Within a few minutes after turning off Connecticut’s Route 9, which follows along the Connecticut River south of Hartford, we knew we’d taken the wrong exit. With the sun rising directly in our eyes, we couldn’t read the signs properly. Our destination was a horse farm in East Haddam. We’d been corresponding with the owners, […]
Homes
Because Gregory and Marilyn didn’t want to keep their treasures hidden in a drawer, or collecting dust on an open shelf where they could get broken, they incorporated an attractive solution throughout the inn: showcase closets. In the dining room, Gregory cut the center wood panel out of the door of a closet that had […]
(Read more about Ira and Ethan Allen in a Yankee Classic from 1981.) Vermont is different from the other five New England states. For one thing, as true Vermonters are very quick to point out, it was never one of the original 13 states. In fact, in 1777, a couple of years after the Revolution […]
How about this: your own cottage on the Maine coast, complete with sailboats, kayaks, a saltwater pool, a fitness center, a golf course, tennis courts, a bowling alley, a pool table, hiking trails, gardens, and a camp for your children to enjoy when you’re out antiquing. That’s what the Sebasco Harbor Resort is offering with […]
You might be asking, “Which Oliver Wendell Holmes?” Holmes Sr. (1809-1894), the famous Boston physician and man of letters? Or his son, Holmes Jr. (1841-1935), the even more famous Bostonian who served on the U.S. Supreme Court for 30 years? The answer is “Both.” Holmes Sr. built this 15-room “cottage,” as summer mansions were called […]
It wasn’t hard to find Sharon Drake’s real estate office on Front Street in downtown Bath. Everyone in the convenience store where we stopped to ask directions knew her — customers as well as those behind the counter. Not surprising when you consider that she’s been selling homes in the area for more than 30 […]
When it came time to build a fireplace, Roger Wells told his mason that he wanted a Rumford Fireplace — the single best fireplace design to come along in the last 200-plus years. Count Rumford, born Benjamin Thompson in 1753 in Woburn, Massachusetts, was a physicist and genius inventor, a Tory who fled Boston with […]
Also read Sandy Wells’s 10 tips for antiques collectors. Drive just under a mile off interstate 89 near the town of New London, New Hampshire, and you’ll suddenly come upon the hamlet of North Sutton, with its blink-and-you’ll-miss-it white clapboard general store and Baptist church. Drawn by the sweet calm of tree-lined Kezar Lake, you […]
Have you ever wondered if heating with wood would trim your fuel bills? Look over the information in these charts to help find the answer.
Project: Family Room Makeover Kerry Carter’s family room had started to overwhelm her. With three children and a full-time job, this Sudbury, Massachusetts, mom was too busy to figure out how to make the most-used area of the house really work. The piano had been shoved into a corner; built-in shelves were stuffed with games, […]
When Matthew and Jenny Mead entertain, they like their guests to have a sense of awe when they walk into a room. Awesome is this woven gingerbread harvest basket dressing up an antique sideboard and filled with autumn’s bounty. This project is edible, or you may save it from year to year. Make this gingerbread […]
In another bowl centerpiece, Matthew attains easy elegance with what he calls “drop and layer” style. Using no florals, fruits, or water, he simply nestles white and silver ornaments in a compote among glistening silver cake dragées and glass stones. He tops it off with an antique bell ornament and rhinestone brooches — inexpensive flea […]