Northshore Home magazine highlights the best in architectural design, new construction and renovations, interiors, and landscape design.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1176984
73 The mudroom and kitchen offer traditional touches but with a fresh updated look. Curved and swooping forms on the front façade carry the eye, most notably an eyebrow curvature over the front entry's porch and a swooping shingled water table, which deflects water from the face of the exterior walls where the shingles and foundation meet. The front entry, especially the eyebrow curvature, was the most complex part of the construction, How- ell says. It was difficult to construct, especially where the curved porch roof intersects the inwardly curving second-floor walls. "That was a geometric challenge," Howell says. The gracious entry opens onto an expansive first floor with a warm ambiance and enough drama to keep things interesting. Careful thought was invested in con- necting the spaces with visual cues. Paneled wainscot- ing, millwork, and coffered ceilings—of stained quarter- sawn white oak as a nod to early 1900s design—extend into the kitchen, where the same features are integrated into the cabinetry and stonework. Casual entertaining also carries into the kitchen, with its own fireplace and a large peninsula counter that is an ideal gathering spot for friends and family. The children all have their own bedrooms on the second floor, near their parents' master suite. (A second master suite, on the first floor, is for guests' use, with its own bath and balcony.) The focus on friends and family led the homeowners toward clever techniques that expand spaces for enter- taining. The three-season room has removable walls and phantom screens that can disappear to connect indoors to outdoors. The dining room seats up to 35, through the use of table extensions that are located and used around the house. Benches and upholstered chairs provide the seating. No one sits on folding chairs, even at holiday time, a special goal of the homeowners. The interior's neutral color palette mirrors the tones outside, often in subtle fashion. The shades of red-toned boulders in the front yard are reflected in the décor of the living room, which also has a view of the boulders themselves. While the TMS Architects team designed parts of the interior, the homeowner herself worked diligently with them, choosing the furniture, drapes, and other fabrics, as she says, "keeping the flow." The home's special design and detailing didn't go unnoticed in the professional world. Last year, the Builders Association of Greater Boston awarded it a Gold winner in two categories of its PRISM awards: for Best Custom Home over 8,000 square feet and Best Outdoor Living Space. But the most meaningful accolades come from the family and their children. How could they not love it? "We wanted it to feel like a vacation home, with soothing and calming elements," says the mom. "There is no formality." howellcustombuild.com; tmsarchitects.com The kitchen opens to the great room. A pop of color on the island makes a bold statement. The master bedroom offers a home office though a set of French doors.