Francis Ouimet’s Childhood Home
Full-home Restoration
Brookline, MA
This full-service interior design restoration was commissioned by members of The Country Club with a singular goal: to bring a historic home back to life as it might have existed in 1913, when legendary amateur golfer Francis Ouimet lived there and went on to win the U.S. Open. Though there were no photographs or documentation of the home's interiors, the design was shaped by stories from surviving relatives and written accounts of how the home functioned, how it was lived in, and what daily life may have felt like at the time.
The vision was to restore the residence in the spirit of its Folk-Victorian roots, creating a warm, authentic guest house where club members could stay for the weekend or host intimate dinners and gatherings. Every design decision was guided by the question: What would this house have felt like in 1913? The result is a layered, immersive interior that honors history without feeling staged or precious.
The house at 246 Clyde Street during Francis Ouimet's childhood. (Courtesy of The Country Club)
The three-bedroom home underwent a careful restoration that balanced preservation with revival. Original wood floors were saved where possible, layers of old paint were painstakingly scraped from the mantel and stair railings, and a stained glass window was restored to its former glow.
The interiors were furnished with antique furniture, period lighting, artwork, reproduction wallpapers, and area rugs, alongside historically inspired fixtures and tile. Subtle personal touches—including framed photographs and objects connected to Ouimet—help ground the home in its story.
One unforgettable moment came during construction, when two antique golf clubs were discovered hidden in the attic, believed to have belonged to the Ouimet family. That discovery became a quiet validation of the design approach -- proof that the home’s history was still present, waiting to be uncovered. Today, the restored house feels less like a replica and more like a lived-in moment in time, thoughtfully reimagined for a new chapter.
Francis Ouimet at the 1913 U.S. Open in Brookline. (Courtesy of The Country Club)