I’ve been blogging for the last week about the 2017 Newburyport Kitchen Tour here and here. Today, my final post will feature my two favorite houses on the tour. I think they are my favorite because of the use of space, thoughtful kitchen and interior design decisions and a cohesive design style that fits well with the architecture of the homes. And coincidentally, they are both on the same street. Walk with me… This first house is a brick Georgian style Gambrel house that was built in 1997. Recently purchased in 2015, the current owners completed their renovations in 2017. The kitchen design was by B&G Cabinet and the builder was Dockham Builders. You walk through the front door right into the living room on the right and straight ahead is the family room, wrapping around to the dining room on the left and then into the kitchen. An enclosed pantry in the kitchen was removed and a connection was made into the living room, creating a fully open circular first floor wrapping around the central stair case and fireplace. You’ll see this below where the swing door (love the black!) shows the new opening connecting the back hall, side door with the front of the house. Modern leather chairs fit in with classic architectural details quite well. You can see the staircase on the far left of the photo. So, instead of a front to back stair case, this is parallel to the front of the house, making great use of the fairly small space. And then looking back to the front door, there is a custom made wood block sideboard with glass top. It’s a tricky design problem with the front door opens full on into the living room, but they handled it well here. We’re now looking to the back of the house with the front door behind us and the staircase to our right. This is the tv watching zone where the sitting area is facing a wall with built-in cabinets and a large screen tv on the wall. This wall abuts the kitchen and stairwell. And now we step to the right towards the dining room table in the back corner of the house with lovely back yard views. And now the kitchen. This is a pretty small galley kitchen, but it packs a lot of functionality. The 30″ range is on the wall that abuts the TV in the sitting area. The same small blue tile is used throughout the kitchen. Looking back through the kitchen towards the dining area. One detail I really like is that they tiled in the space above and to the sides of the window. It created such a beautiful finished look. This roman shade (there was quite a notable lack of window treatments in most of the homes) is beautifully made, isn’t it? And a cute little corner nook by the side door. This is the area that was a pantry and that door on the right of the photo is the entry into the front living room (with the black swinging door). The details: Flooring: Maple Wall color: Benjamin Moore Gray Tint Appliances: Jenn Air drawer style microwave and 30″ range top Counters: Cambria Newport white quartz Backsplash: glass tile with recycled glass elements Dining chairs: Phillipe Starck’s Masters Chair from Design Within Reach This next house is a Victorian dating to 1885. Forgive the above image, I forgot to take a photo, so this is courtesy of Google. The house looks relatively modest from the front, but the side view really tells the story of a recent addition, which includes the kitchen, by Joppa Design, Inc. The front foyer showcases the beautiful original architectural detailing so well known in Victorian-era homes. This newel post is just exquisite. A side view of the stairs shows a lovely metallic wallpaper with small bench a teal suzani pillow. The color teal is a common thread through out the interior design. The front parlor showcases the original stained glass segments in the windows. These colors are the inspiration for the entire color palette – to wonderful effect. I love the art over the fireplace and how it ties visually to the windows and the teal rug really grounds the space with such a flamboyant color. The dining room boasts the original gas fireplace. Again, we have the stained glass on the windows which sets the tone for the color palette used in the room. It’s a small room, so I though that the Chinese Chippendale chairs are a perfect choice because of how light and airy they are. They also work so beautifully with the trellis patterned wallpaper. And there’s another teal shade on the gorgeous painted sideboard. A second living room sits further back in the house. Again, we see the teal color being used with mostly creamy tones in the leather sofa, hyde hair rug and cocktail table. More powerful art here. The tufted sofa is a wonderful and very historically accurate addition in a Victorian home. And here we’re in the back hall leading to the new kitchen. Note the color of the cabinets. The kitchen is clearly a modern departure from the traditional Victorian of the front of the house. It was difficult to get good photos of the kitchen because there was a group of ladies who plunked themselves in front of the range and would not move along! (a small harrumph). This space is a dry bar created around a chimney. The details: Countertops: Bianco Carrara marble Pendant light: 10-light Bola pendant So, what do you think? As I said, I love both these houses for really having fully designed, thoughtful spaces. I like that they have window treatments (notably lacking in most of the homes on the tour). I only have one complaint about nearly all the homes. I was quoted by House Beautiful in April on this very subject. Can you guess? It’s the overuse of the color gray (grey?). Nearly every home was some shade of gray. Individually, all the houses were lovely, the colors looked nice. They really did. But on a tour when you’re going house to house – let’s just say, the ubiquity is noticeable. My friend Rob who came with me commented on it as well. Everyone is doing it. And where’s the fun in that? Thanks again to the Newburyport PTO for inviting me again to tour the show. I really loved it. All photos by Linda Merrill. Would you like my Favorite Tips for a Well-Decorated Home? Click here!
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