It’s been called the Nevers’, the Moulton’s or the Johnson’s farmhouse depending on who was living here at the time but it has also been referred to for generations simply as “the red house.” This moniker distinguished it from 99% of the other houses in town, which are white. There are theories bandied about why red was a popular color for barns in New England that have to do with availability and price. I like to think that the Nevers chose red for its warmth but it very well may have been the most practical choice. This undated painting by John Elder shows the house and sides of the barn were red, and the connecting sheds left unpainted.

Now that it is the Buyers Johnson farm and we have replaced all the siding, we could choose to paint it any color. And because the clapboards came primed, passersby many think we have chosen white. Not so. We are honoring the past and the name by painting it red. But this time around without the white trim, harking back to a colonial American look. This week, Chris caulked the windows and painted the east side of the house, giving us a foretaste of how the whole house will look, and how the wineberry red relates to the faded red on carriage house walls.

Unlike other parts of the country where fires and floods are raging, we have enjoyed a sunny dry period of weather that is ideal for painting and outdoor work. Adam, one of our finish carpenters completed the cable railing for the back deck, making our sunset viewing spot safer.

Inside, Ryan and Randy cleaned, sanded, vacuumed, painted and poly-ed the old floors in the parlor, dining room and two upstairs farmhouse bedrooms. They look amazing. The dining room has its orginal wide board pine that has aged to a pumpkin orange over two centuries. The parlor floor has a newer layer of fir over the old pine and the bedrooms are painted pine.

Ed worked his way up the basement steps putting in oak treads and sturdy banisters. His stairs complement the wall mason Aron Libby laid with the handmade antique bricks.

After 15 months of construction, this project will soon be coming to an end. It’s hard to believe but one day we will not see a formation of pickup trucks in the yard, or a table saw on the deck. We’ll be in the field and look up and see the house completed.

But we are not there yet. There is still work to be done by tilers, electricians, painters, plumbers and finish carpenters. Stay tuned for the geothermal start-up, landscaping and wallpapering to come!