Back to the future; A thoughtfully restored c. 1860 New Jersey farmhouse honors its past while embracing the 21st century.

Jill Kirchner Simpson

BEFORE PHOTOGRAPHY BY MICHAEL SLACK

AFTER PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOSEPH DE LEO

PRODUCED BY JENNIFER VREELAND

There's no question it's a challenge to restore and expand an old house in a way that is both historically accurate and environmentally sensitive. But that's what Lise Thompson, whose background is in historic preservation, and husband Robert Brander, a designer-builder, set out to do when they bought this 2.4-acre property in Stockton, N.J., and decided to make its c. 1860 house the first "green" restoration project of their new firm, Conservation Development. "I believe restoration and reuse of buildings is green," says Lise, "but deciding which products and techniques to utilize, and balancing an authentic historic restoration with our commitment to energy efficiency, a healthy environment indoors and out, and natural, recycled, or long-lasting materials was sometimes a challenge." She adds, "The field is changing so rapidly. But you try to look at the big picture and make the best choices you can."

When Lise and Robert bought the farmhouse, many of the original details still remained, including a staircase, hemlock floors, and all the windows, moldings, doors, and trim. They tore down an old, poorly constructed addition and built this light-filled 2,650-square-foot wing across the back in its place. In the new family room (this page), they replicated some of the floor-to-ceiling, two-over-four windows in the original house, but these are true divided-light, energy-efficient windows from Marvin, with aluminum-clad exteriors. In the old house, they reglazed all the windows, replaced damaged panes with antique glass, and had flush-mounted storm windows and screens made for a more historically authentic approach to energy conservation.

Framing When Lise and Robert bought the house, it had been gutted and renovation had just begun. "Most of the framing and joists are original," says Lise.

Mantel The parlor mantel is one of four originals, but this one was always decorative, notes Lise: "The chimney was for the coal stove, which would have sat in front of the mantel."

Insulation They chose a spray-in rigid polyurethane foam: "It's pest-resistant and adds to the structural integrity."

Heating The chimney was replaced with the mechanical chase for a new HVAC system, which features a multizone system and high-efficiency boiler that is convertible to bio-diesel fuel.

Walls Sheetrock was painted with zero-VOC Harmony paint from Sherwin-Williams, which contributes to indoor air quality. The floors were finished with a water-based, low-VOC sealer from BonaKemi.

The original double-front door was stripped of its paint down to the pine wood.

Reclaimed antique hemlock flooring used in the new addition meets the original floors (shown at top).

All the hardware, such as this cast-iron box set, was restored and, where needed, matching antique hardware was found through salvage sources.

A painting by artist Elliot Crown on the parlor mantel. RIGHT: The original stone foundation was excavated, repointed, and waterproofed to keep the house dry from the bottom up. Downspouts lead to an underground drainage system that transports water runoff to a small wetlands garden sited away from the house.

This view shows the original three-story house with its bay window in the study and the adjoining kitchen, which had to be completely rebuilt. The rear addition (right) includes the "tower bath," a spacious family bath lined in clerestory windows.

Brackets The original roof brackets were still in good shape, as were most of the windows, such as this arched one in the attic.

ROOF Asphalt roofing was used on most of the house. A standing-seam copper roof (below), good for a shallow pitch, was selected for part of the addition.

SIDING The original wooden clapboard siding (right) with an inverted cove detail, called novelty or German siding, was stripped and repainted. Robert was able to match it almost exactly on the addition (left).

SHUTTERS All the original louvered shutters were restored-stripped and repaired.

WINDOWS Double-hung windows (left), aluminum-clad on the outside, with low-emissivity coatings, mimic the wooden originals (right), which were reglazed.

SALVAGE Go to http://www.countryliving.com/salvage to print a copy of our coast-to-coast Salvage Guide and get started on your own project.