This highly visible “hinge” property on Germantown’s main street has had many lives - from farmhouse to dentists’ offices to apartments - and now hosts guests visiting the beautiful Hudson Valley.

This project is personal. After completing our own Hudson Valley home (an abandoned 1890s workers cottage), we were looking for a new challenge. Fortunately, so was the client and architect (Kate’s mom and brother!). Covered in vinyl siding, languishing on the real-estate market for several years, sitting on a slight rise near one of the primary approaches to the historic hamlet, this house was hiding in plain sight. And we knew that it was worth preserving, not just for us, but for the whole town. We followed “ghost” lines in the old floors to restore the main living area to a semblance of its original configuration. Layers of wallpaper were peeled back and plaster repaired. Wood clapboard siding (still mostly intact under the vinyl), double-hung wood windows and 1940s steel storms were restored. The asphalt roof was replaced with standing-seam metal. The front porch was rebuilt and extended to its original footprint. Bathrooms and kitchens (downstairs and upstairs) were upgraded using existing vintage fixtures and some sourced from salvage warehouses. French doors were installed to open up the back of the house to the garden and outdoor seating area. Host to many Wood/Sprouls family gatherings and shared with guests via AirBnB, the house now contains two apartments (downstairs and upstairs) that can easily be combined into a single home by opening up the pocket doors in the main stair hall.

This project is personal. After completing our own Hudson Valley home (an abandoned 1890s workers cottage), we were looking for a new challenge. Fortunately, so was the client and architect (Kate’s mom and brother!). Covered in vinyl siding, languishing on the real-estate market for several years, sitting on a slight rise near one of the primary approaches to the historic hamlet, this house was hiding in plain sight. And we knew that it was worth preserving, not just for us, but for the whole town. We followed “ghost” lines in the old floors to restore the main living area to a semblance of its original configuration. Layers of wallpaper were peeled back and plaster repaired. Wood clapboard siding (still mostly

 intact under the vinyl), double-hung wood windows and 1940s steel storms were restored. The asphalt roof was replaced with standing-seam metal. The front porch was rebuilt and extended to its original footprint. Bathrooms and kitchens (downstairs and upstairs) were upgraded using existing vintage fixtures and some sourced from salvage warehouses. French doors were installed to open up the back of the house to the garden and outdoor seating area. Host to many Wood/Sprouls family gatherings and shared with guests via AirBnB, the house now contains two apartments (downstairs and upstairs) that can easily be combined into a single home by opening up the pocket doors in the main stair hall.