Architect pampers Arts and Crafts details
While all homes are built to live in, few are built as living works of art. The house at 63 Page Road in Newton is one of those rarities.
On the outside, the place takes the shape of an uncommon type of three-story Colonial Revival, with its deep gambrel, cross-gabled roof, cream-colored stucco, and red wooden shingles.
On the inside, the house is a largely a gorgeous Arts and Crafts-style dwelling, with rich, dark wood details throughout. There's the paneling that sits heavily over the white plaster walls like coats of armor made of mahogany and fir; the thick window frames fortifying the tall, narrow diamond-patterned leaded glass panes, the wooden slabs around the mantels of the three fireplaces, the exposed ceiling beams in the living areas, and the oversized doors that feel as if they were made for a castle.
“Whoever built this house was clearly a master craftsman,” said Margaret Szerlip of Karp, Liberman & Kern Sotheby's International, when showing the $1.6-million home this week. “The place is unspoiled.”
Built in 1905, the sprawling house — it has 6 bedrooms and 4,602 square feet — had plenty of time for ruinous rehabs. Instead, the place was apparently pampered with upkeep, and retains many details of its early days.
That's probably because the owner of the past several decades has been an architect, and most of the changes he and his wife made were to the home's two kitchens, bringing them up to modern times with custom wood cabinetry in the main kitchen and granite countertops in both. The couple also updated the electric, plumbing, roof, driveway, walks and porches, and installed central air conditioning.
If you're wondering why there are two kitchens, that's because the place is zoned as a twofamily home, though it's currently used by one family, and feels natural as a big house. But one half could easily be converted into an apartment or condo.
Located in Newtonville, the home is also close to schools and shops.