Before & After: This 1881 Schoolhouse Conversion Is a Master Class in Adaptive Reuse

Melissa Dalton
·1 min read

Bowerbird Architects preserved the building’s windows, wainscot, and chalk rail while converting it into a three-bedroom getaway in upstate New York.

Much of the home’s exterior was preserved. The siding is painted Benjamin Moore
Much of the home’s exterior was preserved. The siding is painted Benjamin Moore

Brooklynites Joel Edmondson and Mimia Johnson did not consider themselves historic preservationists when they bought a one-room schoolhouse built in 1881 just outside Hudson, New York. But the charm of some buildings is hard to resist.

They first toured the structure on a gloomy April day in 2021. There was no electricity, yet the extra-tall windows on all sides lit up the interior on that gray afternoon. "It was welcoming, but it also made you feel humbled at the same time, like you’re moving through history a little bit," says Joel. "We were excited about the potential: How could we honor the history, but also reinvent it?"

Before: Exterior

Before: The 1881 schoolhouse outside Hudson, New York, had sat vacant for a while before Joel Edmondson and Mimia Johnson bought it to convert into a single-family home.
Before: The 1881 schoolhouse outside Hudson, New York, had sat vacant for a while before Joel Edmondson and Mimia Johnson bought it to convert into a single-family home.

Joel and Mimia—he’s a furniture designer and she’s a creative director—originally met in art school. Now that their careers were well underway and they had a newborn baby, they were looking for a place outside the city—and a creative project that they could tackle together. Still, there was no rush.

Before: This side of the building may have once had a bathroom addition, but had collapsed.
Before: This side of the building may have once had a bathroom addition, but had collapsed.
Before: The double doors at the main entrance had lost their stairs at some point.
Before: The double doors at the main entrance had lost their stairs at some point.

See the full story on Dwell.com: Before & After: This 1881 Schoolhouse Conversion Is a Master Class in Adaptive Reuse
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