When Nicole and Bob Rodowicz purchased this 1870s Victorian, they’d just finished remodeling their prior home several blocks away. They knew that older homes in the borough of Newtown, Pa., were subject to dull approvals in the town’s historical review board, so they had a strategy for choosing an architect who’d help keep their imaginative vision intact. They knew where to locate interval color swatches and fittings. However, the remodel of this home required to take into account their fast growing family with four young boys. See how they found ways to incorporate their big family in their home without sacrificing function or style.

Colleen Brett

Who lives here: Bob, Nicole and sons Tyler, Owen and twins Kellan and Egan Rodowicz
Location: Newtown, Pennsylvania
Size: 4,000 square feet, 6 bedrooms, 2.5 baths
Design: Victorian constructed in 1870. It had been turned into a duplex in the 1940s, then turned back into a yearlong home when the Rodowicz family purchased it in 2008.
Architect: Bob Vallimont
Builder: Ron James

Colleen Brett

“We discovered our house since it had been two blocks away from our other house,” Nicole says. It wasn’t love at first sight. “The house was in total disarray, and it was a duplex to boot. We did fall in love with all the road, the place (one block from restaurants and shops ) and the potential of the home.”

To make it their own,”We chose an 1870 Victorian that has been turned into a investment land in the 1940s, then we turned it into a single family home that has all of the modern conveniences of new construction,” she says.

Colleen Brett

The front porch welcomes one to have a chair on a rocker and watch passers-by. Visitors are not surprised to wind up with one of the Rodowicz boys cuddled up in your lap.

Nicole loves Newtown’s public school program and free biweekly community events for kids of all ages. “We’ve got a walkable borough — I can take my family to a small creek, multiple parks, coffee shops, restaurants, salonsand health food store, the movies — all without ever starting up my vehicle,” she says.

Colleen Brett

Because Nicole and Bob have allotted plenty of kid-centric space in the house, they can enjoy clutter-free, mature places around themselves.

The kitchen, Nicole’s favorite room, is a portion of a open floor plan on the first floor and joins the initial home to the inclusion. It creates a nice flow that Nicole jokingly describes as”the racetrack.”

Countertops: Carrara marble by Stone Tech at Trenton, N.J.

Colleen Brett

The clean, white cabinets accentuate the sun. The two-tiered island together with barstools supplies plenty of room for guests to crowd in the kitchen without overpowering the cook.

Barstools: JC Penney

Colleen Brett

The farmhouse aluminum sink has an understated elegance that matches the kitchen’s aesthetic.

Colleen Brett

Another small dining table with fruit readily accessible to the boys stays nearby.

Colleen Brett

On the first floor, there are nooks galore where the boys could play and draw. The huge windows at the back of the house let in sun and assist Nicole keep a watch out for her sons as they play in the backyard.

Kid’s table: Pottery Barn
Easel: 21st Century Mummy

Colleen Brett

French doors open from the entryway into the warm and inviting dining room.

Paint color: Benjamin Moore, Hot Apple Spice

Colleen Brett

The color of this playroom infuses the distance . Floor-to-ceiling cubes make it easy for the boys to help themselves to books and toys. The walls have been adorned with all the boys’ art. “I wanted to make the kids feel at home,” Nichole says,”but also to keep their stuff organized so it doesn’t look like we live at daily care.”

Bookcase: IKEA
Baskets: IKEA
Paint color: Benjamin Moore, New Lime

Colleen Brett

Baskets tucked into corners give the boys access to toys without cluttering the rest of the house.

Colleen Brett

Tin buckets from the side door keep shoes from tracking dirt all over the ground, and also fit the farmhouse style of the home.

Colleen Brett

Nicole and Bob installed a TV in a unused space under the stairs so the twins could watch while they eat at their high seats.

White seats: JC Penney

Colleen Brett

The entryway is broad and adorned with family photographs along with an antique Singer sewing machine. Original details, like the wooden floors that lead in the more recent portion of the house, are significant to Nicole. “The aging of the house is part of the real charm,” she says. “My style is functional — clean lines, but with a classic feel. I like to keep it simple.”

Paint color: Sherwin-Williams, Koi pond

Colleen Brett

This is the room the two oldest sons discuss. The wooden furniture has been shared with Bob and his brother when they were children. The room gets a ton of pure light, so picking this dark hue of blue has been an easy decision. Four coats into painting, they were unsure about the choice, but the end result is a rich blue that remains true to the home’s history.

Paint color: Benjamin Moore, Old Navy
Bedding: Pottery Barn

Colleen Brett

From the boys’ bathroom, elegant column sinks, round mirrors along with a soft blue paint onto the walls function as a bridge between an adult- and also kid-tailored space.

Paint color: Benjamin Moore, Sapphire Ice
Sinks: Kohler

Colleen Brett

That is right, that’s a urinal. When Bob and Nicole began the remodeling process, they had two sons. A friend suggested they incorporate a urinal into the boys’ bathroom, and Bob’s eyes lit up. Nicole, of course, originally protested. Once they were settled in, Nicole became pregnant with twin boys. Looking back, she asserts the urinal has been the greatest jinx. Now there’s not any escaping her function as the sole girl in a male-dominated house.

Colleen Brett

The master bedroom has a serene sense with its tall four-poster bed, fluffy down comforter and piles of pillows.

Bed: Carter’s Furniture

Colleen Brett

The lavish master bathroom was designed to give Nicole and Bob a minute of well-deserved relaxation as parents.

Flooring tiles: The Tile Shop
Granite counters: Stone Tech at Trenton, NJ

Colleen Brett

What’s next for those remodelers? It depends upon whom you ask.
“We’ve got a 25 foot by 25 foot cellar that’s unfinished and just awaiting some drywall and floor,” Nicole says. If money weren’t an object, Nicole says she’d redo the barn behind their house, turning it into a massive play area for the kids, in addition to a guest house with bathroom. Bob has his sights set on the barn too. He says,”It’s the perfect size for a racquetball court”

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