Written By: Linda Davis - Photos By: Linda Davis & Cheryle St. Onge

“Our home sold much faster than anticipated after a bidding war, and we ended up living on the Cape for three months, The Colonial Inn for one month, and then my barn office for three months, waiting for Woodstone to be finished for Christmas.” said homeowner and interior designer Lauren Huyett.

Rewind ten years earlier to when Lauren first met architect Jennifer Hart while on a chair lift.   Both women were chaperoning their school-aged children during a ski trip, and their slow mountainside ride gave them the opportunity to talk; Lauren shared her love of old homes and Jennifer, who designs new homes to seamlessly look as if they came from a different era, completely understood what Lauren was describing.  A special bond was instantly created when their talk segued into their love of landscaping… New England and Virginia (Lauren attended Sweet Briar College in Virginia and both Bill, Lauren’s husband, and Jennifer attended the University of Virginia). That was when Lauren made a mental note to contact Jennifer if Bill and she ever decided to build a house. 

When Lauren and Bill decided to move from their historic downtown home in Concord, MA, Bill was a bit hesitant about leaving their current 1844 historic home to build a new home. However as soon as he walked the 3-acre property bordered by 400-year-old stone walls, old tree species, and learned about the history of Estabrook Woods, which borders the property, he said “let’s do it!”. The two of them had already renovated 13 homes, but this would be their first new construction, and they were ready to finally “settle down”. 

Lauren did not forget the conversation she had with Jennifer ten years earlier and contacted her to discuss designing the home. During a design meeting, the bond was once again solidified when Jennifer proposed creating a cherry and beech parquet floor in their entry hall. That design decision was inspired by a floor seen in Thomas Jefferson’s parlor at Monticello, a property that both Bill and Lauren admire.

“This feels like home; more than our past homes”, said Lauren, “It includes a little bit of each place we have lived and places we enjoy traveling to”.  Incorporating both New England and Virginian styling, Woodstone is a place where the Huyett’s five grown children and future generations of Huyetts will gather - for many years to come. 

Furniture and accessories collected over the years filled their homes in Virginia, Ohio, California, Washington D.C. and Zurich.  A family heirloom piano, an eighteenth-century gilded clock from Versailles, and formal antiques sit harmoniously next to casual furnishing making the house feel personalized, welcoming, and warm.

Bill’s love of history and old properties was the catalyst for moving an antique barn to the property. Unplanned, the barn was found in Pennsylvania close to the town where Bill once lived.  Part of the barn is heated and plumbed, including a ¾ bath on the second floor.   It was to be and is a place for both Lauren’s office, “Lauren Huyett Interiors”, and Bill’s furniture-making shop. The barn also became their home while Woodstone was being finished.