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Randl Bye
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Randl Bye
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Randl Bye
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Randl Bye
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Randl Bye
by Beth Buxbaum
Growing up in Philly and living in Manhattan for the last 40 years, Chip Lister is a city boy at heart. Even with his love for city life, Chip reveals that he always had visions of living in an old house in the countryside. “All my life I wanted to live on a 200-year-old homestead, with its original historic features and at least 20 acres,” he explains.
While his work in market research brought him to Manhattan in 1978, that dream always lingered in the back of his mind. He also has some strong ties to the Philadelphia and Bucks County areas. “I have a lot of personal history here,” Chip explains, “and do stay in touch with friends.”
Chip and his girlfriend, Kate, visit this area frequently. On a particular weekend getaway in 2008, during an eight-month renovation of their Manhattan apartment, Chip and Kate were staying near Stockton. On a whim, during an outing, they walked into a local real estate office to see what was for sale. Chip spoke with an agent and revealed his dream to own a centuries-old property. To his surprise, this real estate agent quickly responded during their weekend stay. “The agent sent us eight or nine properties that weekend,” adds Chip, “so we decided to check out this one house in Stockton.” They walked up to the house, not realizing that the owners were still living there, and the owners came out. “They gave us a tour of the property,” Chip adds. Three weeks later Chip and Kate returned to see the property again. “We knew that this was the right house for us,” Chip explains, “It was beautiful and we loved the house’s structure and the way it sat on the land.”
Built in 1780, this charming house in Stockton, NJ fulfilled Chip’s dream. On Memorial Day in 2009 Chip purchased the property. “This house has kept me connected with people I grew up with,” Chip says, “and it is not too far from our NYC apartment.” Still maintaining their residence in Manhattan, Chip and Kate envisioned this home as a retreat from the city, a getaway. Whether just a weekend retreat or an extended stay, Chip and Kate knew that they would eventually renovate to make the house their own. Chip notes that the house was in great shape. “We can work with the bones of the house and I knew that we could make something terrific,” he says. With a nod to the home’s history, Chip was clear about preserving the house’s past.
On this land for over 200 years, this homestead’s footprint includes the original structure and two additions. The 1780 section was the original one room with a walk-in fireplace. An 1840 addition added the living room and a bedroom above. In 1950 a third section was built to create a new kitchen, family room, office and bedroom. Currently sitting on 20 acres, the original plot of land was 200 acres. Chip surmises that this homestead, named Shepherd Stone by a prior owner, was once a sheep farm. “The soil is not good for crops,” he explains,” and the stone walls around the property were most likely a part of the sheep farm.” One other possible clue to the homestead’s past was the discovery of loom hooks in the ceiling of living room. Chip did find out that one of the owners, JP Miller, was a song writer who wrote “The Days of Wine and Roses.” He was told that when Miller owned the property it was 100 acres, and he sold 80 acres, leaving what is now the 20 acres of the present homestead.
With the prospect of renewing the homestead’s features to make the house their own, they took some time to formulate what changes to make. Chip was clear that the original footprint would not be altered and the focus would be on transforming the two additions.
“At first, we were unsure about what the house renovation would look like,” Chip explains. They agreed that the outside living space would be a good place to start so they could begin enjoying the property during the upcoming summer season. Soon after the purchase, in 2009, work began on the outdoor amenities and landscape. Chip and Kate would visit the homestead once a month, while staying in a nearby inn, to watch their visions unfold.
First on their list was to renovate the tennis court and pool. Aside from those amenities and gardens, a part of the 20 acres was woodland. Chip explains that he decided to participate in a woodlands reclamation program with the New Jersey Forestry to revitalize the wooded area. He describes how 50 to 60 years ago non-native, deer resistant trees were planted in this area. “These trees could not survive in this soil,” he adds. With this revitalization program, homeowners could sponsor native trees to be planted on their property. “Over the time we have owned the property we have added about 70 to 100 trees,” Chip says. Having his land rejuvenated was an important step in Chip’s vision for the property. While refreshing the land, they were formulating what the house renovation would look like.
In the fall of 2013, they focused on the interior of the house and started renovations. Chip’s goal was to create a more aesthetic blending of the additions, while modernizing the interior. “It felt to me like it was three separate houses,” Chip adds, “without a flow from section to section.” This was the motivating factor for the renovation. “I wanted to achieve a sense of congruence, so that the house flowed in a more seamless way,” he continues, “while keeping the charm.” Another goal was to modernize the house. Chip put a team in place for the renovation, which included local builder, John Gemmi, and local architect Ralph Fey. In addition, Chip brought in Tim McDonald, a decorator who worked with Chip and Kate to renovate their NYC apartment a few years back. Together, with the team, they translated their vision into a blueprint.
Redefining the living space to fit their taste and lifestyle was the main goal in this renovation. “I wanted to bring the house into the 21st Century, while retaining its historic properties,” Chip explains. With the addition of solar and geo thermal systems, Chip accomplished his goal to upgrade to more efficient, energy-saving systems. While upgrading the systems and modernizing the living space, Chip was very clear about preserving the house’s history. “We did not touch the original structure,” he adds, “and maintained all of its historic elements.” The original section of the house, referred to by Chip and Kate as the stone room, has been preserved with the 1780 stone walls and wood beams. To refurbish this earliest section they re-plastered the ceiling, sanded and stained the random width pine floors and painted the walls.
In addition to preserving the original section, there was also a good amount of repurposing of materials. “We used stone and wood beams from the property wherever possible,” Chip adds. “In some rooms we used materials from the house and in others materials were from the property,” Chips describes. For instance, in the kitchen, the wood beam over the cook top was from another part of the house. In the master bedroom the mantel and rafters were also reclaimed from the house. The stone fireplace was constructed of argillite, an indigenous stone found on the property.
Stone from the walls on the property were incorporated into some of the refurbishing. Chip explains that the stone used for the fireplace chimney in the family room is argillite, an indigenous stone found on the property.
While preserving as much of the original structure and materials, the team worked to modernize the interior systems. Upgrades included solar and geo thermal heat, high efficiency appliances, WIFI throughout, new security and HVAC systems that can be controlled from the Manhattan apartment. These upgrades added the modern conveniences, while offering energy-saving systems.
Now that the systems upgrade was complete, the next phase was to renovate the living space in the1840 and 1950 additions. For the renovation of the1840 section, which houses the living room and master bedroom, they gutted the space. “We insulated the exterior walls and then put in sheetrock and plastered the ceiling,” Chip continues. To create a seamless look from section to section, the random width pine floor was screened, stained and resealed to be congruent with the rest of the house. Another phase of the renovation to the 1840 addition was the master suite and office. “In these rooms, the walls were ripped out to properly insulate,” Chip adds, “and we installed French doors to the balcony. The ceiling and roof in the two rooms were realigned and designed as cathedral ceilings with the dormers.” During the renovation of the master bath, which was a narrow space, they reconfigured the placement of the all the fixtures, including the glass enclosed shower and the vanity to allow for better use of the room.
A better use of space was the master plan for the renovation of the 1950 addition, which included the family room and kitchen. This space was redesigned as an open and airy great room. “These rooms were totally gutted and redone, including the construction of a new and reconfigured roof,” Chip explains. Blowing out the ceiling, which was knotty pine, they added a cupola for a more open, ethereal appeal. Chip explains that this room did have a few walls of windows, which they enhanced and also added French doors. In this renovation, the old marble flooring was replaced with limestone floors. With this newly defined great room, the flow offers a seating area, dining area, and newly expanded and detailed kitchen. To subtlety define a separation from the dining area to the kitchen, two sets of white columns were added to the opening at the entrance. For the kitchen refurbish, there were specific elements that they wanted to add.
“We love to cook and entertain,” Chip explains, “and the renovated kitchen is a perfect room for that.” They bumped out an exterior wall to add a banquette, creating more areas to gather and enjoy an informal meal. To enhance and expand the kitchen expanse, they added remote control skylights and more windows. A center island and new cabinetry were added, accented with Caesar stone counter tops. A backsplash in blue tones added a pop of color. Now the kitchen was a perfect spot for Chip and Kate to cook, entertain and enjoy their city retreat.
Refreshed, redesigned and redefined, this Stockton getaway was transformed. When they bought the property their idea was to have a place to come on weekends. “I love being here,” Chip reveals, “but it just doesn’t fit into a plan to be here full time. So we come here as much as we can.” While still busy with their Manhattan life of work and enjoying all the city has to offer, they have their ideal escape to their Stockton getaway. Although there is a lot about the city that works for them, Chip feels that this place creates a sane balance.