Building Memories

With a more open (storage-packed!) first floor, a new master suite, and dedicated space for visiting grandparents, this 1879 Italianate’s remodel was designed with family in mind

- Jill Connors

For Liz McQuillan Delfino, stepping through her front entry is a lot like step-ping back in time. She pushes open the same heavy wood door, glimpses the same quirky fireplace nook, and passes the same staircase she knew growing up. Once the kitchen comes into view, however, it’s clear things have changed in her childhood home. Framed by a columned half-wall divider, the enlarged, opened-up cook space now has an island at its center, all-new cabinetry, quartz and reclaimed-wood countertops, and gleaming stainless steel appliances—testament to a just-completed eight-month renovation documented on the current season of This Old House television. With the construction dust now settled, the army of contractors, subs, and Generation NEXT apprentices have moved on—and Liz, her husband, Joe Delfino, and their two young daughters are finally moved in.

The 3,000-square-foot, four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath home in Newton, Massachusetts, has an updated layout perfect for modern family life. But it also carefully preserves many elements of the old house that Liz cherishes. “The stairs even squeak in the same place,” she says, with a smile. “It reminds me of my mom walking up and down the staircase when I was young.”