Home of the Week
Historic home far from traditional
If someone asked you to picture a brick house built in 1937 in quaint Medfield, it almost certainly would not be this. The onetime home of architect Nathaniel Saltonstall, this home is historic, yes, but traditional, no. The roof is flat, the floor plan is open, and the staircase curves up along a wall of glass blocks. “Nat Saltonstall was one of the earliest practitioners of modernist architecture in New England,’’ said architect Kim Markert of Shepley Bulfinch. “His modern design went hand-in-hand with his love for modern art.’’ Saltonstall was the founding president of the Institute of Contemporary Art in 1936.
The house is unusual from the start: The main entrance is a glass-and-metal door on the basement level. Straight ahead in the foyer is one of the home’s five fireplaces, to welcome guests with a roaring fire. The living space is all upstairs. The stairway’s handrail is carved to resemble bamboo, a detail repeated around windows and fireplaces. The first-floor ceilings are 11 feet, the floor oversized parquet wood.
A solarium juts out from the living room. The adjoining library has a wall of windows, while the dining room windows open to a patio. Some bedrooms open to decks. According to Markert, Saltonstall also was a pioneer in solar architecture.
The 8-acre setting is lovely, with a pond in the back. “A lot of people would like to keep it the sanctuary that is,’’ says broker Mary Ellen Hoey of Medfield Properties. Saltonstall once ran The Colony of Wellfleet, then a getaway for artists and their patrons.
The Medfield home does need work to restore it to its former luster. The narrow kitchen was designed for the help, bathroom fixtures are original, and the wiring and boiler need updating. An open house is scheduled for today from 1 to 3 p.m.
© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.
