What's New

One such conversion has recently been completed by Hudson Valley Preservation, however, taking a pedestrian 1960s ranch and converting it into “a little gem,” according to its new owners, Nancy and Dennis Isenberg. “We wanted to live in Bridgewater and we wanted to live on this street,” recounted Mrs. Isenberg. “There are a lot of larger buildings and farms along this road, but the only thing that was for sale was this rather sad little house. I was in shock when Dennis said he wanted to buy it.”

While the house was not what they had envisioned, the couple was downsizing and the views toward the back of the property were everything they could want and more.

The couple decided the property had enough potential to warrant an investment—but it would have to be a substantial investment that would literally raise the roof while at the same time altering the interior configuration of the building to make it lighter and airier.

“I was almost claustrophobic in here,” said Mr. Isenberg, a tall, lanky man. “The ceilings were all seven-and-a-half feet. Our primary goal was to get more height.”

The Isenbergs also wanted to take the 1,400-square-foot building and make it feel more spacious. The installation of banks of windows in bedrooms, the kitchen and the living area, augmented by the removal of walls that would have blocked the light, created a living space that feels much larger than the square footage of the house would seem to dictate.

“You should have seen it before,” Mr. Isenberg said enthusiastically. “There wasn’t a window on the chimney wall and the front part of the house was a screened-in porch that had no purpose. We wanted to make that area part of the house. That large piece of furniture over there is literally my office”—he gestured toward a lofty cabinet ensconced under an entablature on the eastern wall of the house—“and we had to plan a ceiling high enough to accommodate it.”

“It’s hard to believe, but there were three bedrooms in here,” he went on to say as he led a tour through the house. “They were all so tiny, so we wanted to consolidate them into two rooms. There were walls and doors everywhere. You could actually get lost in this house. What we really wanted was open space, so we could see from the kitchen to the living room.”

Throw into the bargain a desire for energy efficiency and a need to accommodate Mr. Isenberg’s allergies, and the remodeling of the 1967 ranch posed real design problems. Enter Hudson Valley Preservation (HVP), a Sherman-based firm operated by partners Mason Lord, Dave Seegers and Laura Lurcott that specializes in remodeling and restoration of older homes.

HVP, which was named one of the Top 50 Remodeling Firms in America by Remodeling Magazine, incorporates high-tech design and communication systems to help formulate design solutions, while at the same time paying homage to the historic qualities of the homes it remodels. A 3-D software program allows the client to see what the building will look like before a nail is driven.

Mr. Lord, founder and managing partner of the firm, said that 21st-century computer generation of designs greatly facilitates the renovation of buildings. He said that the computer program allows clients and builders who may be physically far apart to hold meetings “in real time.”

“Each project has its own e-file,” he said. “The owners, the contractors, the designers—everyone—has access to that folder 24 hours a day. It eliminates a lot of confusion.”

3D model of the Dining Room	The final Dining Room

Mr. Isenberg agreed. “We had a number of meetings while we were hundreds of miles away. With the computer we were all looking at the same thing at the same time and we could take the mouse and show him exactly what was bothering us. With the 3-D imaging, we knew what would happen before the first workman came through the door with a tool.”

“During the design phase, Laura and Mason find out what the clients’ dreams are,” interjected Mr. Seegers, who is the production coordinator. “They fit the project together. The 3-D package makes it easier to do, but then you need to build it.”
Indeed, Mrs. Isenberg said the partners and her husband helped to keep her grounded during the design process. Laughing, she said her dreams often were at variance with the reality of converting an existing building, but that HVP was able to incorporate many of her ideas into the building in a practical way.

“When you are working with people with expertise in taking old buildings and preserving their integrity while, at the same time, reducing the environmental footprint, you are getting more than people who just build houses,” she said. “They took this sad little house and made it a gem. This team was able to take some elements of my dream house and build them into this little cottage.”

And they did it in ways that met the Isenbergs’ goal of being environmentally responsible. During the process of reconstruction, efforts were made to reuse materials, such as the hardwood floors. “We were able to find a firm that could still supply the same flooring,” said Mr. Seegers. “We reused as much of the old flooring as we could and were able to piece in with the new wood.”

He added that many of the modern building materials used in the house were manufactured out of sustainable woods—cut when the trees were smaller than traditional trees cut for lumber. Shorter, smaller pieces of wood were glued together to create building products that are straighter and stronger than usual.

Better insulation and energy-efficient windows made the Isenberg house tight and easy to heat—no small issue as the cost of heating oil soars—and special filter in the HVAC system has helped to keep Mr. Isenberg’s allergies under control.

Still, Mr. Seegers cautioned that making such changes in an existing house has to be carefully assessed. “When you affect one piece, you have to step back and see what effect it will have on the rest of the building. When we dismantle places, we can sometimes see where rot has been accelerated by changes other people have made. A lot of the design is behind the finishes. Part of being ‘green’ in building is doing it right so there won’t be problems in the future.”

Mr. Lord founded HVP in 1991 and today is responsible for design and sales coordination. His knowledge of historic restoration was gained through an apprenticeship as a restoration craftsman with the National Trust for Historic Preservation at Lyndehurst. He brings a lifelong passion for architecture and a degree from Duke University to bear on the development of the team concept.

His skills are combined with those of Mr. Seegers, who has years of residential construction experience. He is particularly skilled at figuring out the best way to build a design and which materials and techniques will be right for the job.

Ms. Lurcott joined HVP after a career in management and customer service training in New York City. Her extensive work with people and her background in psychology all provide a good basis for helping clients in developing their dream homes. She is the client’s personal guide while navigating the building experience.

When HVP approaches a remodeling project, the first step is what it calls its “x-ray” of the building. “There is a lot of investigation,” said Mr. Lord. “We spend a lot of time observing existing conditions.”

By determining the underlying conditions of the house, the homeowner is aware before work begins of any hidden problems and is spared unhappy surprises and cost overruns.

Mrs. Isenberg was particularly appreciative of this part of HVP’s program. “I love old houses,” she said, “but we had an earlier experience of [remodeling] the wrong way. We didn’t have the process [that HVP has] for approval of changes. We went $85,000 over budget and got lots of gray hair. We never had any of that here.”

As Featured in the Litchfield County Times and Housatonic Publications-“It’s so Easy to be Green” Special Section. November 16, 2007.

« back