My 200-12 months-Outdated Home Reno Hinged On a Gilmore Girls–Worthy City Vote

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We first noticed Taylor Swaim’s almost 200-year-old Litchfield County, Connecticut, residence the way in which any self-respecting design nerd would—on TikTok. One publish about her entrance porch venture had us deep-diving her feed. When she purchased the place in 2021, the outside was painted a cheery brilliant yellow—very on pattern this yr, however Swaim thought it felt a bit extreme and distracted from the house’s architectural particulars. “It also didn’t have much presence,” she recollects. “It felt like you were looking at a side door or a side entrance.”

Roughly 4 years later, she lastly gave the historic Greek Revival a facelift, leaving her stamp on the place whereas staying true to its roots. And sure, there have been humorous moments, freakouts, and the type of small-town drama you’d anticipate. 

Staying True to the Home’s History

“I found that sooner or later within the Victorian period, a porch was added to the entrance of the home, and I feel that’s when the unique trim work was eliminated. The porch seemingly fell into disrepair and was eliminated, however they by no means re-added the 1800s Greek Revival trim. So with the facelift, my goal was to revive the home to what it might have regarded like when initially constructed.

In that period, sometimes the identical carpenter did each the inside and exterior trim, and for the reason that residence nonetheless has an unique fire mantel, I had my buddy who’s an architect replicate the proportions and particulars of the mantel to create the plan for the trim across the entrance door.”

Working Through Approvals

“As a first-time residence purchaser and as somebody who’s by no means lived in a historic district, I used to be fairly naive going into the historic approval course of. I assumed it might take a few weeks, however as a result of my home is a novel case that requires each state and native approval for adjustments, it really took about seven months.

My first step was working with the state historic group Preservation Connecticut. Again, I labored with an architect to create a rendering, and we went by means of a number of rounds of backwards and forwards simply to verify it match their standards. One factor that was actually attention-grabbing: I initially thought the brand new trim ought to look as very like it got here from the 1800s as attainable, however the preservation group needs a historian to have the ability to inform that the trim work isn’t unique to the home. It’s a very high-quality steadiness of not eager to be deceitful about historic preservation. This approval alone took upwards of 5 months. 

I then labored with my native historic district, which was sooner, particularly as a result of I had already achieved approval on the state degree. That course of jogged my memory a little bit of the city corridor conferences from Gilmore Girls. It was actually humorous! They had a public assembly the place individuals from city acquired to vote on whether or not or to not approve my plan. Needless to say, I acquired my approval.”

Picking Paint Colors and Fixtures

“In an ideal world, I might have performed the trim work first, then had the staff paint the home. But as a result of approvals for the trim took longer than anticipated and I’d already booked the painters, they got here and did that within the fall, then returned within the spring to work on the trim. 

As for shade, brilliant white New England houses are fairly customary round right here, however I at all times discover that to be a bit extreme, so I went with a hotter white, one thing with a bit softness to it. That’s why I selected Swiss Coffee by Benjamin Moore. For the entrance door shade, I went with Sussex Green by Benjamin Moore—a really muddy brown-green, which is a shade I personally gravitate to quite a bit inside the home. It feels very earthy, and I’m surrounded by loads of timber, so I felt prefer it was a pure alternative for the door shade. 

For the lighting, I picked bronze lantern-style fixtures by Generation Lighting, which match the bronze {hardware} on the door. I then added planters by Smith and Hawken for Target, which I crammed with hellebores within the spring and Midnight Rose Coral Bells in the summertime.”

Staying Calm During Construction

“The construction phase, which only lasted three or four days, was pretty terrifying. I had been really excited to do this project ever since I moved in, and my gut told me that the house needed it to add back a little character. But when you cut into a 200-year-old house, you can basically see the interior walls on the other side; there’s no insulation. I thought, oh my god, am I making a mistake? What if this damages the house? But ultimately, I had faith in my architects. By the time we got toward the end, all of my fears subsided and I could see the light at the end of the tunnel.”

Enjoying the Finished Look 

“When you buy an older home—or any home, really—if you have a vision for it, until you get to execute on that, I don’t know that it ever truly feels like your house.This house has had so many years behind it and so many different lives, and I feel really privileged to say that I got to put my little stamp on it.”