Before & After: A Trio of Brothers Turn Their Father’s Boatbuilding Workshop Into a Family Retreat

Architect Chester "Chet" Wisniewski, former apprentice to Frank Lloyd Wright, built a woodworking shop on Martha’s Vineyard in 2001 as a place to build and repair sailboats. After he passed in 2015, his sons John, Tom, and Joe Wisniewski found themselves faced with the decision of what to do with the space. "We knew the shop had maintenance problems, and we knew we needed to do something if we wanted to save the building," says Tom.

To preserve the structure, the brothers turned to designer and architect Erin Pellegrino, who had previously renovated the Glasshouse, another of Chet’s properties on the Vineyard. Together, they converted the space into a three-bedroom, two-bathroom family retreat called The Shop.

"We can’t necessarily draw on what’s been done in the past," Pellegrino says of tackling the renovation. "Whether Chet meant to or not, he set this up as another way of experimenting. But then to translate that into how [John, Tom, and Joe] use the space and the expansion and interaction of their family—to me, that was a really interesting design problem."

Before: Workshop and Machinery Court

An emphasis on family life was central to the deeply collaborative design process between Pellegrino and the brothers. "The big open living space is very much where their social lives happen," says Pellegrino, who sought to strike a balance between the space’s rustic and utilitarian accents and the brothers’ shared affinity for modern and midcentury design. Interior walls of birch plywood complement the alternating bands of Douglas fir and spruce boards in the shop’s original flooring, which was sanded and refinished.  

After: Dining Room, Kitchen, and Bar