elbow grease. For instance, when she wanted to replace
dining room windows with French doors leading out
to a courtyard, she and David did the work themselves.
“He cut out the window, we measured, then he lifted up
the French doors with an excavator and pushed them
in place,” she says. “My husband’s not a builder, but
we’re both doers.”
The couple enlisted that can-do spirit on the outsideof the house as well. Fortunate to have a ring of trees at
the back of the property, Amy turned the tiny patch of
yard into a courtyard living space with the help of pea
gravel and massive granite blocks. “You’d never believe
we’re right outside of Boston unless you step up on the
terrace and can see the skyline,” she says.
For years, the family gathered in that courtyard at
5 o’clock each afternoon to share stories from the day.
Now that the kids are grown, it still serves as a favorite
spot, even serving as the site for a family wedding. “We
put a tent over the gravel and had a sit-down dinner for
28 people,” she says.
The result? “Magical.”
With Amy’s vision, this prefab house is developing a
history all its own.
RESOURCES, SEE PAGE 110.