Northshore Home magazine highlights the best in architectural design, new construction and renovations, interiors, and landscape design.
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30 SPRING 2019 with room for six and plenty of storage. "It was about making the kitchen more open to entertaining, being able to seat more people, and giving it a nice, new, fresh look," says Hanson. That fresh look came in part from the various new fittings and fixtures that the Dowds selected for the space. Hanson says it's unusual for a client to select a whole set of things that are on display in the Heart- wood showroom, but Sue was immediately taken by many items she saw there and used them in the design. Examples are the unusual pull-down faucet from Waterstone featuring a wheel design, dramatic spherical hanging lights from Lucia Lighting in Lynn, and cabinetry from QCCI of New Holland, Pennsyl- vania. "It was kind of easy to work with her, because she just saw everything she liked," says Hanson. While the Dowds were redoing the kitchen, it seemed logical to freshen up the rest of the first floor as well, including a new, darker stain on the floor, new paint, and some new furnishings. "They gave their whole first floor a facelift," says Hanson. "It was kind of a domino effect." Along with the darker floors, they chose elegant colors to give the home a warm but stylish sensibili- ty. Instead of white cabinets, the new ones are a light putty color, and the bottom of the island is a rich, deep gray. In the adjoining hallway, the walls are a lighter gray. Contrasting with that range of earth tones, the bright 3- by 12-inch subway tile that makes up the backsplash is called, appropriately, Starry White (from National Tile in North Reading). The finished project provides a new lease on life for a two-decade-old home that the Dowds plan to stay in for the long haul, even after all four children go off to college. In the meantime—while two of them are still liv- ing at home—the new, inviting kitchen space makes a perfect hub for bustling family life and a beautiful, well-organized space for cooking and entertaining. It is important to the Dowd family to feel that their house is livable, with no spaces too elegant or pre- cious to inhabit fully. "I really wanted my house to be warm and peaceful," says Sue Dowd. "Our house is not a museum. We live in every single room of our house. There are people everywhere." But livable isn't synonymous with cluttered, frumpy, or worn in this home. The Dowds' new space is as livable as it is tidy, tasteful, and fresh. It's the kind of space people are drawn to relax in and enjoy food and company. "I love everything about it," says Sue Dowd. "It's beautiful, it's absolutely gorgeous, but it's also comfortable and warm and inviting." For Resources, see page 106. "I really wanted my house to be warm and peaceful. Our house is not a museum. We live in every single room of our house. There are people everywhere." New built-in cabinetry in the adjacent hallway serves as a pantry. kitchens nshoremag.com/nshorehome/