Photograph by Tony Valainis
IN THE EARLY days of Covid, Brian and Tara Rochford had their hands full. They were navigating those first few bleary-eyed months of new parenthood while also remodeling their second home, all during a global pandemic. Like many of us at the time, they went for frequent walks to get some fresh air. The self-professed “real estate addicts” also kept their eyes on local listings hitting the market.
“This house pops up, and it was kind of expensive, and the pictures weren’t doing it much justice,” Brian recalls. “But we kept watching it and waiting.” Despite loving the home they were in, there was always a wish list tucked in the back of their minds with features their forever home would possess. “In our perfect dream world, we were going to find a house in Meridian-Kessler with a big yard, a home office off the main floor for Tara, a carriage house for hosting out-of-state family, space for two kids, and somewhere to house a home gym,” Brian says.
Photograph by Tony Valainis
Bolstered by years of attending Meridian-Kessler home tours, they were familiar with all the properties in the neighborhood … or so they thought. They mapped the address of the listing and set out to do some reconnaissance with their dog, Bernie. “As we were walking here, we had the realization that we’d actually walked by this house nearly every day and never even noticed it,” Tara explains. Overgrown trees and shrubs had kept the elegant Tudor hidden from view.
Once the Rochfords went inside with their real estate agent, Betsey Erwin, they quickly realized this house checked all the boxes on their wish list. “It had such good bones, and everything felt right,” Tara recalls. They sat on the front porch, mulling the possibilities and questioning their sanity. “Let’s just see what happens,” Erwin advised. But there was no wait-and-see period. “Next thing you know, we own the house,” Brian laughs.
Photograph by Tony Valainis
Built in 1925, the stately beauty of the Tudor’s exterior had easily stood the test of time. The interior, on the other hand, last saw an update in 1984—the year it was the St. Margaret’s Hospital Guild Decorators’ Show House—and had undergone a sprinkling of remodels prior to that in the 1950s and 1960s. While they loved the flow and ample square footage, they knew a complete renovation was required. The home needed central air, new plumbing and electrical, structural repairs, and so much more. “Everything that could go wrong with this house did. We wondered if it was smart to do this,” Brian says. Yet they pressed on and hired design-build firm Custom Living to tackle the colossal project.
Their goal was a tasteful modernization of the space, with a keen consideration for retaining as many original features as possible. What couldn’t be repaired or restored was painstakingly replicated by talented craftsmen guided by the vision of an interior designer extraordinaire—Tara herself. A registered dietitian nutritionist, she’s also passionate about design and recently launched Tara Rochford Home to take on projects for clients. Her aesthetic is “classic, traditional, and a little bit feminine,” Tara explains.
Photograph by Tony Valainis
Take, for instance, the tiny powder room tucked behind the stairs in the foyer. While it had original, floor-to-ceiling subway tile, much of it was damaged. Tara found a historic tile company that offered a nearly identical style, added period-appropriate plumbing fixtures and hardware, and topped off the space with a delightful hummingbird wallpaper from Cole & Son.
As you move through the home, small, thoughtful details abound. Conventional light switches were replaced with infinitely more charming push buttons and brass switch plates. In the formal dining room, intricate plasterwork on the ceiling had been ruined by years of water damage. While a fresh application of drywall would’ve been the easy solution, Tara didn’t want the room to lose its grand feel or character.
Photograph by Tony Valainis
“The dining room is one of the rooms we immediately fell in love with,” Brian says. Tara adds, “I like setting a table and having a formal family dinner. I love doing all of those old-school things.” The new ceiling is a nearly perfect match to its predecessor. Its corners are adorned by swirling detail, while an exquisite ceiling medallion complements the new chandelier.
In the formal living room, all the molding and trim is original. The Rochfords loved the room’s elegance and wanted to extend that tone to the main staircase and foyer, which had cracked marble flooring and major structural issues that were causing the floor and the staircase to sink.
First, they repaired the structural problems, and then they laid beautiful new marble. Next, their contractor skim-coated the walls and made custom molding knives to capture the profile of the original trim so that it could be carried through into the entryway and up the stairs.
Photograph by Tony Valainis
While many classic Tudor-style homes have a reputation for being dark and enclosed, this one is a far cry from the stereotype. Natural light pours in from the home’s stunning windows, all of which are original. Many were painstakingly restored by Rob Bennett of Bly Bennett Inc.
Though the Rochfords tried to rework some of the original floor plan, it soon became apparent that an addition was necessary because “we wanted the house to function for our family and how we live today,” Brian says.
In the stunning kitchen, no appliance is visible other than the statement-making Lacanche range. Everything else is concealed by cabinet door fronts or tucked away through the pantry’s arched pocket doors.
Photograph by Tony Valainis
One wall in the kitchen is punctuated by an elegant china cabinet that looks original to the home—and it is … sort of. Blueprints showing a large china cabinet that never made it out of the design stage were included in a box of “old stuff” given to the Rochfords when they bought the house. Cabinetmaker Nate Slabaugh of Nathan Alan Fine Cabinetry and Design used the plans to bring the 100-year-old design to life.
Upstairs, the Rochfords’ daughters, 4-year-old Marie and 2-and-a-half-year-old Claire, have equally darling rooms across the hall from each other. A few doors down, what was designated on the blueprints as a linen closet now serves as a highly functional laundry room with two tower washer-and-dryer units and beautiful cabinetry, hanging racks, and drying drawers.
Photograph by Tony Valainis
While Tara and Brian’s bedroom and bathroom together make an undeniably dreamy oasis, it’s their dressing room that’s gobsmacking. Designed for use as a sleeping porch, the Rochfords transformed the room by adding custom cabinetry, an island, a vanity, and storage galore. Tara worked with Nathan Alan rather than a closet company because she “didn’t want it to look like stock cabinetry.” The attention to detail is stunning throughout.
“We love this house so much,” Tara says. While a new pool and renovated carriage house are the next projects in the queue, the Rochfords are putting their onetime Decorators’ Show House back on public display the evening of September 27 as part of a Twilight Tour to kick off the Meridian-Kessler Neighborhood Association Weekend Home Tour. Details about the event can be found at mkna.org/home-tour.
Photograph by Tony Valainis
