Stonlea: A Timeworn Gilded Age Survivor Transformed documents the
painstaking steps involved in the preservation and renovation of this
building, and describes the renovators' techniques. It specifically
addresses the renovation of the fabric of the buildingthe various energy
conserving strategies and the mechanical systemsas well as the whys and
wherefores of the design, and is intended to serve as a model and
inspiration for similar undertakings, regardless of size. ' Stonlea ' is
a large Colonial Revival* style summer house in New England, a vivid
example of nineteenth-century resort architecture. It was completed in
1891 by a family from St. Louis, seeking to escape the withering summers
on the Mississippi River. The house was designed by the well-known
Boston architecture firm of Peabody Stearns, who were very busy in the
late nineteenth century, designing country houses that helped shape the
new face of resort architecture in the northeast. ' It was built to
accommodate a family of five and their domestic help, as well as
long-term guests, and it therefore met the requirements of Polly Guth,
its new owner, who wanted to house visiting family members and make the
house a gathering place for four generations. ' The house is sited
overlooking Dublin Lake, originally called Monadnock Lake, with
picturesque Mount Monadnock beyond. The original property included the
house, a barn, a cottage, and a large carriage house / garage, on
approximately one hundred acres of ancient farmland. By 2009 the house's
outbuildings had been sold to Polly's daughter, so the latest purchase
reassembled a large piece of the original puzzle. The house had survived
over one hundred years of New England weather and hard summer living
fairly well, but had begun to suffer from deferred maintenance, a
circumstance familiar to all homeowners. The task of bringing the house
back to its original luster was a formidable one. In addition, the owner
wanted to bring to bear the latest technology to reduce its impact on
the environment: She wanted a green house, or more specifically a
net-zero house, referring to the balancing of energy consumed and energy
produced on-site.
