Set in beautiful New England countryside, Mary Ann and William Lewis have built their dream retirement home – and this was it…
.. which was the last of homes we shot, on this back to America trip – which I’ve talked about over the past few days.
The New England town of Hanover is home to historic Dartmouth College – one of only eight Ivy League Colleges in America. With its’ beautiful college buildings, squares and elegant townhouses, it is everyone’s idea of how an old American college town should be. So much so, that it clearly left a lasting impression on William Lewis and his college roommate when they were medical students at Dartmouth. ‘We promised ourselves that one day when we retired, we would both return to the area’ recalls William.
They never lost sight of their dream and eventually heard about a large site that had come on the market in what’s known as the Upper Valley overlooking the Connecticut River. Retirement was still a long way off but they felt it was too good an opportunity to miss and bought the land which had more than enough space to build two large homes.
When it eventually came time to design and build their dream home, having had lots of time to think about it, William and Mary Ann had a clear vision of how it should be. They enlisted the help of an Architect and good friend whose number one priority was to ensure that the exterior was in keeping with the location and insisted on materials commonly used in the area – namely cedar shingle.
And what a dream it was – as was the craic with friends on the veranda…
.. which to me, really did sum up this All America Dream – and us wanting to stay on forever.
Inside was pretty amazing too – with things like this huge island unit in cherry wood with a soapstone worktop…
.. where everyone congregates it seems – when not out on the veranda – for a coffee and a chat.
Loved the panelled ceiling too – which added interest and depth…
.. as well as help define this space as seen here…
.. from the dining area and kitchen – which clearly doubled up as the prefect place for their Golden Retriever Berkley…
.. to have a wee nap 
Impressive to say the least – as was their collection of oriental rugs throughout the house, which included this one in their bathroom…
.. where Mary Ann had added beautiful blue ginger jars and plates to tone with the bathroom rug.
And outside – down at the bottom of their garden – was the Connecticut River…
.. which for me, just completed the Dream – which Mary Ann and William here…
.. along with Berkley, were clearly enjoying.
A little disappointed that we didn’t manage to get this amazing home into any of the UK national magazines; however, a local property magazine give it an amazing spread…
.. which was really lovely too see, almost 3 years after we had been there.
And so like Mary Ann and William here, who never lost sight of their dream – neither have we – as we still love to show these images to others and tell them about this amazing home, which was the last one we shot on our 10 day return trip to America.
Hard to believe it’s been 9 years – as it just seems like yesterday – but here’s hoping we will be back again real soon.
So that’s it for now – which once again just leave me to say a big THANK YOU to everyone involved here – and especially to Mary Ann and William for giving us this opportunity to share their dream.
From Marie…
.. & me @ ampimage, it’s back to the UK, before… well you’ll have to wait and see
