Standing stronger

A young couple rebuild their longtime family home, a circa 1864 Dutch Colonial, with future generations in mind

- TED CUSHMAN

When Evan and Whitney Williamson's house in Saratoga Springs, New York, was built, Abraham Lincoln was in the White House, and Ulysses S. Grant was slugging it out with Robert E. Lee in a struggle to shape the nation's destiny. There were no telephones, automobiles, or refrigerators. Electric lighting was rare. Most homes in town lacked indoor plumbing.

Over the century and a half since then, six generations of Evan's family have lived in the house, making a series of changes to it along the way. The first kitchen was added in the late 1800s; around 1914, the house was widened and became a duplex, with a series of additions that introduced new bedrooms, another kitchen, and multiple narrow staircases.

Now Evan and his wife, Whitney, have taken possession of the property, with plans to raise a family there. But before that happens, the rambling, 4,361-square-foot Dutch Colonial and its awkward, chopped-up floor plan are getting some much-needed attention. “In the past, someone would build a space to meet a particular need without stepping back and thinking about the building as a whole” says architect Matt Hurff, who has been enlisted to bring the house into the 21st century as a comfortable multigenerational home. As the ambitious renovation plans are being brought to life by builder Matt Whitbeck and his crew, This Old House is documenting the project as part of its 43rd television season.