New England Colonial Home Tour
Explore the home tour of a builder-grade 1980s colonial fixer-upper in Massachusetts that received a complete DIY makeover and was renovated to reflect antique New England character and charm.
Take the final video home tour
We purchased this colonial in July of 2012 in the suburbs of Boston. It was in a beautiful neighborhood of 1980s/90s colonials, but each house still managed to have its own very unique character.
While the house lured us in with incredible curb appeal, it was undeniable that it desperately needed some interior updates. We spent nine years transforming every inch of the house before moving in 2021.
our colonial home tour
Our primary goal for this house was to add character inside and out. We love antique homes, but with a young family felt we wouldn’t have the time to renovate and maintain one. We instead opted to purchase a newer home and add the charm we craved.
It’s hard to fully put into words all of the lessons I learned while renovating and decorating this house. Some of them were tangible, like how to choose the correct rug size. Others were more abstract, like how to create a home even when you’re in the midst of a lot of imperfection (living in a construction zone). I also learned how to say goodbye to a house we poured a lot of ourselves into. In the end, as we moved on to new adventures, it became clear that home isn’t truly a place… it’s who you’re with.