, the preservation, rehabilitation, and restoration would have been ruined. It would be a disaster for our client and for the town of Framingham. Mike trusted us and put the refurbishment of his home in our hands. He told us to get started and we did. The results are stunning, exactly what he wanted and exactly what was required.

If you have an antique home that you want to refurbish, give us a call at 508.740.6212 or click here so we can get started.

Be well,

Bill