204
Two sets of French doors off the
great room lead onto a large deck for
alfresco dining in warm months.
Cummings also designed a stair-
case leading to the master suite,
which encompasses a bedroom, a
dressing room with built-in cabi-
nets and closets—for the ultimate
in organization—and a luxuri-
ous bathroom. A rustic sliding
barn door separates the bath and
bedroom. Cummings carried the
look of the exposed timber and
plastered walls into the bedroom
and chose to add wide horizontal
board to the bathroom walls and
marble flooring, as well as a mar-
ble two-sink vanity, a white claw-
foot tub, and a walk-in shower.
"We mixed a few styles into this
space—Victorian and Deco—and
really had fun with the design,"
notes Cummings. The result is a
large, comfortable, cheery living
CO N TAC T
Cummings
Architects
87 Central St.
Ipswich
978-356-5026
cummings
architects.com
space for this growing family.
"If a building can be saved and
modified to fit modern needs, why
not do that?" says Cummings. "It's
inherently sustainable to renovate
an existing building rather than
tear it downȃthe firstgrowth wood
in many of these old barns is irre-
placeable. It is much stronger than
harvested woods today."
Although Cummings often works
with historical buildings, he is not
adhering to yesterday's history to
re-create the past. "People simply
don't live the same way they did
100 years ago," he says. "I think in
a modern way, which doesn't limit
me. If it is good design, it can tran-
scend time. It can be fresh and new
and you're not a slave to a particu-
lar vernacular."
Cummings demonstrates his phi-
losophy beautifully by reviving this
old barn for modern use.
Each room
comprises deftly
organized, tastefully
appointed spaces.
For resources,
see page 225
