Season 13 - Modern Colonial
Centerville, MA
This year's project focuses on the construction of a Colonial-style home built with both history and the future in mind. While this 4-bedroom, 4-bath home will have a traditional exterior and interior detailing, the plan will suit the needs of a modern family, including easy-maintenance fireplaces, a great room, master suite, sun room, 3-car garage, and a large walk-out basement with plenty of room for recreation and indoor/outdoor living.
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| Setting the stage for his 21st century Colonial project, Bob discusses the current trend toward exurban living and the renewed popularity of the Center Entry Colonial. The original Colonial-style homes ...
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| Bob and Ryley make their first tour of the site where the foundation is already in place. Ryley notes that with a sloping grade you want to drop the foundation ...
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| Bob and Ryley meet up with framing contractor Kevin Parquette of Timberline Building Specialists. Kevin comments on the advantages of working with the 28 ft. long engineered wood All-Joists from ...
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| Bob tours the Winslow Crocker House in Yarmouthport, Massachusetts, with Peter Gittelman of the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities. The house, built in the 1770s, is an ...
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| Kevin Parquette's crew is making swift work of the framing using traditional practices such as 2-by-4 construction with 1/2 inch CDX plywood sheathing. The partitions are constructed on the ...
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| Bob outlines the steps involved in framing up the house. Once the first floor joists were in place, the crew started in on the subfloor using ToughPly, a thicker plywood ...
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| Ryley and Bob look at the Colonial's rear façade and then head inside to watch as the crew frames out the modified hip roof on the sunroom. With its flat ...
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| Bob and Ryley demonstrate step by step how to frame up a 6' x 12' walk-in closet for the master bedroom. The framing crew installed partition backers to receive the ...
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| Bob opens the segment with a look at the Certainteed Landmark shingles selected for this project. Fabricated with a dragon's tooth angle, the Landmark shingles give the impression of a ...
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| Bob looks at the order and placement of the windows on the façade of the modern Colonial. Upon closer inspection, the classically inspired fenestration — size, type, and placement ...
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| Bob visits Cape Cod with Dick Wills, who is carrying on the work of his father, architect Royal Barry Wills. Beginning in the 1920s, the senior Wills popularized traditional New ...
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| Dick Wills takes Bob on a tour of the interior of his Cape-style home. The house is much larger than Bob expected with a library, master suite, a large family ...
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| Bob meets with Erling Andersen of AIM (Andersen International Marketing) in the basement of the modern Colonial to discuss the heating system. The Boiler Room in a Box has just ...
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| Bob visits the Julia Wood House, home of the Falmouth, Massachusetts Historical Society, and takes a tour with Carolyn Power, the society's executive director. The home was built in 1790 ...
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| Bob meets with Peter Merianos and the crew from Coastal Heating and Air Conditioning who are fabricating the AC ductwork on site. With the Kenmore air handler already installed in ...
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| Bob tours the Maibec American Classics mill in Quebec, Canada, where the cedar shingles for the center-entry Colonial house were manufactured. Maibec uses Eastern White Cedar from certified, responsibly managed ...
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| Bob meets with Keith Ball of Maibec to learn more the shingles selected for the modern Colonial. The shingles come with either a bleaching oil finish allowing the grain of ...
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| Bob visits a Heat n' Glo showroom where Ross Morrison shows him a variety of direct-vent gas fireplaces. With a sealed glass chamber there is no interplay of of ...
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| The crew from The Ironhouse joins Dan DeMagistris of Heat-N-Glo to install the fireplace. The fireplace selected for the dining room is taller than it is wide, which makes ...
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| At the modern Colonial's front entry, Bob takes a look at the columns that support the overhang at the front entry. An alternative to wooden columns, these columns, supplied by ...
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| The clapboard siding on the modern Colonial is being prepped and primed with Bob Vila Signature Collection paints. Bob is on hand as painter Jon Fish first sets, or recesses, ...
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| Bob discusses the basics of quality paint with Ron Hudas, product manager for the Bob Vila Signature Collection paint line. The paint being applied has a 20-year warranty, explains Hudas, ...
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| Color specialist Peggy VanAllen meets with Bob to discuss exterior color choices for the Modern Colonial project. In choosing a palette for a home, consider the style of the house ...
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| The Mahogany railings for the elevated rear deck are being constructed, and Bob meets with Kevin Parquette who is doing the final assembly work. The deck features ample room for ...
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| The stairway leading up to the rear deck is composed of 1-by-four-inch Mahogany treads. The distance from the ground to the top of the finished deck measures 48 inches. To ...
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| Bob takes a final moment to give a quick demonstration of the BobVila.com Paint Designer. Available exclusively at BobVila.com, the paint designer allows users to start with their house type, ...
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| Bob joins Buddy Loxley from MAP Insulation to talk installation in the master bedroom. The crew is using R-15 fiberglass insulation from Owens Corning in the home's exterior walls to ...
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| Richard Roomey and the crew from Roomey Drywall are hanging blue board in the great room. An alternative to drywall, blue board has a paper facing that is specifically designed ...
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| The plaster crew is hard at work in the master bedroom, applying a coat of USG Diamond Veneer Plaster. Bob gets a demonstration of the plaster application process, and a ...
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| Bob Ryley is on hand to help hang some new Withers Industries shutters on the front of the center-entry Colonial. The shutters are made from Southern Yellow Pine, and add ...
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| Ron Ford from Kohler Power Systems joins Bob to talk about the 22-kilowatt backup generator that has been installed. The generator is permanently connected to the home's main power distribution ...
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| Bob takes a tour of the Jackson Homestead in Newton, Massachusetts. David Olson is on hand to talk about the Jackson family, who made their name as candle makers. The ...
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| New Wayne-Dalton Carriage Doors are installed in the garage. These Equestrian style doors are made of medium density fiberboard, with a Cedar overlay. Dave Colette from Doorworks talks Bob through ...
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| Bob takes a look at a new Sears garage door opener — a 3/4 horsepower unit that's among the strongest on the market. The unit features a keypad that allows ...
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| Bob joins Jay Seminara of Seminara Construction who is in the process of laying down a new cobblestone apron at the edge of the driveway. The apron serves two purposes: ...
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| Don and Kerry Carlisle from Carlisle Restoration Lumber visit the project house to discuss the custom flooring being installed in the kitchen area. Old growth White Oak was chosen for ...
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| The floor installation is underway, and Howard Brickman and crew are on site laying down the boards that extend throughout most of the first floor. Because of the home's open ...
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| For proper installation, wood flooring should be allowed to acclimate to its surrounding environment before it is installed. Too much or two little moisture in the flooring can cause it ...
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| Carpenter Bob Ryley is on location to begin work on a reproduction wood-paneled wall in the project home's formal dining area. The wall panels, which were inspired by a visit ...
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| Wood floor expert Howard Brickman is on the job site installing White Oak hardwood floors from Carlisle Restoration Lumber. Instead of blind nailing the floors to conceal the fasteners, Brickman ...
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| Bob and Howard Brickman begin the installation of the old-growth pine plank flooring in a second-floor bedroom of the modern Colonial's sister house. The Eastern White pine flooring, which was ...
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| Bob and crew travel to Wareham, Mass., to visit the Tremont Nail Mill. Tremont Nail, manufacturer of the cut nails used in the antique pine flooring installation in the modern ...
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Interior Door Installation and Plan Modifications Video Clips (HA1311)
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| Inspired by the interior wall panels seen in the Winslow-Crocker house in Yarmouthport, Mass. (see tour in episode 1), Bob and crew go to work on replicating the panels in ...
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| Carpenter Bob Ryley and Jim Daniels of Woodport Interior Doors join Bob on location to hang a new door in the master bathroom. The pre-hung, six-panel door being installed is ...
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| Hanging the master bathroom door continues. After roughing the door into place, Ryley checks to make sure it is centered and temporarily secures it using plywood blocks. Next he checks ...
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| With the door to the master bath installed, Ryley conceals the rough carpentry work with door casings. Three boards make up the door casing — two side casings and a ...
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| In the master bedroom, Bob Ryley is installing the medium density fiberboard baseboard trim. Where two pieces of trim meet in a corner, Ryley's approach is to cope the inside ...
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| In this segment, Bob Ryley tackles window trim in the master bedroom of the new Colonial. He begins with the windowsill, which is predrilled through its leading edge and then ...
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| Brent Hull, of Hull Historical Millwork, is on location to help with the installation of the dining room's crown molding. The WindsorONE millwork selected for this modern Colonial was patterned ...
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| Carpenter Bob Ryley visits the project house to install the WindsorONE crown molding in the dining room. The five-piece crown molding assembly requires careful measurements, and a selection of electric- ...
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| Bob takes a trip into Boston to visit the North Bennet Street School. The school, which focuses on training students in traditional handcraft trades ranging from preservation carpentry to violin ...
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| Robert Adam, an instructor at the North Bennet Street School, provides a look inside one of the facility's workshops where several projects are underway. Work in progress includes a new ...
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| On location at the project house, Robert Adam from the North Bennet Street School demonstrates the tools and techniques used to handcraft reproduction moldings. Using a millwork profile found in ...
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| Bob and landscape designer Ruth Foster tour Mahoney's Garden Center, a local nursery, to discuss the elements of the project house's landscape plan. Foster's focus is on the pieces selected ...
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| Bob rejoins Ruth Foster on site to tour the landscape work in progress and see how the design has come to life. Foster outlines the major landscape features, including the ...
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| Landscape designer Ruth Foster gives a quick "how-to" on planting techniques using the shrubs for the Elizabethan-inspired garden as examples. A shrub is placed in a shallow hole, one inch ...
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| Bob continues his tour of the exterior with landscape designer Ruth Foster. In the Elizabethan-inspired garden in the front of the house she explains the various flowers she has chosen ...
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| Jack Walters from Just Irrigation is on site putting in a RainBird sprinkler system. Bob catches up with him as he is at work in the Elizabethan-style garden. Walters uses ...
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| Ron Boffoli from Cape Cod Vacuum Supply is on site installing the components for a central vacuum system. Bob joins Boffoli as he secures a section of the system's plumbing ...
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| Bob talks with electrician Henry Jordan about the Category 5 wiring that will carry both phone and data information. Jordon outlines the configuration of both the standard electrical outlets and ...
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| Bob is in the basement talking with Erling Andersen from A.I.M. Radiant Heating. A.I.M.'s "Boiler Room In A Box" has been installed and the baseboard tubing is being run throughout ...
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| An Owens Corning "Basement Finishing System" is being installed at the sister project house. Bob takes us through the framing process, which begins with steel studs. Metal studs are used ...
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| Work continues at the sister project house where a new Kahrs "Linnea" laminated floor system is being installed. Tim Colgan from Kahrs is on site with Bob to explain the ...
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| Bob takes a tour of the completed landscaping in this episode. Landscape designer Ruth Foster has created a Colonial-themed design. Foster chose to keep a magnificent white pine at the ...
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| Bob visits the Glen Magna Farm in Danvers, Massachusetts, with Kathy Gianoulos from the Danvers Historical Society. Owned by the Endicott family since the late 1800's, it was named after ...
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| Kevin Callahan from Sears joins Bob to talk about the new Kenmore air conditioning condensers that will be installed. The condensers are Energy Star rated and have a life expectancy ...
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| Interior carpenter John Kiley is hard at work on the staircase in the front hall. The pre-cut risers have already been hung, and he's measured the rise and the run ...
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| Darcie Miller from Wellborn Cabinets is here today to talk about the kitchen's design. The kitchen is built around the center workstation, where the cooktop will be installed. This is ...
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| Bob is joined by John Wellborn, from Wellborn Cabinets, and carpenter Paul Anderson for the kitchen cabinet installation. Wellborn clamps cabinet sections together to insure that the joints are nice ...
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| Evan Zgonis of Olympia Marble and Granite gives Bob a tour of the facility where the kitchen countertops are being manufactured. The marble slabs are brought in from the yard ...
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| Evan Zgonis and the crew form Olympia Marble and Granite are on site, installing the marble countertops in the kitchen. The slabs weigh about 300 pounds and the crew takes ...
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| Jay Triandafilou and a crew from Architectural Fence are on location to install the exterior fence in this episode. The fence is a square spindle ornamental picket fence made from ...
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| Dave Herbert from Whirlpool joins Bob to talk about the new Personal Valet Clothes Vitalizing System that is being installed in the master bedroom closet. A chemical-free cleaning system, the ...
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| Bob and Ryley are busy in the garage workshop ripping 4-by-8 sheets of birch plywood for use as partitions in the master bedroom closet. Ryley has created a template to ...
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| Bob and Bob Ryley are working in the master bedroom building two storage units in the walk-in closet. Before they can start, they take a moment to hang the Whirlpool ...
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| Gary Prevedini from Andersen windows is on site talking about the pre-finished windows in the great room. The window's finish is applied electrostatically, a process that allows it to seal ...
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| Painter John Fish is beginning work on the home's interior. Fish begins by filling all the nail holes in the trim with an oil-based putty. Next, he lightly sands around ...
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| Interior designer Leslie Curtis joins Bob to discuss her paint plan for the interior of house. In the great room, she's chosen Seedling Tint from the Bob Vila Signature collection ...
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| Interior Designer Leslie Curtis takes Bob on a tour of the Lyman Estate in Waltham, Mass. Curtis has chosen many items for the house from The Society for the Preservation ...
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| Bob and designer Leslie Curtis take a quick tour through the master bedroom. Here Curtis has chosen Autumn Wheat from the Bob Vila Signature collection paint line. Bob and Curtis ...
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| Bob Ryley is in the garage workshop in this episode helping Bob build a planter box for the sunroom. Using a compass to draw intersecting circles, Ryley creates a simple ...
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| Bob takes us on the first of many visits to the Winterthur Garden and Museum in Delaware's Brandywine Valley. Winterthur was the vision of Henry Francis DuPont, who researched and ...
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| Bob Ryley is on to his next project, installing the new lockset from Baldwin Brass on the front door. Ryley's advice for getting started: find a clean open space to ...
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| At Boston's North Bennet Street School, Bob visits the locksmithing classroom. The school's program is structured around both classroom work and apprenticeships, with students in class in the morning and ...
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| Bob returns to Winterthur, industrialist Henry Francis du Pont's country estate, which is now a museum, in Delaware's Brandywine Valley. The museum's Port Royal Parlor display was originally part of ...
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| Carpenter Paul Anderson joins Bob to hang the Wellborn corner cabinets in the kitchen. The cabinets have some interesting features such as the tambour which can be used to store ...
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| Paul Anderson is attaching the pre-finished crown molding around the Wellborn kitchen cabinets. Each section is miter-cut, and then dry-fit to ensure a tight joint before it is secured with ...
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| In the sunroom, Howard Brickman is at work sanding the floors. Starting with a drum sander, he begins by sanding the floor at a 20-degree angle to get the surface ...
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| Bob takes a visit to Casco, Maine to learn more about the Hancock Land Company's sustainable forestry operation. Patrick Moore from Greenspirit Enterprises joins Bob to explain how the forests ...
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| On the next stop on tour of the Hancock Land Company, Bob and Patrick Moore are joined by Peter McKinley, Hancock's staff ecologist. McKinley's job is to look for ecologically ...
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| Howard Brickman has begun sanding the old growth Eastern white pine floor in the bedroom. Like the sunroom, the fine quality of the millwork from Carlisle requires only about 2 ...
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| Decorator Leslie Curtis joins Bob in the project house's parlor to discuss the room's wall treatments. In lieu of wallpaper, stencils are used to add a decorative touch to the ...
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| Bob returns to Winterthur in Delaware's Brandywine Valley. Vila and Winterthur's Pauline Eversmann first visit the Tappahannock Room circa 1740. Highlights from the display include a chest thought to be ...
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| Bob's Winterthur tour continues. After a brief stop to admire some fine cabinetry work attributed to the Dunlap family of New Hampshire, Vila and Eversmann tour one of Winterthur's most ...
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| Work continues on the parlor's wall stencils. Bob and Ken Forcier are applying the second "layer" of the stencilÑan ochre hue to complement the first shade of blue. To aid ...
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| Bob and interior designer Leslie Curtis discuss the window treatments in this episode. Curtis is working in the dining room, where Kevin Murphy from Smith + Noble is on site ...
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| Bob visits the McLellan House in Portland Maine, which is part of the Portland Museum of Art. Curator Jessica Nicoll joins Vila for a tour of the Museum's $8.6 million ...
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| Interior designer Leslie Curtis shows off another of her decorating ideas in the dining room. She's chosen to frame a sample of an historic wallpaper pattern. The frames were created ...
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| Bob checks in with artist Polly Forcier from MB Historic Decor to get an update on some of the home's decorative painting. Forcier is working on a Colonial-style mural inspired ...
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| Bob re-visits The Winterthur Garden and Museum, this time touring the Chinese Parlor with curator Pauline Eversmann. The Parlor is actually a combination of three rooms, chosen specifically to showcase ...
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| Brent Thompson from IceBox joins Bob in the kitchen to talk about a new Internet appliance. The IceBox is an information, communication, and entertainment center. Its compact design allows installation ...
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| Local artist Linda Gavin is on site creating custom lampshades. Gavin uses a piercing and painting technique to create lampshades out of both fabric and watercolor paper. The first step ...
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| Bob Vila meets with flooring specialist Howard Brickman from Brickman Consulting who has completed the home's beautiful wood floors. The next challenge is to move heavy appliances across the new ...
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| In the sunroom, Bob appraises Polly Forcier's traditional Shaker-style landscape wall mural, giving it high marks for the Colonial-themed home. A final look at the walls in the parlor reveals ...
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| Bob convenes with carpenter Bob Ryley and plumber Dave DuVerger who are installing the laundry appliances. Bob details a few of the features of the Energy Star rated washer and ...
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| Bob tours the upstairs master bath with an eye towards the space's luxury appointments, including the double vanity fixtures, granite countertop, and Wellborn cabinets. Plumber Dave DuVerger is installing a ...
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| Bob Vila delivers a "Colonial" model, flush mount Robern medicine cabinet to an upstairs bath. Bob Ryley is busy installing the z-bar (named for its z-like shape) to support the ...
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| Bob visits with Alex Krutsky at the cabinet and furniture classrooms of the North Bennet Street School in Boston. Bob and Krutsky discuss the school's admissions process, which does require ...
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| Tommy MacDonald demonstrates a few of the techniques he employs to create hand carved furniture details. MacDonald lines up the grain of the mahogany and securely fastens the wood to ...
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| As an introduction to a grand rounds tour of the completed Modern Colonial project house, Bob takes a final look at the home's exterior with an eye towards the architectural ...
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| Designer Leslie Curtis of Curtis Designs is back on location for a final tour of the Colonial-themed decor. Curtis points out the wall stencils from MB Historic Decor, which feature ...
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| In the kitchen, a neutral paint palette allows for striking contrasts. Bob looks at the mix of stainless steel and black Kenmore Elite Energy Star appliances, the Wellborn cabinets, and ...
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| Bob visits the home's airy, light-filled basement family room. The house, which is built on a sloping lot, allows the basement level to open directly to the backyard. Leslie Curtis ...
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| Kristie Brooks from Icon Health and Fitness is exercising on the space-saver NordicTrack treadmill in the home's exercise room. Brooks also points out the multi-functional home gym and the exercise ...
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| The next room on the house tour is the formal living room. The Heat-n-Glow fireplace is a direct vent model, allowing a large picture window to be placed above the ...
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| Bob takes a moment to examine a mahogany secretary crafted by Tommy MacDonald, a student at the North Bennet Street School.
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| A final peek into the master bath reveals amenities such as the Wellborn Cabinets vanity, his and hers sinks, and a whirlpool tub. A clever feature of this bathroom is ...
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| In the master bedroom, "Autumn Wheat" from the Bob Vila Signature Series paint line was applied to the walls to provide a transition from the master bath. Curtis chose an ...
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