Restoration
For Val and Kevin, owning a Bed & Breakfast has always been about more than opening a business. It's been about honoring history, preserving craftsmanship, and giving new life to a building that has stood in Brockport since 1851.
Longtime advocates for historic preservation, when they first walked through the doors of this fading hotel building, they didn't just see the work ahead - they saw the potential, the stories, and the responsibility to restore it with care.
Together, they committed not only to bringing this building back to life, but to personally overseeing and carrying out the restoration work ourselves.
Every project, every decision, every carefully preserved detail has been part of that promise. Below are just a few behind the scenes look at the restoration process that they undertook.
Back addition Before
Back addition Before
Completed back addition restored and painted siding
Back addition Before
Val and Kevin stripped down the more modern siding on the back addition to the original siding and repaired any damages before painting.
While removing the siding they discovered a small window at the peak. They removed the window to the left and restored the window at the peak.
After several attempts to find a color that fit they settled on terra cotta, with soft white trim and green accents.
The cupola was in rough shape in 2017. The siding had been covered with roofing shingles, the roof was in dire need of replacement, and the windows had been hidden behind plywood for at least 40 years. Despite its condition, the cupola was worth saving - it adds so much character and history to the home.
The cupola restoration journey began by stripping the roof down to its bare wood, only to discover it was partially rotted. They replaced everything and installed a brand-new roof, which included a combination of copper and asphalt shingles. Next, they stripped the siding off the cupola’s exterior walls and installed new siding and moldings.
As for the 12 original windows, only three were salvageable after extensive rehabilitation. The remaining nine were handcrafted from African mahogany to replicate the originals exactly. Using traditional cope-and-stick joinery, they ensured they were rebuilt just as they would have been when the house was first constructed.
Once everything was in place, they gave the cupola a fresh coat of paint and added beautiful lighting that truly brings it to life at night. This once-forgotten feature, hidden behind plywood for decades, now stands proud, restored to its authentic and original state.
We couldn’t have completed this restoration without the help of some incredible friends.
A heartfelt thanks to Bob Bochorski and Dean Goodwin for their invaluable assistance with the reconstruction. Bob was the architect on the window rebuilds, which were completed in his shop. This couldn’t have been done without his joinery expertise to make the windows period-correct. Dean, a true artisan of copper fabrication, made the roof rebuild possible.
Before restoration
Before, boarded up windows
View from the restored cupola
Before restoration
Before, missing shutters
Original shutters found in the attic
After, shutters replaced
Before, missing shutters
The original shutters to the window at the front of the house were found in the attic and reinstalled to their original home!
The staircase was enclosed to separate first floor residence from second floor apartments. Restoration process included demo, repairing the underlying structure, removing all old wiring, installing all new wiring, tying in a beam to stabilize the front wall, repairing and skim coating plaster walls, installing new drywall, stripping the painted steps, discovering the railing and spindles in the attic then restoring and reassembling them, restoring the newel post from 1850, and more.
This project required a lot of love and elbow grease, but it was totally worth it!
Before, enclosed staircase
During the restoration process
After, restored staircase
Before, enclosed staircase
Before, the front door in use in 2017
Original front door found in attic with damage
Completed restoration of the original front door
Before, the front door in use in 2017
Another find in the attic - the original front door with leaded glass matching the sidelites and transom! The glass in the door had to be repaired and should now last another 100 years. Gave it some TLC and it’s been reinstalled to it’s rightful place.
Interior doors refinishing project, 16 to be exact, another labor of love well worth it.
Interior doors, before
In process of restoring interior doors
Completed restoration of interior doors
Interior doors, before