Building in Josh McDonough's Genes
Story by John Budris
Photography by Charlie Utz

With two generations of architects on one side of his family, and an equal gravity of contractors on the other, Josh McDonough was perfectly poised for a War of the Roses when he came of age to start a career.

Little wonder he wanted to be a chef.

"When I first came to the Vineyard that was my goal, I just wanted to cook and get as far away from carpentry as I could," McDonough says, "Except for a short summer in the kitchen of the Zapotec, that intention did not last very long."

The pull of his many years on construction jobsites and near drafting tables as boy, teen and young man was simply too strong, and he soon found himself in the orbit of Vineyard builders.

After working alongside some of the Islands most renowned builders, McDonough's time to lead had come. He founded McDonough & Co. in 1996 and assembled his own crew of respected craftsmen.

More than a decade later, one of his Edgartown projects in particular - now currently owned by the Bernstein family of Delray Beach, Florida - best illustrates the kind of improvisational skills his twin backgrounds provided.

At the outset, the original Civil War era home was in McDonough's words, "no treasure." The previous owners had first only wanted some moderate renovation and restoration. But as the work began, and the owners' plans expanded, the takedown of one wall became two, then four. And the cascade commenced floor-by-floor, until the entire interior of the home - except the bearing skeleton - was in the dumpster.

And the end was not in sight. By the time the transformation finished 24 months later, even the exterior walls, roof and foundation had been replaced - along with several architects. "I would say this experience was a little bit like making a jazz music album," says McDonough. "Where you're not quite sure what the finished recording will sound like, but you're real happy when you listen to the playback."

A walk around and through the home confirms the harmonic results. The lot itself provided the first challenge. Because the foundation footprint had to stay the same, the home hugged the property lines and rose up only a few feet from the adjoining houses. This proximity created a dual problem for privacy and light.

Continue