a farmhouse renewed

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

- 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 renovation.

"while the house stood empty, a pipe burst, flooding the kitchen," David says. "Someone stole all the copper pipes. For me, it was in the perfect state of disrepair; though it looked like a wreck, the previous owner had put on a new roof, installed new plumbing and electrical systems, and added a new septic tank."

David and Penelope contacted Jimmy Crisp, an area architect who has both designed new houses and directed many restorations. "We work on a lot of historic homes," Crisp says, "because there are so many of them in this region. I love it."