Restoring a neighbor’s home in the historic village of Waterford was a passion project for Charlie Beach and his partners at Carpenter Beach Construction. After a transformative nine-month restoration project, the gorgeous Cape Cod known as Sunnyside has hit the market, waiting for new owners to fall in love with its historic charm.
When Sunnyside’s longtime owners wanted a quote on a restoration project, they called Charlie Beach and his team. Their beloved home, located on Second Street in the heart of historic Waterford, had fallen into disrepair, and they wanted a contractor they could trust. When the owners decided to shift gears and sell instead of undertaking the extensive restoration work needed, the Carpenter Beach team decided to buy and restore the home, transforming it from an eyesore to a showcase.
But don’t call Sunnyside’s transformation a “flip.” The project went way beyond the superficial upgrades you might be familiar with from TV reality shows. For the Carpenter Beach team, the project is an investment in the village where Beach grew up and now lives with his family.
“People call this kind of project a flip, but it was much more than that,” says project manager Ben Carpenter. “This project was much more than slapping some paint on it. We wanted to give it new life.”
For the restoration experts at Carpenter Beach, the project involved a mix of painstaking restoration and 21st-century upgrades, adding modern amenities while keeping Sunnyside’s unique charm.
“We were going for modern convenience meets historic preservation,” Carpenter said.
The project, launched in the summer of 2024, involved lovingly restoring the home’s original structure, which dates from the 1840s, and updating a 1997 addition at the back of the house. Sunnyside offers a surprising 3,400 square feet of living space, 3.5 baths, four bedrooms and a finished basement. Because it’s located in Waterford’s historic district and under easement with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, the project also required Carpenter Beach’s trademark attention to detail and in-depth knowledge of historic restoration.
Honoring the home’s rich legacy was a priority. Sunnyside was home to the notable Civil War-era publishers, the Dutton sisters. Lizzie and Lida Dutton were part of a trio of young Quaker women who ran the “Waterford News,” an abolitionist newspaper of which President Abraham Lincoln was reportedly a fan. Preserving Sunnyside’s historic charm was a significant part of the team’s mission. The crew carefully restored historic windows in the original 19th-century structure while updating the windows in the nearly 30-year-old addition with energy-efficient fiberglass clad Marvin product. The team restored Sunnyside’s stone foundation and scraped, repaired and painted the original structure’s wood siding.
There was also plenty of room for innovation. The Carpenter Beach team prioritized updating the kitchen to meet contemporary needs.
“The kitchen is now the centerpiece of most homes,” Carpenter said.
The team transformed the home’s original ground-floor primary bedroom into a gourmet eat-in kitchen featuring a large island, high-end Wolf gas range, Viking refrigerator and gorgeous custom cabinetry. The update created a welcoming space ideal for entertaining while maintaining one of the home’s biggest selling points: its one-of-a-kind views of the village and surrounding green space.
Updating the bathrooms was another priority. “There was a lot of wasted space in the bathrooms,” Carpenter said. The team transformed the home’s generous 3.5 baths with new fixtures, tile and plumbing.
The Carpenter Beach crew also brought their expertise to the home’s exterior, updating railings and stair treads with weather-resistant Sapele lumber, upgrading landscaping, and paying careful attention to the home’s outbuildings. The property includes an ice house and a 1920s carriage house that doubles as a garage, offering coveted off-street parking in the heart of the village.
The company’s deep knowledge of the village and ability to source the perfect materials for every aspect of the project helped bring Sunnyside back to life. Carpenter Beach’s skill in navigating the ins and outs of paperwork and permitting for a restoration project in the historic landmark village allowed them to efficiently manage a permitting process that would have been daunting for most homeowners. Because of conservation easements and location in a historic district, the contractor had to work with three separate agencies at the state and county levels.
“That’s why people choose someone like us,” Carpenter said.
Now, Sunnyside is a history lover’s dream in the heart of Waterford, Virginia, with all the modern conveniences, ready to find new owners to enjoy the property.
“We’re proud of it and happy to bring it back to life for the village,” Carpenter said.
Sunnyside is listed with Catoctin Properties. For more information, go to catoctinproperties.com.
