Remodel Projects of the Year

Springfield's finest remodeling jobs give an insight into the families who call these houses home.

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Prater House Exterior

For about as long as homes have existed, so has the idea to tear up old homes and put in modern features. This impulse is only natural: There is only so much land after all, only so much space to build new homes. A particular location may be well-loved by a homeowner, or a particular neighborhood cherished for personal reasons. Instead of moving away to a new home, a family may choose to tear up the house that came before them, a house built perhaps for another family, and start fresh.

George Washington wrote a lot of letters to his wife, Martha, when he was conducting the business of the Revolutionary War. He wrote a lot to political movers and shakers, and he wrote a lot to his subordinates in the Continental Army. He was equally prolific, if not more so, when it came to the detail and instruction he gave regarding the remodeling of his home, Mount Vernon.

Throughout his life, Washington may have used the exact details given to remodel his home—little touch-ups here and there—as a way of relieving the stress the war lay on his shoulders. He also certainly used his architectural style as a symbol of his personal independence and as a way to join the upper-crust ranks of wealthy Virginia society. When he set out to rebuild Mount Vernon a second time in 1775, Washington appears to have had a great interest in customizing his home to his needs and to the needs of his family. The architecture was intended to remain fresh and innovative and yet feel personalized—much like the the projects that won this year’s 417 Home’s 2007 remodel contest.

Starting fresh is the theme behind of the stories contained in the Remodel Projects of the Year winners; the second theme is the idea that the families here, like George Washington more than 300 years ago, customized their homes to fit their families as completely as a custom-made suit is tailored to fit a man or a woman with a specific build.