Norma designed her dream house long before HGTV , Houzz and Pinterest turned interior design into a national pastime . She looked to Architectural Digest for inspiration but , more than anything else , she was driven by her instincts .
The home would be a culmination of a lifetime of collecting — not just valuable antiques sourced from her travels or her friends ’ shops along Hope Street in Providence , but also architectural salvage she ’ d accumulated over decades . Early drawings of the house incorporate such finds , including wide-plank pine boards and beams sourced from a local barn and a reclaimed slab of wood affixed to a kitchen wall .
“ It was all purposely sought out and collected just for where it ended up ,” says Loomis of her mother ’ s design strategy .
Norma needn ’ t hire spatial consultants nor interior designers . Instead , she worked shoulder-to-shoulder with architect Charles Goudet to deploy her vision .
“ She was a woman with conviction and she knew what she wanted ,” says Maceroni . “ She really didn ’ t feel like she needed anyone ’ s advice .”
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