One of Agnes Devereux's first catering experiences might have sent a lesser woman flying. "I catered my own wedding," explains Devereux of the party in her former Boerum Hill loft. "It was stressful, especially because I got stung by a bee early in the day and didn't realize I was allergic." Devereux went into anaphylactic shock, promptly passed out, and then came to—blind. "The EMTs insisted on taking me to the emergency room," says Devereux. "I told them, 'Are you kidding? I have 100 people coming over, I can't go to the hospital!' So I just waited for my vision to return and got married with a very swollen thumb."
Devereux's ability to remain unflappable—along with her humor and the ability to turn wildly askew circumstances into a great yarn—came in handy when she and her husband Daniel Sheehy found an 18th-century farmhouse seriously damaged by an electrical fire. The couple were living in New Paltz, where they'd raised two children and Devereux ran the Village Tea Room and Bake Shop, but had ventured north to Staatsburg to begin a new chapter. With their children grown and the restaurant recently sold, they were on the hunt for a challenge. In the middle of the 2019 polar vortex, the couple struck DIY gold with the 2,800-square-foot Colonial.
Originally built in 1773 by Revolutionary War captain and Continental Congress member John DeWitt, the home certainly had juicy bones. However, a fire, which started in the basement, had burned up through the first-floor pantry and bathroom, and destroyed one exterior wall and several other rooms. Smoke and water had ruined walls and ceilings, and the fire department had broken down the Dutch front door and cut through the wide plank wood floorboards to put out the flames. "There was no water, no heat, no electric, and all the windows were gone," says Devereux of that fateful first encounter with the condemned home. "And even with the polar vortex, it was colder inside than out—we had to keep running outside into the sun to warm up." Despite the damage, Devereux saw the home's potential. "It looked terrible but I loved the scale of the rooms and the quirky layout," says Devereux, who was an interior designer before becoming a chef.
Once the center of Dewitt's 200-acre working farm and timber mill, families added to the original home over the ensuing decades. The three-story home rambled through three centuries of history, with remnants of each distinct period still evident under the ravages of time and fire.
It's a Long, Long Way to Go
Devereux was born and raised in Tippererary, Ireland, and hospitality has been a major part of her life since childhood. "My parents had a guest house," she says. "Some guests stayed for a night, and some stayed for months or even years. We had a veterinarian who lived with us for 15 years and a local doctor lived with us as well. They ended up getting married."
Devereux's mother cooked three meals a day for guests and Devereux and her sisters served the food, but she also gravitated to the kitchen, where she loved baking traditional Irish desserts and more exotic fare gleaned from magazines.
After finishing school, Devereux worked in France for two years as an au pair and then made her way to New York City, where she studied interior design. She met Sheehy, and the couple eventually moved to New Paltz so their children could attend Mountain Laurel Waldorf School. They bought a home in the village with an adjacent 1833 tailor's shop. After restoring the shop, they converted it into a restaurant, where Devereux used local ingredients to create Irish favorites and international recipes. She ran the popular restaurant for 15 years. "I loved it, and loved raising my kids there, but it was hard work," she says.
First Love, Lasting Love
By 2019 her children had left for college and she and Sheehy were ready for a change. "While working at the restaurant someone came to me and asked me to cater their wedding," says Devereux. "I enjoyed it because weddings are basically the same, but there are a handful of things that are particular to the couple. It's those small things that make the wedding special. Also, baking was my first love." Devereux and Sheehy had already restored the historic tailor's shop in New Paltz. They realized that along with a change of business they needed a new home design challenge. So, Devereux decided to keep the catering business going and fill the rest of her time restoring a new historic home.
Besides her desire to sink her teeth into a remodel, Devereux needed a second kitchen to run her home-based catering business. The Staatsburg Colonial fit the bill with multiple food preparation areas added over the centuries.
The 1773 footprint includes the first-floor dining room, a classic Colonial entryway and the adjacent butler's pantry. A giant stone fireplace runs from the home's basement through the dining room to the second floor where two large bedrooms once housed Dewitt's 14 children. The central hearth was the home's main food preparation area until an early 19th-century addition was tacked onto the back.
The area most damaged by the fire, this original section of the house, also proved to be the most resilient. Before they could begin renovating, the couple needed to make sure the home was still structurally sound. A town engineer came out to inspect the fire damage, but discovered only the surface of the beams had burned. "The wood was probably 200 years old when it was felled," says Devereux. "It's still strong three centuries later. Dewitt knew the best timber to build with."
Two Kitchens, One Stone
The couple hired local contractor Ariel Rodriguez to help repair damage and restore the home. A few steps down from the dining area, the 19th-century addition contains the home's main kitchen with enough space left over for an eight-seat dining table.
Damaged by smoke, the team replaced the kitchen cabinetry and appliances, but were able to salvage the kitchen sink and butcher-block counters as well as the tiled center island. With Rodriguez's help, Devereux gutted both the butler's pantry and an adjacent bathroom. They rebuilt the pantry with ample shelving and a salvaged sink, and finished the bathroom with a combination of white tiles and a glass shower wall.
Wallpaper throughout the dining room and entryway was ruined by a combination of smoke, water, and ice. Devereux removed it all herself and, after Rodriguez repaired damage to the walls, floors, and ceiling, she painted the dining room indigo. She finished the entryway and staircase walls with wallpaper by Nina Campbell. They also raised second-floor ceilings in the bedroom to expose the original ceiling tiles and then added shiplap along the walls.
The Summer Kitchen
Devereux almost forgot about the home's Colonial summer kitchen while she was busy with the rest of the house. Tucked away along the basement level, the room is dominated by an ancient stone hearth and has access to the surrounding gardens. A 1930s kitchen addition sports vintage appliances and forest green finishes. Devereux tackled the room's built-in hutch and original lime plaster walls herself. After adding insulation and repairing the stone floors, she realized the original lime plaster was largely undamaged. "I was going to paint it," says Devereux. "But then I realized I loved the mottled walls." She did add wainscoting along the bottom and repainted the hutch.
Decorated with an eclectic mix of art and artifacts, the room now serves as Devereux's office. However, while she's planning a menu, she can't help but get a little distracted by the historic design. "I loved doing all the work on this house," she says. "I love old houses. If I had the money I'd buy another one and do the whole thing again."
