Our services.
Virtual Strategy Session
For buyers evaluating a potential purchase, homeowners unsure where to start, or anyone seeking clarity before investing.
A focused 60 minute video consultation for homeowners, buyers, or renovators who need quick, expert guidance. Come prepared with photos, videos, inspection notes, or plans so Laura and Katharine can help you understand how to prioritize repairs or updates and what’s worth preserving.
$250
On-site Strategy Session
The preliminary step in any comprehensive design process.
An in-person site walkthrough for those who want to explore what’s possible. Laura and Katharine will walk through your home with you, looking at period features, preservation priorities, design opportunities, and areas where thoughtful updates could add comfort and value. Together, we’ll talk through ideas, project progression, and next steps. You’ll leave with practical recommendations tailored to your home.
$450
Pricing includes travel within a 30-mile radius of Southeastern Massachusetts. Additional travel time may be added for locations beyond that area.
Restoration Consulting
Ongoing consulting support for homeowners, builders, or general contractors working through a renovation or restoration project.
Continued guidance throughout the process, helping with design decisions, preservation priorities, project questions, and issues that come up along the way. With Laura’s practical restoration experience and design eye, paired with Katharine’s architectural expertise, we help ensure updates are thoughtful, functional, and in keeping with the character of the home.
Priced per project
Architect Services
For a list of Katharine’s architect services, visit her website.
Priced per project, usually 5% to 10% of construction cost, depends on variables
Your old house consulting team.
Laura Parrish
Old House Consultant
As a designer and historic home renovator, Laura Parrish has spent over a decade restoring houses from the 1600s through the mid-1900s, each treated as a true labor of love. She is well known for her restoration of The Whalehouse in New Bedford, MA which has been featured on Magnolia Network’s Diary of an Old Home on HBO Max, Chronicle, Real Simple Magazine, Pottery Barn, West Elm, The Boston Globe and New York Times Travel, amongst other publications. She sits on the board of a historic restoration community development non-profit, and has multi-year experience as the chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals for a mid-size city.
She believes in honoring an old home for what it is – celebrating its quirks, craftsmanship, and imperfections as part of its enduring charm. Her passion lies in helping people enjoy living in their historic homes while preserving what makes them unique, so they feel cherished rather than frozen in time.
Katharine White MacPhail
Architect
Katharine White MacPhail is an old house architect with a passion for new technologies and helping people achieve their dreams. She received a Master of Architecture from Southern California Institute of Architecture (SCI-Arc) in 1996, a BA in Art History from Mount Holyoke College where she fell for classical antiquities. Later she completed graduate work in Historic Preservation at Boston University before pursuing a career in architecture. For many years she has been examining how to keep a home renovation sustainable.
She also hosted her own renovation podcast, Talking Home Renovations with the House Maven, that was produced for 4 years and aimed to help homeowners with their renovation questions. She and her husband moved to Fairhaven, MA in 2022 to renovate a 1794 federal style home, a project still in progress.
Our work.
The Whalehouse – Southcoast, MA c. 1855
Completed work: Complete exterior restoration including copper flashing, restoring original woodwork, and period-appropriate paint choices. Window restoration for all 72 original windows including reglazing, painting, and restoration of window pulleys. Kitchen and bathroom renovation with period-appropriate design details. Preservation-forward interior projects to maintain character, such as: main stairway restoration, floor refinishing, aesthetic design choices to highlight the home’s unique beauty. Roof replacement. Double boiler installation for 14 zone heating system.
Project by Laura Parrish. Featured on Magnolia Network, Chronicle, New York Times Travel, Boston Globe, Hulu, West Elm, Pottery Barn, Real Simple, The Spruce and more.
Old Crowell Farm – Cape Cod, MA c. 1690
Completed work: Exterior cedar-plank siding, fiberglass gutter replacement, two-system heat-pump installation with preservation approach for exterior units. Ongoing work: Windmill restoration including heating and cooling, insulation, and addressing safety concerns.
Project by Laura Parrish
