One of our favorite things to do is to restore and renovate a historical space. It is exciting to bring a space back to life by prioritizing its unique and rich architectural history. We were recently lucky enough to work with Modern Eyes Optometry, in Norwood Massachusetts, to remodel their new historic office space. The Modern Eyes office decided to move their business into “Bigelow Block” in the center of downtown Norwood. This area has over hundreds of years of history and this specific building was built in 1899. Modern Eyes reached out to us because of our reputation for honoring historical properties while creating an updated and functional space. Our main goal in approaching this process was to give the façade a facelift, remodel the interior space for office use and to restore the historic details that really makes this space special.
When going into any historical project you really want to focus on keeping the integrity of the space. In our opinion you want to prioritize keeping and restoring as much of the original trim and millwork as possible. These items were all made by craftsmen and artisans and have unique details that we just do not see today in our modern spaces. We can tell right away when entering a historical space what took time and effort to create and we want to prolong its life to the best of our ability, not just replace it to replace it. For us if we are working in a historical space, if it can be saved it should. In the Modern Eyes building some of those details we loved were; the metal crown/cornice molding, the beadboard paneling and wainscotting, the metal ceiling, the brickwork and all of the unique woodworking and trim throughout.
The original beadboard and molding was important for us to keep, you just don’t see details like that anymore in such good shape. There were parts of it that were broken and cracked and looked worn down that we patched in and replaced. We patched in the holes in the metal ceiling, as well as the walls and cornice. We worked really hard to keep as much of the bead board through patching to keep the originality and integrity of the space. Once the details were all reconstructed we added fresh paint to modernize and rejuvenate it.
In the main patient hallway we lined a row of mid century modern chandeliers with warm LED strip lighting on the crown molding for a warm and welcoming look that makes the ceiling and the original detail really pop and stand out on the restored metal ceiling. A huge bonus for us was that the shadow line naturally fell in the middle.
Some challenges of a historical renovation and remodel are fixing years of neglect and abuse, and dealing with floors or framing members that may have sagged or gotten weak over time. The biggest challenges we had with this project was the floors. The rough and uneven surface had been re-patched throughout the years making the floor not only uneven, but not great to look at. The prep work was a lot, but we knew taking our time with the prep would pay off in the final product. We started by screwing the entire subfloor down to eliminate extra squeaks and creaks that had come with age. Next we applied half an inch of plywood subfloor on top of that. After installing the new subfloor we made sure to level everything up with a level, knowing that there were probably some discrepancies on the 100 year old floor. We were shocked to find discrepancies that were out over 3 inches! Once we were able to get the floor leveled and prepped we applied a beautiful oak etch flooring from the Kahrs Canvas Collection. The golden color of the floor really brightens up the space.
On the exterior of the building we gave the façade a facelift with new wainscoting panels, long and open rectangular window treatments, and a new dark flashing to make the entryway contemporary and inviting. We paired it with an Essex green from the Benjamin Moore Historic Collection to keep it original to the roots of the neighborhood.
Looking to update your own historical space? Pay attention to the small details and honor the artisans and craftsmen that took the time to create such one of a kind and unique things, they can really make the space unique. These are the things that give your living and working space soul and personality and deserve the time and effort to restore them.
Get a closer look at the inside of Modern Eyes and our process in the video below. Also make sure to check out some more of our historic updates on our Historic Renovation page.