a farmhouse renewed

Sensitive renovations and restoration work preserved a house that dates to 1799.

By Regina Cole

A style that’s all the rage, the “modern farmhouse” typically blends rural, vernacular architecture with a clean, white interior. Even before the idea had a name, David Spirakis and his wife, Penelope Chaplin, created just such a house, in western Massachusetts. “We lived in New York City and came to the Berkshires to ski,” explains David, a retired banker. “We’d rent a place every winter. Then, in 2011, we bought this old house.” Built in 1799, the substantial farmhouse on a narrow dirt road has a Georgian center-hall plan. (One previous owner was Janet G. Travell, personal physician of President John F. Kennedy and the first woman to hold that position in the White House.) When David and Penelope found the place, its most recent owner had abandoned it after beginning a…

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Old House Journal (Digital) - 1 Issue, September/October 2024

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