A house brought back to life
The story behind the home
TRUMBULL — The house at 500 Plattsville Road sat virtually abandoned for some time before it caught Emilio Ferri’s eye.
A contractor, Ferri looked at the antique colonial and saw something worthwhile and beautiful waiting to come back to life.
“We had seen this home many times,” said Ferri’s daughter, Emilia. “My dad was the one who was interested in it and wanted to bring it to full restoration.”
Ferri did what he thought was necessary — he bought the house. And after more than two years of restoration, the 3,508-square-foot home is a showpiece — a combination of modern advancements (new roof, electrical, heat and air conditioning, etc.) and historical touches, such as the original wide-plank fir floor boards.
“We gave it the paddles and brought it back to life,” said Emilia, who is an architect and helped restore the house. But,
even though it’s been polished and updated, “it still has this immense feel of history,” she said.
The house was built in 1861, by surgeon D.S. Edwards. He was a descendant of John Edwards, who came to America from England in the 1690s and settled in what was then Stratford and is now Trumbull.
Emilia Ferri said that after her family bought the house, they found framed documents about the Edwards family, including a letter from D.S. Edwards to his wife. The framed items are now on display in the main hallway of the house.
“It’s like a history wall,” Emilia Ferri said.
She said keeping the home’s history intact was a key goal in renovating it. That’s why she and her father preserved and restored as many original elements as they could, including the floor boards (complete with original nails), five working fireplaces and even a foot bath in one of the upstairs bath- rooms.
“We kept that because it was so unique,” Ferri said of the foot bath.
When something had to be repainted or restored or replaced, the younger Ferri said, her family took pains to make sure the new material was historically accurate. That includes light fixtures, door hardware and even the grates over the floor vents. On that last score, Ferri used one remaining cast iron grate as model when ordering new ones, and all have the same ornate embellishments.
The home’s signature feature, a wraparound porch outside, was there originally, but the Ferris refurbished that as well.
Though Emilio Ferri and his wife, Patricia, originally planned to move into the home, once they restored it, they realized it wasn’t for them. They put it on the market, and it is listed at $750,000.
“It’s a big house, and we didn’t realize that until after the work was done,” Patricia said.
Emilia Ferri echoed her mother’s thoughts.
“It really deserves a big family,” she said.