Northshore Home magazine highlights the best in architectural design, new construction and renovations, interiors, and landscape design.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1463863
Royal Barry Wills was one of the country's most popular architectural firms. Wills, a Massachusetts native and MIT graduate, designed houses with livability and common-sense charm in mind. His plans—available for "stock" purchase and regularly advertised—resulted in well-proportioned residences with a custom feel but attainable cost. Houses bearing his stamp are still highly valued today. For Jenn Sanborn, principal of Sacris Design, a full-service interior architecture and design firm, it was a thrill to reimagine such a classic example of the architect's work. Her clients spotted the Royal Barry Wills design—a symmetrical Cape with large central chimney and dormers—in Newburyport during a real estate hunt. "They were searching for a home with some land in a walkable neighborhood, one where they could age in place with a first-floor primary suite," says Sanborn. Eyeing the Cape on a corner lot, they were hopeful about its potential. Sanborn agreed that, with some thoughtful construction, the house could deliver all the features on their wish list. Straight out of the pages of Houses for Good Living, Wills's 1947 catalog of house styles, the home was well cared for by the previous owners and largely unchanged. Downstairs was a simple configuration of living room, dining room, kitchen, and half bath. Upstairs, it had 90 During the 1950s, Above, Now, post- renovation, the Cape's living room connects directly with the client's dream kitchen beyond. Left, Sanborn transitioned a former breezeway into a second bay for the garage. Opposite page, clockwise from above right, Open shelving and a fabric skirt continue the kitchen's cottage feel into the pantry. Brass sconces by Visual Comfort are practical but also eye- catching. Glass-fronted cabinets showcase china and dishware in lieu of a more traditional hutch. Lloyd Flanders wicker furniture provides charm in the three-season porch. The powder room is dressed in a pretty patterned paper.