Touring the Isaac Royall House in Medford, MA

Project: Victorian Restoration, Episode 3, Part 2



Contractor Charlie Tomaszewski and crew are hard at work moving the front door of the main house to accommodate a new entranceway. In addition, Tomaszewski is using an air-driven palm nailer to finish up work on new support beams.

Bob meets homeowner Julie Graham, who is working with Faith Allen from Merillat to create the new kitchen layout. Across town, Bob tours the Isaac Royall House.
Part 1: Relocating the Front Door
Part 2: Touring the Isaac Royall House in Medford, MA
Bob visits the Royall House in Medford, MA, which was named after Isaac Royall, a wealthy man loyal to the British crown, who made a fortune in the trade of slaves, sugar, and rum. The property reflects his desire to have the most pretentious house in the Boston area, and it's a good example of classical American Georgian architecture.

The house is a remodel of an earlier house built on the site by Governor Winthrop. There are two facades-- one side facing the river to receive visitors by boat; the other facing the road to receive visitors by coach.

The scale of the windows gets progressively smaller near the top, as does the scale of the stone and wood blocks.

Peter Gittleman, President of the Royall House Association, meets Bob at the south façade to show him brick details of the house on the exterior that outline its earlier history before the remodel. Together, Peter and Bob go into the house where they remark on the wood carving that adorns the interior columns and the turned banister of the staircase.

They enter the Best Parlor, where there are furnishings, such as a Queen Ann tea table, of the period. Then they go upstairs to the Marble Chamber, which has been furnished with red damask-covered furnishings similar to those originally in the room.
Part 3: Restructuring the First Floor and Kitchen Design
Located just five miles from downtown Boston, Bob's scouts discovered a Victorian-era house in a neighborhood of family homes on tree-lined streets that was past due for a full-scale renovation.

The home's new owners, a work-at-home family, have set goals to modernize the home's floor plan, update the building's mechanical and electrical systems, and add home office and work spaces for two busy professionals.

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