Northshore Home magazine highlights the best in architectural design, new construction and renovations, interiors, and landscape design.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1206063
24 WINTER 2020 F OR YEARS, EL AINE AND RICH TESTA LIVED WITH AN outdated kitchen in their North Andover Colonial. It was a too-small U-shaped affair with the classic "golden oak" cabinets of the 1980s. Elaine is an avid cook and entertainer, and it was always difficult hosting dinner parties for 30 out of a kitchen that begged for wholesale refurbishment. But for a long time the homeowners put off the project. They had kids at home and then kids in college, and the expense of a kitchen renovation seemed too much. The couple watched as Rich's brother, Jim Testa, a contractor in North Andover, helped all of his other siblings redo their kitchens. At times, Rich and Elaine toyed with the idea of doing a lower-budget version of their dream renova- tion—replacing cabinetry, appliances, and countertops kitchens nshoremag.com/nshorehome/ A large center island is perfect for prep work as well as entertaining guests. while keeping the layout the same. But every time they discussed it, they found themselves not quite ready to take the plunge. Whenever they did it, they wanted it to live up to a grander vision. Then, finally, the time was right. Appliances had started breaking down, and the financial picture was falling into place. They called Jim, who brought in Nancy Hanson and Sherry Croft of Danvers-based Heartwood Kitchens, the designers he had worked with on his other siblings' kitchens. Hanson and Croft specialize in kitchen layout, and they saw immediately that the Testas' kitchen needed not only an entire facelift but also a different floor plan. "Sometimes we do kitchens over that really aren't that bad, but this was a bad one," Hanson remembers. "It was old—1980s, very dated. And it was really tight-feel-