LAST HOME
Location: Nonquitt, Massachusetts Size: Main cabin: 1,100 square feet (102 square meters); one bedroom, 1½ bathrooms. Guest cabin: 680 square feet (63 square meters); two bedrooms plus sleeping loft, one bathroom Architect: Matthew Moger of Moger Mehrhof Architects This property houses two cabins: the larger main cabin and another for guests. This photo shows the guest cabin, which faces Buzzards Bay. The beach is just three to four minutes away by foot directly through the meadow.
To the left of the refrigerator, waxed blackened-steel doors open to a pantry and a small coat closet. The homeowner, an artist, uses the magnetic doors as a place to keep small drawings, sketches and postcards. “The doors are less cold and industrial-looking than the refrigerator,” Freeman says. “They’re really more of a bronze color and add a lot of warmth and texture to the kitchen.”
contractor, Karlstrom Associates, found some surprises in terms of the structural work the home would need. So the homeowner hired architect Theresa Freeman, who gave the floating home a makeover with new wood shingles on the exterior. Inside, custom glass folding doors provide access to the deck and maximize the view of the University of Washington across the water. The floors are salvaged teak.
Pitts relocated the kitchen from the opposite corner of the house to create an open, flowing floor plan. The nearby doorway — previously the main entrance to the home — now leads out onto a grilling deck. A coat of Benjamin Moore Gray Mist on the walls brightens up the kitchen and adjoining living area.
The designer also gave the exterior a face-lift. “We redid the exterior to have a more current feel,” Pitts says. The exterior is now covered in Hardiplank siding painted a tranquil blue-gray. Pitts added custom brackets and a canopy above the door, along with an ornate circular window above to create a welcoming new entry.
Sayler | Owens | Kerr design studio Sayler hired a surveyor to figure out where they could build on the point, and after the surveyor had staked out the setbacks, they were left with a 10-sided shape. Sayler thought it would make for a perfect layout. “I said to Chuck and Pam, ‘You see these stakes? That’s your floor plan,’” he says. “I wanted to make it not be recognizable as a house, something that didn’t have any clues, where people would see it and say, ‘What is that? Is it a roof?’”
Cabin at a Glance Who stays here: A couple from Chicago Location: Pinedale, Wyoming Size: 3,161 square feet (294 square meters); 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms Design team: Eric Logan of Carney Logan Burke Architects (architecture) and Nina Hancock, Hancock & Hancock (interior design)
This photo shows the new kitchen and adjoining living area. Soft gray paint (Gray Mist, Benjamin Moore) brightens the open floor plan. Board-and-batten siding on the range hood and walls adds charm to the home.
Consider conversational distances. No matter how big your living room, there’s a limit to how large a seating group can be and still make sense for intimate conversation and cozy gatherings. A good distance between seats to facilitate conversation is about 8 feet, meaning if you have several sofas or a sofa and side chairs, the seating area should have a diameter of 8 feet, or 4 feet out from the center.
mix leather chairs with a fabric sofa or vice versa,
Contrast your neutrals. Beyond including some white and some black, decorating a living room with a variety of contrasting neutrals goes a long way toward making it feel rich and welcoming. In this example, the white walls, caramel leather, brass hardware, gray sofa and blue-gray cabinets all contrast with one another, which highlights their different finishes and undertones. This makes the palette feel rich even before other key elements, such as color, pattern and texture, are added.
wallpaper
Creams and off-whites. Those creamy neutrals that you may have thought had been forever tossed aside for 50 shades of gray didn’t really go away. They were just taking a little break, and now they are rejuvenated and ready to rule again. Tile: Ragno
floor tiles
The industrial look of concrete is still going strong, and its look is widely available in porcelain tile in a range of sizes. Tile: Stonecrete collection, StonePeak Ceramics
Parquet. The geometric and blocky look of parquet is making a comeback. Tile offers a durable, low-maintenance way to get the look of this classic wood flooring material, particularly in rooms where the floors take a beating from lots of foot traffic, sand or moisture. Tile: Woodland collection, Equipe Cerámicas; browse wood-look tiles
Eclectic Living Room by Bambù / Olivier Bourdon Bambù / Olivier Bourdon Entering the living room is a striking experience. On the wall, a huge wallpaper mural immerses the viewer in the light that is so characteristic of Dutch Golden Age paintings by artists like Johannes Vermeer and Pieter van Ruijven. Bourdon found the brass coffee table with a green marble top at an auction for about $250. Mural: Au Fil des Couleurs; jute rug: AMPM
floor
Lovely woodsy kitchen
“We’ve noticed when you open up a design magazine and you look at the pictures, it’s very clean, minimal, less is more,” says Brioza, pictured with Krasinski. “But every day, I need stuff around.”
The other side. On the kitchen’s opposite wall, the couple have shelves and furniture pieces that they use for storage, but they find that they still need more. Future plans include replacing the cool eclectic cabinetry on the west wall of the kitchen with what Brioza dubs a “bench-denza” — a seating bench with an integrated multipurpose cabinet that stores platters, cookbooks, wine and a cocktail bar. Notably, the kitchen has no microwave. Krasinski says she prefers to reheat leftovers in a pan.
Seating options. In addition to the island stools, a table and chairs provide more seating. The island tends to be the first choice for snacks and homework time, but the family uses all the seats, Krasinski says. Ceiling. During the remodel, the homeowners discovered that the original ceiling was redwood. Both Brioza and Krasinski wanted to keep it, but that would expose their electrical wiring. So they covered the original ceiling with drywall and layered it with 1-by-1-inch pine boards in a symmetrical pattern that subtly adds another design element to their kitchen.
Lauren Edith Andersen, Photographer Floor tile. Hardwood runs throughout the house, and Brioza thought that breaking it up with tile would be interesting. He wanted to add a black-and-white element as an homage to old French kitchens and chose this pattern to bring what he describes as a “classic” feel to the kitchen. The stools stand on the opposite side of the island from the range, where they won’t get in the way. Tile: Agadir, Mexican collection, Cement Tile Shop; stools: Oldani Art Studio
Appliances. Because they work in commercial kitchens surrounded by stainless steel, Brioza and Kasinski decided to forgo that material in their home, except for the dishwasher. Their 48-inch BlueStar range is powder-coated gray and has copper accents. The large cooking surface has eight burners. But for Krasinski, one of the best things about the setup is the second, smaller oven. For intimate family meals, it heats up in half the time. The 36-inch wide turquoise refrigerator was inspired by a visit to glass artist Dale Chihuly’s studio; he had 1950s turquoise appliances that Brioza photographed. “It’s a bold color, in a soft way. And we wanted something bold,” Brioza says.
Countertop and backsplash. Originally, Kasinski and Brioza envisioned a super black countertop for their kitchen, but when they saw a slab, they felt that it looked too much like a permanent marker. Instead, they chose Virginia Black Satin, a black granite with faint swirls of white that has a textured matte finish. They extended the granite 36 inches up the wall as the backsplash.
Pantry. To the left of the open shelving and sink area stands the pantry. Again, this is organized with function in mind. “The functionality is that you put things in based on frequency; it’s the frequency of use. If you’re using it all the time, you want it to be very easy and very accessible,” Brioza says.
Choosing open shelving rather than cabinets to the left of the range was another nod to efficiency. Instead of opening a door, getting the item out and then closing the door, the homeowners simply grab the item off the shelf and start using it. Plus, “open shelves allows a sense of artistry and organization in decorating the shelves since they are exposed,” Brioza says. Cleanup sink. Krasinski had lived in apartments with double sinks that were too small to fit large pots. So for the main cleanup sink, she selected a 30-inch single bowl. (A smaller prep sink is located in the island.) Soap niche. Instead of an undercounter soap dispenser, there’s a niche for corralling liquid soap and sponges. Pull-down faucet: One collection, Kallista; dishwasher: Bosch; dishware: Hasami Porcelain; custom white oak cabinets: Gao’s Cabinets
Condiments. Because the couple cook every day, they keep the seasonings and oils they use most often next to the range.
Knives. The chefs like to store their knives on a magnetic knife holder, where they can easily access them. Knife holder: Million and Clark;
Designed to be a workhorse, the island is 37 inches from the range, allowing Brioza to turn around and immediately access the spice drawer and kitchen tools. If your spices aren’t accessible, they won’t be used, Krasinski says.
Pot rack. For example, in lieu of storing their pots and pans in the deep drawers next to the range, the couple prefer to use a hanging rack. They decided that deep drawers required too many steps: opening the drawer, unstacking pans to reach the right one, restacking pans and finally closing the drawer. Instead, they can simply grab the needed pot off the rack. Island. Brioza and Krasinski hand-selected the 10-foot cypress slab for their custom island from Arborica, a local reclaimed-wood lumberyard. The body of the island is powder-coated to match the range across from it. Pot rack: Oldani Art Studio; browse hanging pot racks
Cooktop zone. With efficiency as the kitchen layout’s guiding principle, the area by the range and double oven has frequently used supplies at the ready. Open shelving, a knife rack and spices nearby help the cooks reach less and save steps. Range and refrigerator: BlueStar; hood: Zephyr
The chefs chose the island’s open style for its functionality. The open setup means they can see and readily access their small appliances.
a bronze drainboard, shown at the end of the island in this photo. The bronze inlay will eventually take on a patina and add another organic element to their kitchen.
fireplace
fireplace, simplicity, place to sit and read
ange. Sarah didn’t want a range hood breaking up the view, so she added a ceiling unit. She says grease on the windows hasn’t been an issue in six months of use. “I’m pretty neat when I cook, and if it’s splattering, it’s usually on the front burner,” she says. “It might splatter all over the floor, but that’s easy enough to clean up.” Cabinets. Sarah wanted light-colored cabinets but didn’t want pure white or gray. She found the right balance of beige and gray in Light Pewter by Benjamin Moore.
The side yard is nestled between the addition and the freestanding garage. Walters mounted planters on the garage wall (shown here) to dress up the space. “The finish on the fire pit inspired us to have the metalworker make them out of Cor-Ten steel,” she says. The planters sit on galvanized plumbing pipes that coordinate with the trellis structure opposite.
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