What's it like Restoring an Antique Home on Martha's Vineyard

Our listing in Pilot Hill Farm, with a five bedroom main house that dates from the 1730's, and a renovated two bedroom pool house/guest house, plus two art studios that were converted from farm outbuildings is on the market.   The artist/author owners embarked on it's restoration 37 years ago and are selling it today for $6,900,000.  Read about it in the September issue of the Martha's Vineyard Real Estate Guide below, or in the featured article in the Wall Street Journal earlier this year.

Words by Susan Gattling:

Off Lamberts Cove Road in Tisbury,this tranquil setting on nearly eight acres in Pilot Hill combines the serenity of up-Island life with the convenience of easy access to ferries, shopping and restaurants. The neighborhood includes a private North Shore association beach, walking trails and a working farm. 

Owned and loved for 37 years by Marc Brown, Emmy-winning creator of the Arthur books and PBS show and his wife, paper artist Laurene Krasny Brown, this became their personal creative collaboration. “Laurie has been responsible for almost every element of the interior design,” Marc explains. “The most subtle and interesting thing she did was use the colors of nature for the colors inside our home. It is such a clever way of creating a seamless interior/exterior partnership. I focused on the architecture and made drawings for our carpenters. Together we had the pleasure of finding American Folk art and period furniture true to the spirit of the house that made it comfortable without being pretentious.”

A small stone bridge over a brook leads to lush acres of lawn, perennial gardens, stone walls and rolling meadows surrounded by mature trees. This bridge served as inspiration for Marc’s new animated HBO show for preschoolers, “Hop”, about a frog and his animal friends. 

The meticulously preserved antique farmhouse contains five bedrooms and four and a half bathrooms on two floors. There are four working, wood burning fireplaces with mantles painted by Marc as well as Siberian elm floors, each with orignal designs painted by Marc. The large living room has access to a screened porch to one side and an outdoor dining terrace that
also connects to the dining room on the other.

In 2024 the kitchen was updated and features state-of-the-art appliances including two new ovens, an induction stove top, granite countertops and ample storage including a butler’s pantry. Off the kitchen is a large open deck. A newer addition houses the sitting room with a vaulted ceiling, built-in shelving and skylights. 

The lower level includes a wine room, workshop and a potting room with a door leading to an outdoor garden room. Across the driveway is a restored cattle barn, now a three-car garage with Marc’s art studio above. Renovated in 2012, a two-bedroom, one- bath guest house with living room, kitchen and outdoor shower also serves as a pool house for the heated, saltwater pool.

Set a few steps apart from the house is a complex of buildings originally comprised of a stable, chicken coop and storage shed that became Laurie’s studio space. Marc sketched his ideas for the redesign that were executed by Hutker Architects. A deck overlooks a small waterfall and pond.

The renovations have personalized the property but in a classic and timeless sense that keep it in harmony with the surrounding privacy while preserving the period details. “We have made the practical decision after 37 years of enjoying our home to share it with new owners,” Marc says. “We are all just stewards when we own an antique home. It’s so satisfying that we can leave the house
in a much better state than we found it. It is an American treasure that happens to be located in paradise.”