Ease of Living

After moving to the first town in the first state (as locals boast), the owners of a reproduction 18th-century house began a renovation that added comfort and new warmth without sacrificing its sense of tradition.

Written by Lorraine Glennon • Photographed by Carl Shuman

"They just don't build houses like they used to." It's a commonly heard lament, the truth of which few would dispute. But what is less often acknowledged is that, sturdy and charming as those well-built dwellings of the past may be, their interiors are more often than not ill suited to contemporary life. Just ask the owners of this "replica" of an 18th-century Williamsburg house, built in the 1980s in the historic beach town of Lewes, Delaware.

Period details, such as wainscoting and woodwork inside, clapboard attached with square nails, and two-inch thick exterior doors that open out, are all a big part of what attracted the owners to this house, which sits on a secluded lot just five minutes from the ocean.

Even so, when they decided to turn the place into their primary residence (it was originally purchased as a weekend retreat), they knew a major overhaul was in order. "The small, compartmentalized rooms, especially the very closed-off galley kitchen, just didn't work for us," admits the social worker. "To make the house usable, we had to make it a little more modern, a little more friendly."

The key element to the renovation, which was spearheaded by Larry Burns, an interior designer from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and kitchen designer Bobby Herr, of Marietta, Pennsylvania, was to open up the main floor by knocking down the wall separating the kitchen from the great room and removing two hall closets that backed into the kitchen area from the foyer. The resulting spacious openness was a revelation: "The whole main floor, except for the guest wing, became one big footprint," says Herr. "The scale instantly felt better."

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Ease of Living

After moving to the first town in the first state (as locals boast), the owners of a reproduction 18th-century house began a renovation that added comfort and new warmth without sacrificing its sense of tradition.

After moving to the first town in the first state (as locals boast), the owners of a reproduction 18th-century house began a renovation that added comfort and new warmth without sacrificing its sense of tradition.