Architectural & Environmental Committee Presents Excellence in Design Tour

Sponsor: Carroll Engineering Corporation

By Anne Biggs

Co-chair, A&E Committee

  Each fall, the Architectural & Environmental Committee presents its Excellence in Design Tour, a delightful, unhurried visit to a handful of the area’s notable examples of the built environment. Chosen for their architecture, landscaping, interior design, environmental features or site planning, each selection offers a special look into the shared vision of the designer and owner.

  The 2011 self-guided tour was notable for its restoration and expansion projects, including some historic structures getting a new lease on life with extensive renovations to match the owners’ lifestyles or meet specific needs.

  This was also the first year the EID Tour crossed the river to spotlight a pair of unique sites in Hunterdon County, New Jersey. In addition, the tour encompasses exceptional sites near Lumberville and New Hope and a reception for ticket-holders and property owners in Doylestown at the Mercer Museum’s Elkins Gallery.

The home of Congressman Jim Greenwood and Tina Paugh Greenwood, a stone farmhouse with its feet in four centuries, drew hundreds of attendees.

  “The history of the house goes back to 1740,” says Greenwood. “Old Glory,” as it was named by a previous owner, was built as a tavern by a man named Beaumont to serve the patrons of a ferry service that once existed on the property, and today that tavern room, with its walk-in fireplace, is a favorite Greenwood spot.

  “We have copies of the licenses granted for the sale of ‘spirituous liquors.’ In 1840 another stone house was built adjacent to the tavern. Later the two structures were connected, and then a fourth section was added on the other side of the tavern to house the first indoor kitchen.”

  The Greenwoods, who bought Old Glory in 2005, recently completed a large addition with a spacious kitchen, living room, office, master suite and gym. Renovations took 18 months and included wainscoting in the tavern room, all new wiring, air conditioning, new bathrooms and painting inside and out. They also replaced the back porches and enclosed one to incorporate it into the home’s interior. Audrey Long, of Audrey Long Interior Design, New Hope, coordinated the interior renovation, including paint and furnishings; Ralph C. Fey Architects, Doylestown, is the architect of record.

   “We had lived in Erwinna by the Delaware River since we married in 1984,” Greenwood says. “In September of 2004 the river flooded and we had three feet of water in the first floor.” So when he and Tina began house-hunting, they were looking to get out of the flood plain. He had also rehabbed two previous homes largely by himself and wasn’t interested in another place that needed a lot of work.

  But when they saw Old Glory, “Tina fell for the house, and that was that. I told our Realtor, Flo Smerconish, to do whatever it took to be sure we would be the buyers.

   “We love being on the canal and river, but high enough to avoid flooding. The home is a thousand feet from River Road and sits next to a 40-acre field that has been preserved. The field has hosted both Native American and General Washington's troop encampments. From the front of the house we can watch the sun set over Bowman's Tower.”

  The EID Tour was followed by a reception catered by Memorable Affairs. The event is sponsored by Carroll Engineering Corporation.

  Special courtesies have been extended by Prizer Design Group & Speediprint’r.

  Information on the 2012 Tour to come.