In this newsletter we are presenting the designs for Heald Cottage, a 3/4 bedroom, 2.5 bath cape. Our inspiration for the Cottage, as many of our readers know, is the original early 19th century brick cape that still stands (well, sort of) in Wilton, New Hampshire. The old brick cape was owned by the Heald family and sat on a hillside overlooking 1500 acres of apple orchard, lake and woodlands. All this land is being given to the State forestry system, a wonderful instance of private giving that will provide recreational pleasure for many people, as well as land preservation for future generations.

The original home still stands but is badly damaged from years of being unoccupied and having had most of its interior stripped out. Fortunately, we were able to take pictures of the home before much of the vandalism occurred, and so can reproduce its Federal period details.

We love this cape for its simple, elegant design that is typical of many country capes built throughout New England. Unlike earlier 18th century capes, the Heald Cottage reflected the more spacious and refined interiors of the Federal period. It had an open central hall, with a parlor to the left and dining room to the right.

Ceilings were 8’ high, windows were large, and walls were completely plastered so that no structural framing was exposed, such as summer beams and corner gunstocks. Trim detail on baseboards and around windows and doors reflected the Federal taste for decorative detail. All told, the cottage, with its southern orientation, was bright, airy, and cheerful.

The original kitchen was in the back corner of the house and opened into a side shed that connected to a carriage house. We’ve moved the kitchen to the side shed location so that the old kitchen space can function as a family room. We have expanded the dimensions of the original shed to accommodate a modern kitchen with pantry, laundry and mud- room area. Just as with the old cape, we have attached a two-car garage in lieu of the old carriage house – same idea, but different “carriages”!

While the first floor was spacious, - and we have added a first floor master bedroom suite with views to the woodlands - the idea of large upstairs bedrooms was still foreign to that era. The roof pitch of the original cape was too low to allow much living space upstairs so we raised the pitch of the roof to create large upstairs bedrooms and ample space for a bath.

[Click on the schematics to see a larger version]

This house can be sited on one of two 6+ acre cul-de-sac wooded lots located in an exclusive setting. If you would like additional information about this home, please contact Nancy Pomerleau, Carlson GMAC Real Estate, Amherst NH. (693) 673-8000 X328 or CLICK to email. If you have friends or family who might have an interest in owning the historic Heald Cottage, please CLICK to forward this newsletter to them.

Heald Cottage Specs

 

Trompe L'oeil Art

In an earlier newsletter we talked about trompe l'oeil art. The reason why we so appreciate this form of painting is that we can incorporate pictures of artifacts relevant to the home’s history. For example, here is a Lady Liberty penny, minted in 1798 that we found at the site of the Benjamin Spaulding house. This painting is now in our reconstructed home.