WHEN MICHAEL CAMPOPIANO TOOK HIS SON to see the house he’d just bought, 9-year-old Giulian took one look at the ramshackle building and turned to his dad. “You can’t show this to Mommy,” he advised. “She will never live here.”
Giulian’s worry was understandable. While Queen Anne in the beachside Pier Neighborhood of Narragansett, Rhode Island, was an old-house lover’s delight with its stained-glass windows, embellished bargeboards, and a medley of shingle styles, it was also in pitiful disrepair. Paint flaked from its sides; the front porch was rotted and sagging. Inside, linoleum curled up from the floors and lath showed through cracks in the plaster.
It was, in other words, a perfect project to launch This Old House’s 42nd television season.
“It’s a classic,” says TOH home builder Jeff Sweenor, referring to the Victorian-era exterior embellishments. Located in Narragansett’s historic district, the 1,700-square-foot Daniel A. Caswell house, as it’s known, was built between 1887 and 1890, as Narragansett was developing into a fashionable seaside resort. Michael and his wife, Kassiane, live in nearby Cranston, where both grew up spending summers on Narragansett’s beaches, and have long dreamed of living there.
This story is from the November/December 2020 edition of This Old House Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the November/December 2020 edition of This Old House Magazine.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Mobile kitchen island
TOH DIY expert Jenn Largesse shows how to build a rolling kitchen cart with a butcher-block top
Bathtub tray
TOH general contractor Tom Silva and TOH host Kevin O'Connor construct a slatted zebrawood caddy to hold grooming essentials, a book, and even a glass of wine, for those who like a long soak
Navigating the rise in mortgage rates
Looking to buy—or refinance—and feeling frustrated by lenders’ sky-high interest rates? Here’s how to get the best deal
Graceful grasses
With dramatic foliage and distinctive plumes, ornamental grasses come in sizes to suit virtually any garden
A better asphalt driveway
It's long-lasting and recyclable, and it weathers extreme temperatures. You can repair small cracks and divots in asphalt, too. Here's what you need to know to get-and maintain-a great-looking asphalt driveway
Modernizing a mid-century house
A family turns to TOH to renovate a 1960 house that had been awkwardly expanded over time. Their goal: to create a contemporary, energy-efficient, open-plan home that is fully accessible for a son with mobility issues
Making a house her own
Renovating in stages over nearly two decades, a homeowner transforms a once forlorn bungalow into a cozy, very personal space
A little house that lives large
A reimagined interior and second-story addition double the living area inside a narrow shotgun house, while respecting its historical roots
Before & After: Bath Fit for a Queen Anne
Classic meets modern in this primary-suite retreat
Before & After: Kitchen Moving a wall makes it work
Grabbing a few feet from the adjacent dining room yields major layout improvements
