This 1880’s Victorian home located on Brattle St. in Cambridge has been restored by S + H Construction twice in the last 10 years. In the first project, the entire building was gutted, a large addition at the back of the house was removed and another, more well – suited addition was built. The basement was lowered by a few feet, and the granite block and fieldstone foundation was held in place and underpinned.
Working closely with the Cambridge Historical Commission, we fabricated new architectural components at a majority of the exterior to match existing details. All the windows were replaced with new mahogany sash and weight and pulley systems. The weight boxes were insulated in a way that allowed the pulley system to operate. The basement includes mechanical area, exercise room, family room and wine cellar. New lined chimney flues were installed to service the many fireplaces. The first floor included large formal dining room, living room and parlor all with large crown moldings and intricate casings. There is radiant heat throughout the residence and a large generator was installed in a basement under the garage created for that purpose. A powder room on the first floor had full slabs of marble on the walls and marble casings and crown moldings. The library on the 2nd floor was finished completely in walnut. S + H Construction Landscape & Site work Division ( The Green Team ) performed extensive site improvements, including all new utilities, as well as significant plantings of mature trees and hardscaping. The second renovation for a new family a few years later made significant changes. Ornate Victorian moldings were removed in favor of more modern details. A number of structural walls were removed and replaced with glass in steel frames. A fireplace was removed to make space for modern art displays. The marble bathroom was removed and moved to a new location, the kitchen and master suite was renovated and minor changes were performed to the basement.
Participants
- Architect: Prellwit-Chillinski
- Design: Potter+Hattaway
- Photography: Eric Roth
















