Newton, MA 16 - Recap

Kevin opens the final episode in Newton, Massachusetts from the front porch, which Tom temporarily converted to a workshop. Originally the “Green Monster,” the house has undergone considerable change of the previous eight months. In back, a new shingle-style porch with a standing seam copper roof overlooks a new terraced backyard – far different from the featureless back wall the house once sported. In front, Kevin meets Tom, whose men removed two full trailers of tools and equipment the previous day, clearing the space for Roger Cook and his men to put in the landscaping, a task that required removing a considerable amount of snow and putting down a carpet of sod.

Kevin meets Susan Arnold inside. She designed the lighting, starting with an alabaster bowl lamp. To highlight the nearby stained glass window she has specified a small, recessed lamp switched to the same circuit. It backlights the window for those in the vestibule. The homeowner wished to preserve the view of a large stained glass window on the landing, so Susan lit the stairwell with a pair of candelabra wall sconces. For safety she added some indirect lighting on the landing itself. There's another alabaster bowl style fixture in the parlor, hanging from short chains. Very small bronze lamps spotlight the bookcases; dimmers permit them to be set to whatever light level the homeowner wishes. The dining room features a pair of sconces that have been in the homeowner's family for some time, and that she wished to use. They're complemented by a more modern chandelier over the table that has a round shade with a diffuser fabric.

Kevin walks a room over to speak next with Greg Smizer, the security system specialist. He's installed recessed window contacts that signal an alarm if someone raises the window. Motion detectors pick up the folks who just break the glass and come in. High resolution cameras with their own light sources (light emitting diodes) survey the outside of the property and transmit images to a computer. A DVR in the basement records the image and permits the homeowners access to it from anywhere the Internet is available. One the cameras even captures Tom Silva enjoying a coffee break on the last day!

The system includes smoke detector for fire protection. They can even report their health to a maintenance module that contacts the monitoring facility, triggering service calls when needed.

Off of the kitchen is a family room, once a dining room. Its use has changed in part because it is one of the few rooms suitable for a large, flat screen television set: 52” and HDTV. Larry Shulman, a consultant, chose LCD over plasma because the LCD technology features a non-reflective plastic surface – a wise choice for a room that contains a large number of windows. Shulman has provided several televisions for the house. Eric Reinhardt, an audio consultant, has provided several satellite speakers to create a surround effect It has five total speakers: three in front, two in the back. The “head” rests in a closet that can conceal it; it can drive speakers in up to fourteen rooms and can store as much as 340 hours of compact disc music. An LCD remote control permits searching the music collection from any room. It comes with a headset that actually contains a pair of microphones. The user dons this and sits down in five different places, and the system essentially listens to its own output and then corrects for acoustical variations automatically.

Kevin and Tommy meet on the landing to look at the restored stained glass window, before Kevin heads upstairs to discuss window coverings with specialist Meghan Hodge. She discusses the choices the homeowners made. In the home office they chose wood blinds, while in the bedroom they chose a kind of woven shade that offers greater light blocking, and a high-end silk curtain. She's installed the hardware higher than the window and projecting about eight inches out, to give the corner depth.

Tom and Roger meet in the garage, and Tom goes over the extensive repairs necessary to make the garage servicable. A cabinet company has installed high end storage; Tom also shows off the epoxy finish floor.

Outside, Roger talks to Stephanie Hubbard, who designed the landscape plan for the backyard. She points out the copper low-voltage lighting; she and Roger tour the finished bluestone patio, on which Tom's men have installed teak benches. They've turned a basically unusable backyard into a nice relaxation and play area.

The next day, the final day, Norm makes his way to the porch where he meets Treff LaFleche. They show pictures of the house as it appeared in 1897, and compare that to the modern, restored version. A plaque from the Newton Historical Society commemorates the restoration; Treff hangs it outside.

Now that the finishing touches are complete, Kevin tours the rooms a final time with Abbey Koplovitz, the interior designer. Before and after pictures show the various changes – how the dining room became a family room. From there they visit the dining room, where the homeowner showcases her collection of antique clocks. They cut a carpet to fit the odd shape of the room, and decorated the windows with heavy silk curtains. Next to it is the parlor, a place suitable for adult entertaining, It features nice bookcases and furniture, plus curtains designed to make the room look very tall.

Rich meets Abbey upstairs to talk about the office, where Paul will work. Next to it is the new master bedroom. To create a wall for the bed, Tom's men moved closed off a large window and created two new windows to the sides. The former sleeping porch now houses a walk-in closet and a large master bathroom. Medicine cabinets on the outside wall limit the available light, so the designer specified transom-style windows above them. It features his and hers vanities, a stone counter, wooden cabinets, and a nicely detailed tile floor – the final job done by Joe Ferrante, who died during this project. There's a large shower and a smaller alcove housing the toilet, with a translucent door for privacy. The shower features two body sprays and a hand shower in addition to the overhead unit, all of it controlled by a digital thermostatic valve. Each user can have their own presets for which nozzles operate and at what temperatures.

Norm shows off the kitchen as guests begin to filter in, showing off the crown molding and partitions hand built by Tom and his men. Designer Donna Venegas gives him a quick tour of what she calls an “open plan” kitchen – a kitchen featuring various separated functional areas. An armoire houses a large convection oven, warming drawer and a freezer/fridge. A different station features a cooktop with a five burners and a steam cooker, with plenty of space for prep work. At the end is a microwave oven and a coffee station. Next is the wet wall, featuring the dishwasher and sink.

The homeowners thank the crew before everyone heads inside (through a New England snowstorm) to the party that awaits them.

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