Renovate with Craftsmen Who Care: Home & Hearth Remodeling and Restoration

This post is part of Swallow Estates Group‘s Best in the Nest Series, which highlights the best local businesses in Springfield, Western Massachusetts, and the Greater Pioneer Valley region.

Renovation. Repair. Remodeling. Restoration. These are all big undertakings for a homeowner. Whether you’re restoring a historic home, remodeling a room, repairing structural damage, or renovating a basement, you want a contractor behind you who knows what they’re doing.

There are many craftsmen in the Springfield area, and one general contracting/remodeling  company we love is Home & Hearth Remodeling and Restoration. With the motto “The Craftsmen Who Care,” the team really proves that on the job. 

I had the great pleasure of working with Owner Dave Coyne and his team last year to fully finish my basement and was impressed with how the team was able to maintain the home’s Victorian flair, even while using new materials. They not only fully restored the historic wood windows, but also recreated the window trim used throughout the rest of my circa-1898 home. They installed an antique door and historically accurate hardware throughout, making the space enjoyable and historically on-point. Each step of the way, the Home & Hearth team took my needs into consideration, the biggest of which was historic preservation. I look forward to hiring them for my attic renovation one day, and it is my great pleasure to recommend their services in this installment of the Best in the Nest Series!

We spoke with Coyne to hear more about how the business got started, what’s new, and where it’s going.

Some of Home & Hearth’s latest remodeling projects include the above kitchens, bathrooms, and decks. (Photos courtesy of Home & Hearth)

“We care about the homes we’re working on,” Coyne says. “We care about the people who live in them, and their quality of life. We take pride in being able to improve their immediate environment. It’s such an intimate impact we can have on people’s lives, just by making their space nicer, more functional, or happier to be in.”

Founded in 2005 out of Coyne’s passion for DIY home repair, Home & Hearth makes its work personal. Coyne says working in remodeling and restoration gives his team the exceptional ability to build relationships with clients.

“We get to know everybody in the dwelling,” Coyne says. “I love the fact that our customers are always telling me how much they enjoy the people they have working there.” 

Home & Hearth teammates install crown molding for a finished touch. (Photo courtesy Home & Hearth)

Coyne sets high standards for his team, from both craftsmanship and professionalism points of view. His teammates specialize in specific job types, and you won’t find him staffing an amateur on a project they’re not equipped to handle.

And yet, Home & Hearth’s expertise continues to expand. This year, they began building their first full-home project, from foundation all the way through to handles, knobs, and hinges! The crew is building a lakehouse on the Hampton Ponds in Southampton.

“One of our prior clients knew we hadn’t built a house before, but wanted to take a chance on having us do it,” Coyne says. 

A return customer requesting a full build speaks volumes for Home & Hearth’s commitment to quality and customer satisfaction.

Home & Hearth Vice President of Operations Dave Duquette showcases the foundation and framing for the full-home build Home & Hearth is currently working on in Southampton. (Photo courtesy of Home & Hearth)

Coyne says the business is growing rapidly, with the team booked out further in the future than ever before, and on bigger projects. The full-home build is just one example. The business’s growth is currently limited by its office space, he shares.

“By the end of the year, we’re looking to purchase commercial space that will give us more room for office staff,” Coyne says. “We also need our own conference room, a considerable amount of space for tools, materials, and equipment. But I’d also like to have our own in-house carpentry shop and a paint spray booth.”

Those additional perks will enable better and faster work, Coyne says. “If we’re painting lots of doors, trim, and molding, for example, it’s best to pre-paint it in a spray booth, rather than installing and painting with a roller or trying to spray in place, in many cases. Better results and faster process.”

Talking with Coyne, you start to wonder where he gets all of his smarts. He has an innovative approach to building his business and thinks outside of the box. Turns out, he has a Bachelor’s from Cornell University and cut his teeth in Internet advertising and business development and media and software companies.

Coyne’s life changed, however, when he and his wife decided to move from West Newton to Springfield in 2005. He had been doing contracting work on the side, but had the opportunity to take his business full-time with the move.

“Having lived in Washington, D.C. and Boston, Springfield feels like the real world,” Coyne says. “I grew up in a little town in Connecticut, down the coast, and Western Massachusetts felt a lot more like that to me. I recognized it, and I recognized there are all kinds of people here, from different educational, socio-economic backgrounds, people living normal lives—unlike Washington, where the ego-drive centered around public political figures. In Boston at that time, it was all the Internet and bio-tech, and venture capital, and it seemed like everybody was trying to out-impress everyone else with what they were doing. And then you get out to Western Massachusetts, and that just kind of goes away. It just feels like normal, relaxed family life out here.”

Western Massachusetts is a place where you can live the intensity you want to live. If you want high drive, we’ve got it. If you want relaxation, we’ve got it. The beauty is that you can do and be who you want to be, and the higher quality of life and lower cost of living makes that possible. It’s amazing to see entrepreneurs like Dave Coyne find their rhythm out here and build something that provides so much value for others.

If you want to experience general contracting with a personal, caring touch, give Home & Hearth Remodeling and Renovation a try.

Dave’s Local Recommendations

Owner Dave Coyne, of Home & Hearth Remodeling and Restoration, discusses a finished bathroom job with the customer. (Photo courtesy of Home & Hearth)

Home & Hearth Owner Dave Coyne loves the availability of outdoor recreational activities in Western Massachusetts—he also cherishes the lack of traffic and high real estate prices as compared with his prior life in the Boston area. Dave’s top local recommendations reflect his love of nature and a good, relaxing time:

• The Appalachian Trail is a must-hike, Coyne says. If you haven’t already, you’ve got to check out Massachusetts’ highest point for starters. At 3,491 feet, Mt. Greylock is said to have inspired Herman Melville to write “Moby Dick.”
• The Seven Sisters Trail is a 5.1-mile one-way hike that runs along the ridge of the Holyoke Range, starting in Hadley at the base of Mount Holyoke and ending at The Notch mountain pass in Amherst. The range is one of the only in the U.S. that runs east-to-west, so that’s a fun claim to fame to brag about after conquering it.
• The Connecticut River is one of many kayaking spots Coyne recommends. The Connecticut River Paddlers’ Trail is a series of access points and campsites along the river—check out the map to find an entry point near you. In Springfield, for example, you can enter the river through the Springfield Access point at Riverfront Park. Don’t miss the internationally-renowned fishing and paddling on the Swift River in Belchertown, either!
• Iron Duke Brewing (Ludlow), Two Weeks Notice Brewery (West Springfield), Tin Bridge Brewing Co. (Westfield), and Wormtown Brewery (Worcester) are all breweries within driving distance that Coyne recommends. “There’s a brewery in every town out here,” he says. “They sponsor a lot of entertainment programming, and post-pandemic, it is such a tremendous time and place for local musicians. So, go grab a beer and support the vibrant music scene that’s happening right now.”
• Worthington Pond Farm & Gardens is a new winery just a hop-skip away in Somers, Connecticut, and, in addition to making wine, is also an indoor/outdoor event space, perfect for weddings or large events. It features a large pond, a covered bridge, and beautiful country scenery. Coyne is most excited for their wine, though. The farm hopes to obtain a farm-winery license to enable on-premises consumption of its goods, but is currently stuck in zoning limbo. Coyne has participated in the farm’s planting parties, as Worthington has built out its vineyards. Let’s hope Somers says yes!

Find Home & Hearth Remodeling and Restoration online and on Houzz, Facebook and Angi.