25 Mar Traditional Style, Modern Functionality – Design Process
For over 80 years of transforming homes, we always start with the same first step, Listening. We take in the clients wants and wishes and then go to work exploring how we can incorporate those elements into the space that’s available. Our expert team of designers and builders creates conceptual design, feasibility and budget presentations to showcase how the clients vision can come to reality.
Recently, we have begun to work on a 1940’s colonial style house located in Jamaica Plain. Our lead designer Madison Cota takes us through the beginning stages of the Design/Build process.
From the second you walk in the door, this 1940s Colonial nestled in the hillside of Jamaica Plain, emanates a cozy sense of home. There are so many original details that have endured – some endearing, like the beautifully crafted mail slot on the front door or the ironing board in the kitchen, and some that shine a light on just how much has changed since the home was built – case and point the kitchen itself. Tucked in the back corner of the house, one singular run of cabinetry (which was originally custom fitted on site – how cool!), closed off from the rest of the living spaces, and just not conducive to modern cooking and entertaining. Although it’s clear this kitchen needs to be brought into the 21st century, we also want to achieve the sense that it belongs with the style of the rest of the home.
The dining room – right off the kitchen – provided some much need extra square footage, and an inspiration to craft our design from. We suggested opening up the wall in between the rooms to create a more integrated space, while defining each space with a decorative wood ceiling beam.
The homeowners had already painted the dining room one of my favorite colors of all time – Mount Saint Anne by Benjamin Moore. So in our design process, we suggested cabinet colors that would be complimentary, and ended up choosing Yorketowne Green by Benjamin Moore for the base cabinetry. This color is incredible, it’s the perfect line between deep blue and deep green! There are also these fantastic original corner built-ins in the dining room, with beautiful mullioned glass doors – which was the impetus for bringing the mullioned glass doors into the kitchen cabinetry as well.
Our final touches included introducing a patinaed oil rubbed bronze for the cabinet hardware. These tied together the mix of traditional style and modern function perfectly, creating a kitchen that felt like it was meant to be there all along.
One of the most rewarding moments throughout the design process is being able show the vision coming to life. Take a look at how our final design for this project came out with our custom 3D Design rendering walkthrough video.
We will be showcasing each phase of this Design/Build project as it progresses. Be sure to follow along on our social accounts and check back for our next blog post soon!
