Barrington Beach Cottage Chosen for This Old House Rhode Island Project

This is the news we've been awaiting since spring! This is a reproduction of the news release from the show:

THIS OLD HOUSE® TO TURN BARRINGTON BEACH COTTAGE INTO BEAUTIFUL YEAR-ROUND FAMILY HOME

Rhode Island Provides Show With First-Ever Project On Open Water

CONCORD, Mass., (August 8, 2011) – The Emmy® Award-winning PBS home improvement series This Old House® has selected a humble beach-front property in the Rhode Island for its next renovation project. Located on Barrington Beach, about 10 miles from the state capital of Providence, this 1925 modified Cape boasts spectacular views of scenic Narragansett Bay. Last updated in the 1970s, the small house has outdated features, cramped spaces, and with only two small bedrooms and no shower on the second floor, lacks the amenities necessary for modern-day living. With the help of the This Old House team and local tradespeople, this simple beach house will be transformed into a stunning year-round home for a professional couple and their young daughter.

Chicago transplants, homeowners Geoff Allen and Michelle Forcier, purchased the 1500-sq. ft. home earlier this year after more than two years of living in a rental house nearby.

Due to the close proximity of the house to the water, This Old House will be working closely with the local builder to make sure appropriate codes are met so that the home will be protected from the elements, including storm winds and wind-driven rain. Proper building techniques and material selection will be of paramount importance. The exterior will be white cedar shingles—common in New England—and the roof will be hurricane-nailed to hold up during high wind conditions. The windows also will be chosen and installed carefully, as they are a key part of keeping views in and weather out.

This Old House experts are working with Barrington builder Andy Tiplady and local architect Mary Brewster on a tasteful 450-sq. ft. expansion, which includes opening up the first floor to take advantage of the panoramic East Bay views, expanding the second floor to gain two full baths and a third bedroom over the garage, and building a second-story deck off the master bedroom that faces the beach.

Talented Rhode Island craftspeople will work with the This Old House team to create custom details and memorable spaces to capture the attention of their national television audience.

“We’re excited to be working in Rhode Island,” says senior series producer Deborah Hood. “With Providence to the north and Newport to the south, Barrington will serve as an ideal home base as we explore the best building stories the Ocean State has to offer.”

Show producers found the property on Barrington Beach after an exhaustive search, which included extensive outreach to the local building/architectural community and a public call for entries earlier this spring. That search yielded several hundred submissions from every corner of Rhode Island. When producers discovered the Barrington Beach house through Geoff and Michelle’s architect Mary Brewster, they knew they’d found the right one.

The This Old House Barrington Project, featuring 10 brand-new episodes, premieres in January 2012.