Every week, our House Calls feature takes you into homes with great style, big personality, and ineffable soul. Today we visit the Stonington, Connecticut, home of Brian and Nicole Meadows. Three years ago, the house was in such bad shape that it brought Nicole to tears and she refused to let her children live in most of it. The story of how it became a happy family home in just four months is a testament to sheer remodeling grit. Connecticut natives Brian and Nicole Meadows didn?t want this house the first time they saw it. Their distaste grew on subsequent visits. "The last time we looked before buying it, I walked out with tears in my eyes," says Nicole. But the charming neighborhood and landscape kept them coming back.
"We wanted to live in Stonington. It?s a beautiful region that?s close to the water and with a lot of cool history," Nicole says. "We chose this house because, even though it needed work, we recognized that our options were slim and that location was way more important than the house. For our children [three boys ranging from 10 to 6], the location was magical." The house is within walking distance of Long Island Sound, on the edge of a salt water marsh. The interior was far less scenic.

Left: The Meadows family added the wood stove to the sunroom shortly after they moved in. "You can start a fire in it and it will heat the whole house," Nicole said. During the winter, they make their own sa...