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the magazine of splendid homes and gardens • november/december 2010
new england
www.designnewengland.com$4.99 • DISPLAY UNTIL JAN, 4, 2011
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➤ RICH MATERIALS FILL THE MODERN HOUSE WITH OLD-FASHIONED WARMTH
nature’sA L L U R E
• • • fourth anniversary issue!
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WE DON’T BUILD THEMLIKE YOU’RE USED TO
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GOLD
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BL
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Seven hot designers set the stage at
The Residences at W Boston.
It’s opening night for Midtown’s one and only, totally fabulous
Residences at W Boston! Seven of the city’s ace designers
have turned the 20th floor into a spectacular, how-can-you-
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unfurnished, turn-key or customized. It’s a rare, only-at-W
opportunity, and it’s one more reason why life at
The Residences at W Boston gets a big standing O.
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Studios to Penthouses, $450,000 to $4,500,000 Please call 617.267.2228 for an appointment The Residences at W Boston Welcome Center 110 Stuart Street wbostonresidences.com
Exclusive Sales & Marketing: Otis & Ahearn • Developer: Sawyer Enterprises
The design concepts for the “inspired concepts” collection of model residences at The Residences at W Boston, including all loose furnishings and certain fixtures and finishes, were entirely conceived by the participating designers. Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., W Hotels and their affiliates were not involved in developing the design concepts or selecting such furnishings, fixtures and finishes for the unit and make no representations that they are consistent with the image, quality, design standards and expectations of the W Brand.
A SW Boston Hotel Venture LLC project. The Residences at W Boston are not owned, developed or sold by Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide., Inc., or their affiliates. SW Boston Hotel Venture LLC uses the W® trademarks and trade names under a license from Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. This is not an offer to sell or solicitation of offers to buy, nor is any offer or solicitation made where prohibited by law. The statements set forth herein are summary in nature and should not be relied upon. A prospective purchaser should refer to the entire set of documents provided by SW Boston Hotel Venture LLC and should seek competent legal advice in connection therewith. Equal housing opportunity.
PHOTO CREDITS; Photography by Michael J Lee Photography; Mark Cristophi’s unit by Eric Roth Photography
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featuring: martene chair in supple dark chocolate leather ($2450) $1745. In-stock, ready for quick delivery.
SEATING’S GREETINGS.
BOSTON 142 Berkeley Street Boston, MA 02116 / Tel: 617.266.0075 / www.mgbwboston.comNATICK 395 Worcester Street, Route 9 Natick, MA 01760 / Tel: 508.650.1400 / www.mgbwnatick.com
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Poggenpohl Kitchen Design Studio, 135 Newbury Street, Boston, MA, Tel. 617/236 5253 ext.*13, [email protected], www.boston.poggenpohl.com
www.poggenpohl.com
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Boston 617.268.7460 • Showroom, One Design Center Place, Suite 627 • Boston, MA
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Call 800 • 842• 5275 for an appointment in our working kitchen showrooms 393 Fortune Boulevard, Milford, MA • 64 South Main Street, South Norwalk CT
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On the Covera warm, modern space by erling falck.photo by eric roth. story, page 70.
6 D E S I G N N E W E N G L A N D • N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0
features november/december 2010
“ I stayed with neutrals. It’s a nice way to have a lasting effect and to bring in color with smaller accessories.”—interior designer john stefanon
63 Take Note • Six singular talentsOutstanding professionals whose compelling work in a variety of disciplines made us put down our pens.
70 Architecture • Optimal OutlookA retired couple replaces their summer retreat with a year-round house built for endless views.
76 Interiors • Comfort & StyleA touch of whimsy energizes designer John Stefanon’s sophisticated interiors.
84 Architecture • Simple PoetryOn a stunning but challenging site, architect and clients create a harmony of form and function.
92 Homegrown • Rhody WarmRhode Island sheep farmers take a waste-not, want-not approach to surplus wool, turning out unique, handsome all-natural blankets.
ERIC
RO
TH76
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With construction costs at historic lows, now is the perfect time to start someday today with a Woodmeister-crafted home or project… at an exceptional value you’ll love.
Call us to discover how more than ever, someday is today.
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SOMEDAY STARTS TODAY.
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8 D E S I G N N E W E N G L A N D • N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0
18 3225
SIMPLY SILVER • In 1904, Danish silversmith Georg Jensen (1866–1935) established his namesake company, which has been a staple for sleek, modern, and timeless silverware ever since. So, naturally, it was one of the fi rst places we looked when choosing fl atware to inspire place settings. Our pick: the strikingly clean, organic Caravel collection designed in 1957 by Henning Koppel (1918–1981), which won the prestigious Der goldene Löffel award in 1963. For evidence of its eternal appeal and versatility, turn to Selections (Page 25).
departments november/december 2010
44 56
10 Editor’s Note
12 Publisher’s Note
18 visit • Elizabeth HourihanAs work and family overlap, organization and a clear head facilitate this designer’s heart-and-soul agenda.
25 selections • Gather round the table Inspired, unexpected table settings.
32 kitchen • Well-Worn With painted blue cabinets and natural materials, this renovated great room fi ts a family’s lifestyle like a favorite pair of jeans.
38 bath • A Room of Her Own Space, views, and refi ned fi nishes combine to create a tranquil retreat for the lady of the house.
44 places • Federal Reserve The new wing of Andover’s Addison Gallery adds much-needed space and amenities while respecting its traditional lines and intimate size.
50 art • Turning Point The Center for Maine Contemporary Art, led by new director Suzette McAvoy, takes on a revamped, of-the-moment mission.
56 icon • Hands-On Approach The legacy of an education pioneer continues as the North Bennet Street School celebrates 125 years of training fi ne craftspeople.
60 green essentials • Refi ned recycled tiles and crafty wrapping tricks.
98 compendium • Hosting perfection and student art sales.
100 advertiser index
102 real estate • What’s mine is yours Homeowners are opening their doors and handing over their keys for the latest in travel trends, the house swap.
104 giving back • Sustaining Grace The natural beauty of a Honduran hilltop inspires the design of a spiritual retreat that will help support a community.
60
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NanaWall
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early in my publishing career (actually it was my very fi rst real reporting assignment), my editor, a no-nonsense guy named Al Sylvia Sr. (not to be confused with the managing editor, Al Jr., who had hired me with just one journalism course on my English-major’s résumé), asked me what I was going to write. He had sent me out to cover the local school committee meeting, which, in small-town New England, where the weekly North Reading Transcript resides, is a more important beat than covering the cops, the local sports teams, and town hall combined.
I cannot begin to describe the look on his face when I said, “Nothing. Nothing really happened at the meeting,” but I’m sure the thought “What have I done hiring this kid?” crossed his mind. He had a way of tilting his head and squint-ing his eyes that could be a prelude to a fi rm dressing-down or a snarky wisecrack. This time, there was the tilt and the squint and then a simple “OK.” I didn’t know it then, but that act of trust was his way of mentoring me. If I had gotten it wrong (which, lucky for me, I didn’t) and missed the story, our arch-competitor, the daily Eagle-Tribune, would have had it and a lesson would have been learned — by both of us.
It was just the beginning of several years of guidance under Big Al’s wing, and it taught me that a good mentor has faith in his “mentee” and sometimes has to let her walk on her own, even if there might be a stumble or a fall along the way.
With this, our fourth anniversary issue, we are launching our Mentors In Design (or MIDDIES) program to honor those who share their wisdom in every corner of the design fi eld. To get more infor-mation and a nomination form, e-mail [email protected]. Big Al doesn’t do design, so I can’t nominate him, but I look forward to hearing about other mentors who took a leap of faith.
JOEL
BEN
JAM
IN
from the editor
gail ravgiala, editor
CONTRIBUTORS
lynda sutton is a Rhode Island-based freelance photo stylist and magazine fi eld editor with a soft-spot for sheep. For the last 30 years, she and her husband, Bob Sutton, have owned a small fl ock, and now contribute wool each year to the Rhody Warm blanket — though, she makes sure to reserve enough batting to make her own quilts. rhody warm, page 92.
john budris, founding editor of Vineyard Style Magazine, took a break from restoring his own 1840 farmhouse in New Brunswick to profi le an unabashedly contemporary Maine home by Bruce Norelius. simple poety, page 84. Once his restoration is complete, he’ll be glad to make a swap for a cottage in Tuscany. what’s mine is yours, page 102.
jenna talbott is the creative force behind all things visual in Design New England. Sad for us, but a new challenge for her, she is signing off with this, our fourth anniversary issue. As founding art director, she feels her “baby” has grown and is ready for another’s guiding hand — and she is ready to move on to new frontiers in the media world she loves.
KELL
Y D
AVID
SON
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ROOMSCAPES LUXURY DESIGN CENTER
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1 Leslie Fine, Dawn Carrol, Andie Day, Cindy Laidlaw, Stephen Twombly, Alan Weiner, Rosmary Porto, and Patti Austin at the Poggenpohl Boston Showroom. 2 “real solutions” seminars: At Wolfer’s Lighting: Chris Zizza, Susan Arnold, Doug Hanna, Stephen Twombly. 3 At Stone Technologies: Stephen Twombly, Steve Howell, Susan Howell, John Kelsey, Sally Wilson, Glenn Murray. 4 At Westborough Design Center: Kate LaCount, Paul Ardente, Stephen Twombly, Claudette Andrew, Al Lizotte. 5 chef ducrot cooking at the Roomscapes Kitchen Concepts Cooking School. 6 Chef Ducrot’s stuffed mushroom appetizers. 7 “real solutions” seminar at the Ligne Roset Boston showroom.
with this issue, DESIGN NEW ENGLAND steps into its fifth year of pub-lication. It has been quite a ride, and we want to celebrate by thanking our readers and the members of the New England design community for their support and inspiration.
We also want to reaffi rm our commitment to educating our readers, both through the pages of the magazine and through our home design sem-inar series. Launched in the fall of 2007, these free forums have allowed us to partner with leaders in the fi eld of home design and building to give consumers insight into the design process as well as a look at new products, innovations, and technologies. This fall, we completed our 2010 series, “Real Solutions for the Home,” with four workshops around the region that covered topics from kitchen and bath design to going green to sorting out new materials and concepts.
In addition, we applaud the generosity of spirit shown by estab-lished members of the design community who mentor newcomers in the fi eld. We see it everywhere. From construction sites to showrooms, from design offi ces to work rooms, there is a sharing not only of knowl-edge but also of the intangible insights that only the seasoned player can impart to the rookie. Design New England will highlight the practice with our Mentors In Design (MIDDIES) recognition program announced at our November anniversary celebration. A highlight of the evening was Grammy Award-winner Patti Austin, who partnered with her protégé on “Over My Shoulder,” a song about mentoring co-written by Boston designer Dawn Carrol of Cumar Inc., and the founder of the Over My Shoulder Foundation, an organization dedicated to promoting mentoring.
As the holiday season approaches, it is time to look forward and to look back. At Design New England, we gratefully refl ect on the good will and support of our advertisers and readers and wish all of you health and happiness as you celebrate with your friends and family. We can’t wait for another year of exploring all that is old and new in the splendid homes and gardens of New England.
RUSS
MEZ
IKO
FSKY
stephen twombly, publisher
from the publisher
1
12 D E S I G N N E W E N G L A N D • N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0
2 3
4 5 6 7
patti austin (left) with Stephen Twombly and Poggenpohl showroom manager, Rosemary Porto.
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FINE BUILDERS
617-445-4323paynebouchier.com
General ContractingCustom Stairs
CabinetworkRenovationRestoration
Preservation
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DES I GNnew england
Editor Gail Ravgiala [email protected]
Art Director Jenna Talbott [email protected]
Associate Editor Danielle [email protected]
contributing editors
Editor-at-Large Jill Connors
Style & Interiors Estelle Bond Guralnick
Renovation & Architecture Bruce Irving
contributing photographersSandy Agrafi otis, Trent Bell, Joel Benjamin, Dave Henderson, Greg Premru, Nat Rea, Eric Roth, Cheryle St. Onge, Peter Vanderwarker, Jim Westphalen
contributing writersEdgar Allen Beem, John Budris, Kathleen James, William Morgan, Molly Jane Quinn, Jan Shephard, Lynda Sutton, Deborah Weisgall
contributing copy editorsBarbara Pattison, Michael Trotman
internLaura Greene
To advertise: 617-929-2706To subscribe: 800-591-8802email: [email protected]
ALL REAL ESTATE ADVERTISING IN THIS MAGAZINE IS SUBJECT TO THE FEDERAL FAIR HOUSING ACT OF 1968, THE MASSACHUSETTS ANTI DISCRIMINATION ACT AND THE BOSTON & CAMBRIDGE FAIR HOUSING ORDINANCES, WHICH MAKE IT ILLEGAL TO ADVERTISE ANY PREFERENCE, LIMITATION OR DISCRIMINATION BASED ON RACE, COLOR, RELIGION, SEX, HANDICAP, FAMILIAL STATUS, NATIONAL ORIGIN, ANCESTRY, AGE, CHILDREN, MARITAL STATUS, SEXUAL ORIENTATION, VETERANS STATUS, OR SOURCE OF INCOME OR ANY INTENTION TO MAKE ANY SUCH PREFERENCE, LIMITATION OR DISCRIMINATION. THIS MAGAZINE WILL NOT KNOWINGLY ACCEPT ANY ADVERTISING FOR REAL ESTATE THAT IS IN VIOLATION OF THE LAW. OUR READERS ARE HEREBY INFORMED THAT ALL DWELLINGS ADVERTISED IN THIS MAGAZINE ARE
AVAILABLE ON AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY BASIS. TO COMPLAIN OF DISCRIMINATION CALL HUD TOLL FREE AT 1-800-669-9777. FOR THE N.E. AREA CALL HUD AT 617-994-8335.THE TOLL-FREE NUMBER FOR THE HEARING IMPAIRED IS 1-800-927-9275.
Publisher Stephen D. [email protected]
Account Executives Thomas J. Giovanniello, [email protected]
Wendy [email protected]
Project Director Thomas F. X. [email protected]
boston globe media
President Christopher M. Mayer
Chief Advertising Offi cer Lisa DeSistoExecutive Director, Classifi ed Advertising Jason Kissell
acknowledgmentsBoston Globe Account Executives Wayne A. Baker, Mary Bentson, Mike DeLello, Arlene Evans, Jim Geraghty, Julie Gilbert, Joanne Hall, Bruce MacDonald, Linda Maclean, Tom Pilla, Diane Wanders Advertising Managers Joseph R. Brancaleone, Mary Kelly, Anthony Merullo, Ted Peterson, Elizabeth SucherDistribution Mark Anastas, Roy Cramond, Tew Chou, Kevin McGue, Nazrudeen Mohammed, Robert Saurer, Yu WangMarketing Lisa Baker, Kristin Bedard, Kathy Colafemina, Susan DiManno, Keith Dolan, Scott Halstead, David Prior, Vanessa Riggio, Jane Shclover, Susan SutliffeProduction Support Susan Crehan, Sean P. Keohan, Kerol Lundy, Kelly Mallebranche, Irene Mauch,Elisabeth Murphy, Steven O’Connell, Jeffrey Zaks, Mary Ellen ZarroAdministrative Jean Kong
Design New England is published every other month by
Box 55819Boston, MA 02205-5819
In addition to newsstand and subscription sales, complimentary copies of Design New England have been mailed to select households throughout the Greater Boston region.
Copyright © 2010 Boston Globe MediaPrinted by The Lane Press Inc.
Design ConstructionRestorations Additions Remodels
781.335.4275THEHOLLANDCOMPANIES.COM
theHOLLANDCOMPANIES
please recycle this magazine
2008
2009 Best Shelter Magazine2010 Best Shelter Magazine
TM@DesignNE
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6 1 7 - 4 9 2 - 2 8 0 8 w w w . l o m b a r d i d e s i g n . c o m
C a m b r i d g e . C h a t h a m . P a l m B e a c h
Photo: Warren Patterson
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Who Says We’re the Best?
You Do.+
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Visit www.NewEnglandMoves.com to find a sales associate who will get you home.
*In New England based on Compete.com rankings. **Based on MLSPIN for SF, CC, LD, MF. ©2010 Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. Coldwell Banker is a registered trademark licensed to Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC. An Equal Opportunity Employer. Equal Housing. Owned and operated by NRT LLC. RE18197 10/10
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www.landryandarcar i .com
SALEM MA 63 FLINT ST. 800-649-5909 • BOSTON 333 STUART ST. 617-399-6500
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18 D E S I G N N E W E N G L A N D • N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0
written by estelle bond guralnick • photography by eric roth
ELIZABETH HOURIHAN • As work and family overlap, organization and a clear head facilitate this designer’s heart-and-soul agenda
visit
Interior designer elizabeth hourihan’s living room is a rarity. A serenely sophisticated space, it’s furnished for multitasking by all ages, especially for her 4-year-old twin daughters and 8-year-old son, and occasionally for clients who visit on days when she works from home. “The room is for family, friends, and
work, and everyone seems to enjoy it,” says Hourihan (pro-nounced HOW-er-han). “No TV, just musical instruments to play, board games, Lincoln Logs, Thomas the train, wooden letters, Spanish lessons once a week. I like the idea of a relaxed learning environment for my children. And, of course, it has its adult moments, too.”
Her “non-color” palette — neutral gray, lots of white, warm yet pale tones in fabrics and rug, and bleached or light-painted wood for a calm backdrop for her art, antiques, and accessories — is a counterintuitive feat. “People tend to think that a light or white color scheme is not child-friendly, but
most of the fabrics are washable slipcovers, so things can always look fresh,” she says. “And I avoid clutter by being very organized. In the long run, that makes life easier for everyone.”
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N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 • D E S I G N N E W E N G L A N D 19
in the living room, Elizabeth Hourihan’s desk is a sentimental treasure — it was the family kitchen table when she was growing up. She and son Liam (facing page) take a break in the all-purpose room. A weathered-wood carrier (facingpage, bottom) holds plants and handcrafted items.
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visit elizabeth hourihan
the signed daum glass light fi xture hanging above the dining room table was Hourihan’s fi rst antique purchase at a Sotheby’s auction when she was 25 years old.
Custom DesignsI N C O R P O R A T E D
RESIDENTIALBUILDERS
WAYLAND, MA 508.358.5908
www.customedesignsinc.com
Hourihan describes herself as a “heart-and-soul designer,” the kind of person who enjoys having her family and work life overlap. She’s a full-time working mother: three days at the offi ce, two days from home. “The truth is, my mind never stops
working at fi ve,” she says. “I’m detail-oriented, jug-gle a lot, give it my best. Problem solving suits my temperament.”
Always adventurous, Hourihan earned a bach-elor’s degree in architecture but segued into interior design during a six-year stint at her fi rst job at an architecture fi rm in Manhattan. While there, she met her husband, Brian Hourihan, on the tennis courts in Central Park. It was love at fi rst sight: They were engaged in two months and married a year later. When his job took them to Washington, D.C., she became top assistant to design doyenne Mary Douglas Drysdale, whose much-published work in high-end spaces earns endless accolades. “We shared an architectural background and had great mutual respect,” says Hourihan. “It was an invalu-able insider learning experience for me.”
In 2002, Brian’s job as in-house lawyer for a Boston investment firm brought them to Massachusetts. At fi rst, they lived in Manchester- by-the-Sea, a period during which their son was born and Elizabeth was hired to establish an inte-rior design department at Carpenter & MacNeille, an award-winning design/build company in Essex. Six years ago, the Hourihans moved into an archi-tect-designed house built only four years earlier in
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visit elizabeth hourihan
2008 Best of Boston®: Best Contractor 2008, 2009 Best of Boston® Home: Best Builder 2010 Best of Boston® Home: Modern Contractor
www.thoughtforms-corp.com 978.263.6019Thoughtforms
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nearby woodsy Wenham. At 3,500 square feet, the house was well sited, spacious, and had exceptional details, including 9-foot ceilings, long windows, front and back staircases, and a separate children’s wing. Only the fl oor plan needed some tweaking.
True to her efficient style, a crew from Carpenter & MacNeille was ready on move-in day to implement her hand-drafted changes. Walls enclos-ing a small library that jutted oddly into the living room were eliminated to create an expansive living space. In the dining room, a small corner door to the kitchen was closed off, making way for new French doors centered on the same wall, fl ooding light into both spaces. Kitchen cabinets were moved around to be less obtrusive, and both oven and microwave were relocated under a new white marble counter-top on the expanded island. “I just played around cosmetically with the space so that it seems larger and more usable, but we certainly didn’t have to start from scratch,” Hourihan says.
Now for the next big question: Why use a “non-color” palette for herself when a recent project — alive with color and pattern — was success-ful enough to be featured in Architectural Digest (February 2010)? “Maybe because I have a degree in architecture, I see interiors in a different light than most designers. Every time I do a new project, I start fresh. No repetition.” She adds: “At home, I love the purity of my background. Who knows? Maybe having a clear mind does help in solving others’ needs.”
upper cabinets were repositioned to allow space for the large decorative star. “I tried for a kitchen that doesn’t look too kitcheny,” Hourihan says.
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Live beautifully.BBDO
Ligne Roset 200 Boylston Street Boston (Park Square Side of the Four Seasons Hotel) (617) 451-2212 lignerosetboston.com This model and many others in stock for quick delivery.
PUMPKIN armchair. Design: Pierre Paulin.
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21A Trotter Drive | Medway MA 02053800.794.5480 | 508.533.8700 | f: 508.533.3718
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Creating New England’s Finest LandscapesLandscape Construction | Site Development | Masonry | Maintenance
Landscape Architecture by Morgan Wheelock, Inc.Photography by Rosemary Fletcher
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N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 • D E S I G N N E W E N G L A N D 25
selections Gather round the table • Come mid-December, it’s easy for imaginations to wane under holiday pressures. But wintry landscapes needn’t warrant the all-too-expected seasonal color palette. Armed with inspiration (and Georg Jensen’s iconic fl atware), three design mavens created table settings that are sure to refresh the tired, uninspired host.
produced by jenna talbott and danielle ossher • photography by joel benjamin
Georg Jensen’s “Caravel” silverware gleams against a cowhide throw from Diseño in Boston.
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26 D E S I G N N E W E N G L A N D • N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0
selections
dinner, salad plates Waterford “Halo” wineglass, beverage tumbler Kate Spade New York “Library Stripe” napkin Calvin Klein Home “Chevron” votive Orrefors “Drop.” All through Bloomingdale’s; bloomingdales.com. tabletop Custom designed by New Leaf Flores.
jeb taylor, daniel lopez-ospinanew leaf flores, jamaica plain, ma; 617-522-1101, newleafjp.com.
“ We love working with common products, using them in interesting, innovative ways. Orchid petals placed as a linen inject the botanical element we wanted without overpowering the flatware.”
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D AHER INTERIOR DESIGN
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selections
28 D E S I G N N E W E N G L A N D • N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0
“ We wanted the experience to be cheerful and fresh,and we wanted to give the table dimension. The unique shape and form of the flatware inspired us to carry on that whimsical but modern feeling to the table.”bryan rafanelli rafanelli events, boston; 617-357-1818, rafanellievents.com.
charger “Stripes” plate “Charade” cake tray “Druggist” red goblet “Pop” vase “Vortex.” All Jonathan Adler; jonathanadler.com. napkin, place card Cheree Berry Paper; chereeberry.com. suede tablecloth Nüage Designs; nuagedesigns.com. drinking glasses for rent, Be Our Guest; beourguestpartyrental.com. cake Cakes to Remember; cakestoremember.biz.
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30 D E S I G N N E W E N G L A N D • N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0
selections
charger J•L Coquet “Hemisphere Platinum” dinner, salad plates, bowl, cup, saucer, sugar bowl, creamer Missoni “Margherita” wine, water glasses Christofl e “Kawali” napkin Juliska “Berry and Thread” crystal butterfly Baccarat “Lucky.” All through Bloomingdale’s; bloomingdales.com. tablecloth Custom made with Missoni “Kirbet,” Stark Fabric; old-world-weavers.com. salt, pepper shakers Christofl e “Malmaison,” christofl e.com. vase Janus et Cie “Ambition,” janusetcie.com. flowers Winston Flowers; winstonfl owers.com.
“ I wanted to play off the timeless, clean lines of the flatware. I blended its exaggerated organic shapes with bright, cheerful hues for a memorable table meant for lively dining.”andie day, interior designer, andie day llc, boston; 617-587-1700, andieday.com.
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32 D E S I G N N E W E N G L A N D • N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0
Space and light typically lead the list of attri-butes most wanted in a kitchen or central gathering area. And while a hybrid house west of Boston offered those qualities in abundance, the volume felt overwhelming rather than comforting to the
family of four that lived in the soaring structure.“They wanted to be able to live life here, to have a room
that could take the rough-and-tough activity levels,” says W.
Timothy Hess, principal at DSA|Dewing & Schmid Architects in Concord and South Dartmouth, Massachusetts, who at the time of the renovation was design director at Platt Builders in Groton, Massachusetts. “Above all, the room had to be dura-ble and comfortable.”
The family also wanted the great room, which is in a 1980s structure that serves as a bridge between a 1751 house (now used as a home offi ce and guest wing) and a horse barn, to suit the rest of the property. “We wanted an earthy, organic
tall twin blue-painted cabinets house the refrigerator and ovens. Exposed beams terminatein custom steel connectors.
kitchen written by jill connors • photography by greg premru
WELL-WORN • With blue-painted cabinets and natural materials, this renovated great room fi ts a family’s lifestyle like a favorite pair of jeans
architecture/construction: platt builders
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feeling,” says one of the owners, an accomplished equestrian who often transits the great room on her way to or from the barn. Her husband, two children, and three dogs round out the family, meaning foot and paw traffi c is substantial.
When the renovation began, nearly every surface was painted white, and a semicircular island separated rather than linked the kitchen and gathering areas. To unify the expanse, Hess added an 8-foot-high strip of cherry, which visu-ally organizes the space. The wood continues around the great room, performing different func-tions as needed — wainscot, art shelf, kitchen cabinet, stair rail, balcony — but always at a consistent height. The use of cherry and other natural materials, from fi r fl ooring and soap-stone countertops to leather and corduroy-clad furniture, fi gured prominently in the laid-back aesthetic.
the informal eating area offers an abundance of natural light; the single-pane windows are framed in cherry wainscot. Fir was chosen for the fl ooring for its warm appearance as it ages. The kitchen island, topped in soapstone, houses the sink and cooktop.
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“We chose materials the same way you choose a pair of Levi’s,” Hess says. “You buy them because of the way they’ll feel after they’ve been worn for a while.”
Grappling with the sheer volume — kitchen, eating, and gathering areas occupy 1,200 square feet — Hess reconfi gured the island. “We wanted to think of it as an object rather than a container,” he says. The new rectangular 12-foot-long 4-foot-wide island with sink and cooktop anchors the new lay-out and allows anyone working in the kitchen to face the family room.
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a stairway tucked behind the kitchen (top) includes a cherry handrail and wainscot; the top of one tall blue cabinet doubles as a guardrail. A variety of hardware styles are included in the kitchen, from chrome rings (bottom) to blue-painted knobs.
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Two towerlike 10-foot-tall painted blue cabinets hold the refrigerator and wall ovens. Altogether, says Hess, “the towers and island read as the primary elements.”
Existing exposed wood beams terminated in clumsy, white-painted wood “knuckles” and square columns were installed directly on the semicircular island. To improve the situation, Hess made aesthetic adjustments by adding more beams, designing custom steel connec-tors, and wrapping a column that extended to the fl oor in cherry.
Finally, the decorative fireplace was replaced with a fully functional hearth, for which Hess designed a soapstone sur-round that ties the space to the kitchen. Now, whether it’s dogs, kids, or a boot-clad equestrian treading through the great room, everyone feels right at home.
The cherry paneling required special installation, says Halsey Platt of Platt Builders. “All the wainscot was done with no visible fasteners,” he says. “Any time there are fasteners in wood, there’s putty, and with cherry, which oxidizes over the years, those putty areas would soon start to show.” This cut-away illustration shows how carpenters screwed the cherry baseboard, cut at a 45-degree angle at the top, to the wall and then covered the screw head with the wainscot, also notched with a 45-degree angle. The interlocking pieces are known in the trade as a French cleat.
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38 D E S I G N N E W E N G L A N D • N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0
Sometimes the way to simplify your life is to downsize. Sometimes, however, a little more space is what’s needed to move us closer to Zen. Such was the case for a New Hampshire cou-ple who, despite fi nding themselves in an empty nest, decided to expand their master suite from a
bedroom, single bath, and walk-in closet to something akin to a separate apartment. (All that’s missing is a kitchen.)
The wife in particular was longing for a closet/dressing room where she could keep all her clothes, shoes, bags, hats,
jewelry, and other accessories in a tidy, easy-to-fi nd manner. She also wanted her own bathroom, one large enough to prac-tice yoga on a fl oor heated with a radiant system. She got all of that and a separate whirlpool tub, oversize shower, an L-shaped vanity with a backlit mirror and soffi t lighting, and a spectacular view of the Monadnock hills.
The architectural plan was the work of the Design Support Services group at Woodmeister Master Builders in
the lacquered cabinet at left softens the look of the room and holds books and bath accessories including a jar of imported soaps from Tour de France in Boston.
A ROOM OF HER OWN • Space, views, and refi ned fi nishes combine to create a tranquil retreat for the lady of the house — the oversize closet was icing on the cake
bath written by gail ravgiala • photography by eric roth
architecture/construction: woodmeister master builders interior design: meichi peng design studio
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Holden, Massachusetts, a company the cou-ple has worked with for nearly 20 years. Once the overall concept was approved, Boston inte-rior designer Meichi Peng of Meichi Peng Design Studio stepped in to help select the fi nishes.
“We worked hand-in-hand with the client on the overall plan,” says Stephen Sullivan, account manager for Woodmeister on the project. “Then we worked with Meichi to add the bells and whistles and fi ne-tune the layout. She provided the space with texture and fl avor.”
bath
the shower stall is lined with marble tiles. The mirrored door leads to the wife’s dressing room. The vanity (top) is framed by lacquered storage cabinets and is illuminated by vertical sconces, backlighting within the mirror, and fl uorescent lighting in the soffi t.
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After meeting with the client to deter-mine her likes and dislikes, Peng presented her with three options for palette and materials. “She chose the one that was most luxurious and had the most texture,” says Peng. Soft gray marble sourced from three different compa-nies and rich walnut are the foundations of the scheme. To that Peng added gray lacquer fi nishes for the two fl oor-to-ceiling towers of shelves and drawers at each end of the vanity and a wider tower on one wall used to store towels and other accessories.
“There is a very interesting grain to the stone,” says Peng of the marble used in large slabs for the tub surround, pony walls of the shower, and the vanity countertop. A similar stone, cut into 12-by-24-inch rectangular tiles, was used for the fl oor, while smaller marble tiles line the inside shower walls.
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meichi peng incorporated some of the owner’s favorite elements into the design such as the Dornbracht faucet set (top) and the spherical oil-rubbed bronze knobs used on the walnut vanity (above) and the drawers in the lacquered storage towers.
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At the client’s request, they used the same model of Dornbracht faucets that were in the original bath, which is now redone and the domain of her husband. “The line had been discontinued,” says Peng, who would not be deterred. “It took a while, but we found them for her.”
In the wash of soft muted grays, the wal-nut veneer on the tub plinth and the corner vanity anchors the room. The vanity mirror encompasses an entire corner and is fully backlit. Lighting sources also include long vertical sconces, and, a fully illuminated warm fl uorescent soffi t.
“Both teams really worked together on this project,” says Peng. “Woodmeister is very detail oriented, so it was a great collab-oration.” With fi nal touches made this fall, the homeowners are both happy. He has a refurbished bath to himself and has spread his shirts, shoes, and ties throughout the old walk-in closet. He also got an offi ce/library and a shared sitting room.
She got everything she wanted just in time to enjoy the sweep of fall color on the gentle hills in the distance. In this tranquil space, what more could you ask?
the expanded master suite includes “her” bath and a new dressing room that incorporates a center console for extra storage and a washer and dryer tucked into an alcove. The bathroom also has access to a private outdoor deck where, in good weather, the owner can pratice yoga and enjoy the view.
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44 D E S I G N N E W E N G L A N D • N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0
The addison gallery of american art atPhillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, has quietly, yet brilliantly, added a lot of much-need space. Bucking the trend of manic expansion, the Addison did not enlarge the original museum, thus preserv-
ing its delightful scale and sense of intimacy, but rather focused on “back of the house” needs. The result is a tri-umph of elegance and restraint.
When establishing the gallery in 1931, the founders chose to limit the collection to the art of our own country at a time when it was undervalued and under-appreciated. Today, the Addison collection comprises a Who’s Who of the giants of American art: Winslow Homer, Edward Hopper, John Singer Sargent, Thomas Eakins, John Singleton Copley, and
Jackson Pollock are joined by a signifi cant collection of that particularly American medium, photography.
Selecting architect Charles Adams Platt, a painter and artist (the Addison owns 200 of his etchings and three of his paintings), campus planner (including Andover), and an accomplished country-house designer, turned out to be an equally wise decision.
While best known for the grandly neoclassical Freer Gallery of Art on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., Platt continued the local tradition of parsimonious red brickin the Georgian and Federal styles for the gallery at Andover.
the addison gallery light-handedly updated its original building, adding climate control and other modern amenities. The new 14,000-square-foot glass addition features a learning center, handling spaces, and storage to house the gallery’s entire 17,000-piece collection.
places written by william morgan • photography by peter vanderwarker
FEDERAL RESERVE • The new wing of Andover’s Addison Gallery adds much-needed space and amenities while respecting its traditional lines and intimate size
ADDISON GALLERY OF AMERICAN ART180 Main St.Andover, Massachusetts978-749-4000andover.edu/museums/addison
architecture: centerbrook architects
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Platt’s Addison was conceived as an 18th-century English country house in the neo-Palladian manner, a symmetrical block with a monumental Roman portico announc-ing the entrance. The fenestration is blank, recalling the then-current idea of a museum as a kind of mausoleum that would safeguard the art within. Inside, there is a low rotunda with a marble fountain and fl anking galleries.
Design partner Chad Floyd of Centerbrook Architects in Centerbrook, Connecticut, respected the Platt legacy when renovating the museum, which now features new lighting, climate control, and mechani-cals. But the Addison also needed modern and effi cient work spaces to support the enhanced galleries, and so came the 14,000-square-foot addition contained in a three-story unit cleverly inserted between the Platt museum
paul manship’s newly restored “Venus Anadyomene” is the centerpiece of the restrained classical rotunda that forms the Addison’s entrance. Charles Adams Platt, the original architect of the museum, commissioned the fountain for this space.
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and the Elson Art Center, a 1963 work by Benjamin Thompson of The Architects Collaborative. The addition includes art-handling spaces and consolidated staff offi ces, but most importantly, it houses the Addison’s entire collection of 17,000 objects on site, a must-have for the gallery. The new space also features an attractive and fl exible learning center that hosts classes, lectures, and student exploration of the collection.
Centerbrook avoided the temptation of pasting on classical columns or any symbolic reference to either its Georgian or Brutalist neighbors. Instead of trying to be overtly con-textual, Floyd played it absolutely straight, employing obviously contemporary materi-als and detailing. The addition uses the same brick as its Platt parent, but has a thoroughly modern concrete frame for flexibility and durability. The new wing, as Floyd states, is “classical in spirit, but much more open and transparent.”
Given the incredibly complicated task of fi tting a laundry list of requests into a con-stricted space between the existing buildings, not to mention limitations of budget, Floyd argued that the best solution was an “honest
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expression of contemporary architecture.” The public face of the addition — the wall of the learning center — is glass, but the expanse isneither jarring nor discordant, for it is placed behind a stainless steel mesh sun screen. Practical and simple, the chain-mail-like scrim adds a lively dimension to the facade. In changes of light and weather, it subtly spar-kles and dematerializes like a piece of op art.
The new wing complements, but does not compete with, the genteel brick block. What you do not see — storage vaults, an enclosed loading dock, climate-controlled preparation areas — is what has transformed the venerable institution. By wisely concen-trating on enhancing the gallery, the Addison reminds us that small, and restrained, is often the more beautiful.
the contemporary design of the learning center provides maximum fl exibility. Wall racks and on-site storage make works of art available for classes and individual study. Mesh scrims (facing page) fi lter the light while providing a view of the campus.
SHEILA HICKS: 50 YEARSThe fi rst retrospective of American fi ber artist Sheila Hicks opens November 5 at the Addison Gallery of American Art. Hicks is known for her innovative use of color, and the exhibit represents her broad spectrum of work from miniature weavings and drawings to site-commissioned installations.
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50 D E S I G N N E W E N G L A N D • N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0
The old livery stable has been given a minimalist makeover. A broad arch extends over front doors that open to big, airy spaces, including a loft whose white-painted posts and beams make it look like a piece of installation art, which is apropriate for the home of the
Center for Maine Contemporary Art in Rockport, Maine.“Twenty years ago, it was one of the few places showing
contemporary art in Maine,” says the center’s new direc-tor, Suzette McAvoy. In the last two decades, the scene has changed: Portland has become a hot spot for galleries, and many museums throughout the state are now showing con-temporary art. Moreover, Maine has become known for quality studio programs in colleges and art schools. “There is a surge of new work being produced here,” McAvoy says.
McAvoy, who took CMCA’s helm in early September, hopes to point the organization in a new direction. “We can stay closer to the moment of creation than a museum,” says
McAvoy, “and we can react quickly to current trends. We’re not driven by sales; we show work that has to be seen now. This spring, for instance, we’re doing a show of drawings and watercolors by Steve Mumford, an artist from Tenants Harbor who was embedded with troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.”
McAvoy, a highly respected art historian and former cura-tor at the Farnsworth Art Museum in Rockland, an institution known for its superb collection of 19th- and early 20th-century Maine art, envisions the center’s role evolving into one akin to Boston’s Institute of Contemporary Art or the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams.
Though it was founded in 1952 as Maine Coast Artists (early members included Alex Katz and Neil Welliver), the nonprofi t CMCA still has the feel of a scrappy start-up. “A year ago, CMCA was on the rocks,” McAvoy says. “It had run out of money.” Last spring, Bruce Brown, CMCA’s visionary cura-tor emeritus, who during his 19-year tenure nurtured many of Maine’s emerging, adventurous artists, came out of retirement
suzette mcavoy, the new director of the Center for Maine Contemporary Art, stands in the former barn turned gallery. Under her guidance, the center will focus on showing work “that has to be seen now,” she says.
written by deborah weisgall • photography by trent bell
TURNING POINT • The Center for Maine Contemporary Art, led by new director Suzette McAvoy, takes on a revamped, of-the-moment mission
art
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to direct the center until McAvoy took over. “It was an organization I’d kept my eye on for 20 years, ever since I came to Maine,” McAvoy says, “and I wanted the opportunity to steer it on a steady course.”
It is an institution with an illustrious history, deep roots in the community, and enormous resilience. “We’re keeping alive the legacy of artists working here who were deeply connected to place and who were also in the forefront of artistic innovation,” says McAvoy. That list includes Winslow Homer, George Bellows, John Marin, Marsden Hartley, Maurice Prendergast, Rockwell Kent, and Robert Henri.
The view from CMCA’s back windows offers glimpses of the singular topography and light that have lured artists for two centuries. Wooded points of land embrace Rockport’s narrow harbor; a lighthouse perched on the prow of a rocky island marks its entrance. It could be one of the Arcadian scenes painted by Fitz Henry Lane, Thomas Cole, or Frederic Church.
The landscape looks pristine, but it has undergone enormous changes. The harbor was once ringed with lime kilns and boat-building sheds; in the 1930s, a summer resident hired the Olmsted Brothers to carve and plant the landscape into a gentled version of its natural state. The town has always looked to the wide world; in the 1850s, a local sea captain thought nothing of chopping down Maine trees and shipping the logs to Hong Kong to be carved into stairways, mantels, and boiserie as elegant as anything in New York or San Francisco for his Rockport mansion.
That confidence is similar to how
art
one of the center’s fall exhibits, Dozier Bell: Momenta — Paintings & Drawings, fi lls the loft gallery. The painting above, titled “Rim,” is acrylic on linen. Done in 2005, it measures 48 by 68 inches.
Timeless. Classic. Modern.
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Maine’s artists feel today about their work. “They are making art that can hold its own with what is being produced in urban areas,” says McAvoy. “There are artists living in the middle of nowhere whose work is shown all over the world: in Germany, at Art Basel in Miami, in China. Many young artists coming out of our schools and colleges want to settle here. They don’t recognize geographical bor-ders as limiting them. And the community of artists in Maine is so supportive. That’s one of the reasons they love it here.”
Through December 5, all three fl oors of CMCA’s galleries will be fi lled with a single show: Photographing Maine: Ten Years Later, an update of a monumental survey mounted by Bruce Brown a decade ago. Brown’s new show features the work of 150 photographers, many with national reputations, many new-comers. The exhibition manages to be both a sophisticated overview of the current moment in photography and an enduring portrait of Maine, its romance, its rough edges, and its changing culture.
Maine’s past drew McAvoy. Now, she says, “I’m completely energized by the new work I’m seeing here, and CMCA gives me a forum for presenting it to a wide audience.” While Maine’s small towns remain havens, places of summer respite, for many artists they are now home — and their point of depar-ture. “We want to have a discussion about art that connects to the larger cultural dialogue,” McAvoy says, and she intends to anchor CMCA at the heart of that conversation.
art
“waterfront of belfast maine,” one of the works included in the fall exhibit Yvonne Jacquette: Aerials, dominates a wall in the center’s Main Gallery. The 70-by-84-inch oil-on-canvas painting, done in 1990, was featured along with the other paintings, prints, and pastels by Jacquette.
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The Art of Mentoring = Mentorology
The Over My Shoulder Foundation, founded by Dawn Carroll, award-winning
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56 D E S I G N N E W E N G L A N D • N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0
While most visitors to boston’s north End come for the great Italian food, the historic landmarks, and the lively, charmingly cramped streetscapes, there is a small but discerning crowd that comes for the skills taught at the
North Bennet Street School, one of the oldest craft schools in the country.
A treasure to its students, alumni, faculty, and supporters, the North Bennet Street School has been training people in the trades since 1885. Today, as it celebrates its 125th anniver-sary, NBSS has 149 full-time students, ages 18 to 61, hailing from 20 states and six countries. They are enrolled in one of eight programs: bookbinding, cabinet and furniture making, carpentry, preservation carpentry, jewelry making and repair, locksmithing, piano technology (tuning and repair), and vio-lin making and repair. It’s serious, hard work — training for preservation carpentry takes 2,340 class hours; to learn violin
making and repair, 3,900 hours — and students must provide their own hand tools.
Putting in heavy hours was the least of the worries for the school’s earliest students. In 1885, the North End was one of the most densely populated areas in the country. Tenements crowded the docks, poverty was common, and English was not many’s fi rst language. It was a time of great upheaval, as well, as the neighborhood’s immigrant population shifted from 90 percent Irish to 80 percent Italian between 1880 and 1910.
Into this stew came Pauline Agassiz Shaw, daughter of Harvard professor Louis Agassiz, wife to a wealthy Boston mer-chant, and an education visionary with drive. (She founded and supported 16 free kindergartens, then a new concept in the United States, eventually handing them over, fully equipped, to the city of Boston.)
In the North End, she saw an opportunity to apply a Swedish schooling concept called sloyd, meaning “skill” or “handiness.” The North Bennet Street Industrial School, as it
students in cabinet and furniture making work on their next projects at North Bennet Street School, which celebrates 125 years of training people in a variety of crafts.
written by bruce irving
HANDS-ON APPROACH • The legacy of an education pioneer continues as North Bennet Street School celebrates 125 years of training fi ne craftspeople
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was originally called, asked in its fi rst annual report: “Might we not train these unskilled masses, and thus create a demand for them and their labor?” Shaw’s idea was to train the whole person, body and mind, a model the school still takes to heart. “Hand skills and mental training are mutually reinforcing,” says Miguel Gómez-Ibáñez, the school’s current president. “You can become smarter by train-ing your hands.”
The fi rst students were women, desig-nated as “worthy poor,” who learned sewing and laundering. Men and children soon followed, taking up woodworking, pottery, jewelry, other metalwork, leatherwork, and needlework classes as well as English and cit-izenship lessons, which prepared students for naturalization exams.
NBSS was, and is, about training peo-ple to make a living in the trades. “We’re not a mausoleum of quaint handiwork,” says Gómez-Ibáñez, “nor are we training lem-mings to walk off a cliff of unemployability. It’s meaningful to preserve something if it can be useful today, and our graduates make and do things people want.”
Cases in point: The U.S. Department of Labor forecasts that the locksmithing trade will grow 22 percent through 2016 as businesses and homeowners seek increased security. Historic Boston Incorporated, a nonprofi t, has partnered with NBSS’s preservation carpentry program to restore historic buildings around the city. (Their first project is 65 Pleasant Street in Dorchester, once the home of Animal Rescue League founder Anna Clapp Harris Smith.) Peter Feinmann, who grad-uated from the carpentry program in 1983, opened his own award-winning design/build firm, Feinmann Inc., based in Lexington, Massachusetts, in 1987. “Instead of spending
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years sweeping the job site for some old curmudgeon contractor,” he says, “I was, thanks to what I learned at North Bennet, able to get into the profession quickly and at a high level.”
And while the trade in fine hand-made furniture, books, jewelry, and violins may be limited, a segment of the market is happy to pay for one-of-a-kind craftsmanship. Cambridge, Massachusetts-based interior designer Heidi Pribell recently turned to an NBSS graduate to provide two important pieces for a Beacon Hill town house she was working on. “We needed a vanity and mantel-piece that matched the building’s neoclassical elements,” says Pribell. “I could never fi nd such pieces in an antiques store — only some-one versed in both style and technique could have made them.”
Current student Jonathan Hopewell, 49, stands by his workbench in the furniture shop and refl ects on why he’s starting a new career after 23 years of software programming. “I would put in 60-hour weeks and come home unhappy,” he says. “The stuff I was making was ephemeral. Not this,” he says, turning back to practice his stipple work on a carved panel.
Even as Hopewell gets his second wind, a whole new generation is getting a touch of the old sloyd. Since last spring, sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-graders from the nearby John Eliot public school have been showing up once a week for woodworking classes, just like neigh-borhood children did 125 years ago.
Better keep an eye on these kids — one of them might just end up building you a van-ity someday.
since last spring, children from the John Elliot School have attended woodworking classes at the North Bennet Street School, just as Boston Public School students (above) did back in 1905.
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GETTING CRAFTY | With a little nudge from our editors, Jon Hattaway, co-founder of MJ Berries Design in Boston, spilled some of his best secrets for earth-friendly ways to present gifts. his golden rule: “Start hoarding. Be conscious of the bags and paper you get! I reuse; I don’t buy this stuff new anymore. It’s fun to work with what you have and give a person something you know they can reuse or give back.” his essentials: Elmer’s Glue, or homemade adhesive; saved paper, which he tears, shreds, or crumples for an organic feel; leftover shopping bags, cans, and containers, used as is or dressed up with paint, cloth, or ribbon. Among his most memorable wrappings, this money nest, built with just twigs and wire and perfect for nestling on the Christmas tree. ❧
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D E S I G N N E W E N G L A N D 6 3
november/december 2010
Take Note Rather than hog the spotlight on our fourth anniversary, we decided to turn it on some of New England’s many inspired design minds. Meet the outstanding professionals whose compelling work in a variety of disciplines made us put down our pens.
• • six singular talents who are quietly making waves • •
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6 4 D E S I G N N E W E N G L A N D • N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0
➤ Growing up in small-town Michigan, Maine-based architect Matt O’Malia couldn’t wait “to catch the fi rst bus out.” The journey eventually took him to
Germany and Austria, where he spent time during high school and his college years of architecture studies. Along with a new language, he learned the European approach to design. “They have a strong drive toward problem solving, which contrasted to the almost nostalgic approach I was getting in the States,” he says.
Along with a contemporary aesthetic, he brought an intimate knowledge of cutting-edge European building products with him in 1998 to his fi rst job at up-and-coming Elliott Elliott Norelius (now Elliott + Elliott Architecture) in Blue Hill, Maine, where he helped design award-winning residences that pushed the technological envelope.
Ten years later, O’Malia started his own fi rm, Matthew O’Malia Design Offi ce. Then, in 2009, he formed G•O Logic, a design/build team that constructs high-performance “net-zero” houses, built in New England for an affordable $150 per square foot, a paradigm shift that has caught the attention of buyers and developers. There are three G•O Logic homes on order, and more planned for a co-housing community in Belfast, Maine. The prototype is Maine’s fi rst certifi ed Passive House, a rigorous standard developed in Germany that results in a 90 percent reduction of energy use. “Our houses may look vernacular,” says O’Malia, “but they solve today’s problems.” — bruce irving
Matt O’MaliaBelfast, MaineG•O Logicgologichomes.com
photograph by TRENT BELL
g•o logic’s prototype in Belfast, Maine, the state’s fi rst certifi ed Passive House, is also the fi rm’s headquarters.
take note
1
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N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 • D E S I G N N E W E N G L A N D 6 5
photograph by JOEL BENJAMIN
in her own home, Stephanie Rossi favors white walls to showcase her ever-changing art.
Stephanie RossiBostonSpazio Rossospaziorosso.com
➤ Working closely with homeowners is atop the many reasons interior designer Stephanie Rossi loves her job. And while she cherishes her relationships with clients, don’t let her
friendly demeanor and open mind fool — she can, for design’s sake, be fi rm. “If something doesn’t go with the basics of design, then I’ll certainly be forceful about it. That’s why they hired me.”
Rossi’s hankering for interiors was solidifi ed in 1998, while working to launch Jerome’s, the restaurant at the Nashoba Valley
Winery in Bolton, Massachusetts, where she was assistant pastry chef. That was the spark she needed: She readily said goodbye to a culinary career and enrolled in the New England School of Art & Design at Suffolk University. After six years honing her skills as a design assistant and project manager for Boston interior designer Mark Bombara, in 2004, Rossi opened her own fi rm.
Her distinct “eclectic contemporary” aesthetic gained Rossi a loyal clientele, and all her projects, which juxtapose the feminine and the organic, represent collaboration, compromise, and, at the core, trust. “You want a room to look stunning, but it also has to do its job. I always tell my clients, ‘At the end of the day, I leave the house.’ ” — danielle ossher
take note
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6 6 D E S I G N N E W E N G L A N D • N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0
➤ “We say as much as we can with as few maneuvers as possible,” says Vermont landscape architect Keith Wagner. In fact, he sees his work as haiku writ large on the land.
Wagner, also an artist who paints and sculpts metal, is known for creating a geometric connection between building and setting. The straight line of a barn may become a long path across a pasture; the stone plinth of a house may link to a fi eldstone wall. “We blur the line where architecture stops and landscape begins,”
he says. With partner Jeffrey Hodgson, Wagner leads the now nine-person fi rm he founded in Burlington in 1987. His portfolio is a cohesive array of residential and institutional landscapes, including college campuses in Middlebury, Vermont, and Salem, Massachusetts, and the ECHO Lake Aquarium and Science Center on Lake Champlain in Burlington. In 2009, he was elected a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects, one of only 1,054 honorees named since 1899.
His minimalist designs focus on context: architectural style, history, environment. “Landscape architecture,” he says, “is not art for art’s sake ... but our goal is to create functional spaces that are also poetic.” — kathleen james
Keith Wagner Burlington, VermontH. Keith Wagner Partnershiphkw-p.com
photograph by JIM WESTPHALENfor a contemporary residence in Shelburne, Vermont, Keith Wagner created a spillway that catches rainwater off the roof and cascades it over four low retaining walls into a stone-lined pool.
3
take note
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take note
4
the newport flyer, the black-box lighting source Sandra Liotus and David Crampton-Barden patented, sits on the work table in their studio.
➤ In a gesture that at once captures the seriousness with which they take their work, and their awareness of the power of perception, lighting specialists Sandra Liotus and David Crampton-Barden don starched white lab coats on their job sites. “Nobody argues with us on installation day,” says Crampton-Barden, with a wry smile.
Their work is rooted in engineering and design; he holds a master’s degree in marine engineering from Southampton University in his native England, she has a bachelor of fi ne arts in industrial design from Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, her hometown. Each worked independently for many years before collaborating on an architectural project 15 years ago. Now based in Newport, Rhode Island, Sandra Liotus Lighting Design is in the enviable position of dominating a niche: the lighting of art collections in private homes.
“We have heard so many horror stories about artifi cial lighting that has damaged artwork,” says Crampton-Barden, noting they spent fi ve years perfecting their signature system. Using a remotely positioned black-box light source called the Newport Flyer (which they patented), a harness of fi ber-optic cables, and custom adjustable bronze ceiling fi ttings, they ensure only infrared- and ultraviolet-free light touches art.
Their client list includes the mansions of the Preservation Society of Newport County, private Rockefeller art collections, and Harvard University, and thanks to a stellar reputation, they are now the preferred providers for the Chubb Personal Insurance Masterpiece Protection Network. Bet the lab coats helped. — jill connors
Sandra Liotus &David Crampton-BardenNewport, Rhode IslandSandra Liotus Lighting Designsandraliotuslightingdesign.com
photograph by NAT REA
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6 8 D E S I G N N E W E N G L A N D • N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0
➤ “I love speaking different languages of furniture design,” says furniture maker David Lamb. “That’s what I thrive on. Working in a vast array of styles speaks to who I am.”
Lamb was just 14 when he started a three-year apprenticeship with Alejandro de la Cruz, a master European cabinetmaker whose home and shop were down the road from Canterbury Shaker Village, where Lamb spent his teenage years while his stepfather oversaw restoration of the historic New Hampshire site. While teaching Lamb the nitty-gritty of handcrafting basic elements such as joints, de la Cruz imbued him with the idea that “being a craftsman is a lifelong commitment.”
Those early years provided the foundation
for building a career and a passion for beautiful wood, perfect joinery, exquisite carving, and delicate inlays. Lamb’s formal training continued at Boston University’s Program in Artisanry, where he honed his skills and developed his eye for design and detail.
In March, Lamb was honored for his extraordinary craftsmanship and artistry when he became the fi rst furniture maker named New Hampshire Artist Laureate. “Fine furniture making has extraordinary levels of engineering, craftsmanship, and self-expression,” he says. “So much of that has been lost. Too many people today have short attention spans. They want to pay to be entertained, yet they don’t want to pay for what will endure. This furniture is enduring because it’s part of me.”
A cofounder of the venerable New Hampshire Furniture Masters Association, Lamb, 52, now owns the de la Cruz property, where he continues his commitment to the craft. — jan shepherd
David Lamb Canterbury, New HampshireDavid Lamb Cabinetmakerdavidlambfurniture.com
photograph by CHERYLE ST. ONGE
in his workshop, David Lamb reveals one of his latest commissioned pieces: an American neoclassical chair withan unconventional twistof asymmetrical carvings.
take note
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N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 • D E S I G N N E W E N G L A N D 6 9
Clayton Austin BostonBoston Ornament Companybostonornament.com
➤ “I love new challenges,” says Clayton Austin, who surprisingly continues to fi nd them after 32 years restoring, reproducing, and creating custom plasterwork. His Boston
Ornament Company is near legendary in the fi eld, and his exacting hand has touched churches, state houses, train stations, theaters, museums, and private homes from Maine to San Francisco. In Boston, says Austin, there is nary a street that hasn’t seen some of his plaster dust.
Austin, 49, got into the business with his father, a furniture restorer, who in 1978 decided to switch to plasterwork, where he perceived a void of craftsmen. “I’ve been doing this since I was 17,” says Austin, who is steeped in Old World traditions. And while a review of his sumptuous portfolio will take a classicist’s breath away, he is also masterly at executing original contemporary designs. “I tend to take on just about anything,” he says, whether it involves plaster or not. He recently worked on a rooftop terrace using fi berglass, zinc, and cedar to build planters. For the restoration of the stone watchtower on the 14th Street Bridge in Washington, D.C., he teamed up with Boston artist Mikyoung Kim to create a kaleidoscope of lights that beam through the hexagon’s six windows.
“We also do some bronze statuary work,” says the tireless Austin. “It involves the same skills — cutting a mold and sending it to a foundry.” Still, it’s a challenge. — gail ravgiala
photograph by DAVE HENDERSON
clayton austin stands at a workbench scattered with samples in the Boston headquarters of his Boston Ornament Company.
take note
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as a year-round home in the exclusive Winter Harbor, Maine, summer colony of Grindstone Neck, Islandview is about as deferential as it can be. It’s set back from the shore, invisible from the road, designed as two structures for modest scale, and landscaped with native plants.
WRITTEN BY EDGAR ALLEN BEEM • PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIC ROTH
A RETIRED COUPLE REPLACES THEIR SUMMER RETREAT WITH A YEAR-ROUND HOUSE BUILT FOR ENDLESS VIEWSOPTIMAL
OUTLOOK
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ARCHITECTURE
AS A REPEAT HOUSEGUEST AT A SUMMER COTTAGE IN WINTER HARBOR, MAINE, architect Erling Falck had admired the spectacular ocean view the site provided. So when his hosts decided to raze the house and asked him to design a new year-round retirement home for them, he knew the view would be his focus. “It’s probably the nicest site I’ve had the opportunity to work on,” says Falck, whose fi rm is based in Marblehead, Massachusetts.
Islandview, as the house is called, sits up from the rocky shore, commanding a 180-degree pan-orama from Schoodic Point across Winter Harbor to Ned Island, Mark Island, and the Winter Harbor Lighthouse, and from there across Frenchman Bay to Mount Desert Island’s distant Otter Cliffs.
Falck’s clients, a physician and his scientist wife, retired to Maine from Sudbury, Massachusetts, leaving behind a grand old Federalist home with attached carriage house for the simplicity of a small cottage by the sea.
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Their program was straightforward — maximize the views, con-centrate the primary living spaces on one fl oor, create an open-concept kitchen-dining-living great room, and use natural materials. The property is on Grindstone Neck, a traditional summer colony dominated by great Shingle Style cottages, but Falck, a veteran of The Architects Collaborative and Cambridge Seven Associates Inc., two venerable Massachusetts fi rms known for their modernist bent, came up with a spare, contemporary design. “Because the house isn’t visible, we didn’t feel we had to fi t in with the neighborhood,” says the wife.
Falck’s fi nal plan comprises two small structures angled toward the water and connected by a glass entry, whose centerline aligns with the Winter Harbor Lighthouse. Dual chimneys frame the view. Built by Hewes & Company of Blue Hill, Maine, Islandview is clad in white cedar shin-gles with a standing-seam copper roof that sheds snow easily.
Though minimalist architecture can be deliberately cool and imper-sonal, Islandview embraces cozy modernism: both the exterior and interior lines are clean and unadorned, befi tting an architect of Scandinavian her-itage, yet Falck’s extensive use of Douglas fi r for cabinets and ceilings gives the house surprising warmth. The great stone hearths by Jeff Gammelin of Freshwater Stone in Orland, Maine, amplify this, and the natural palette
architecture office of erling falck • landscape architecture bruce john riddell landscape architect • builder hewes & company
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throughout the interior, wood, glass, and stone speak directly to the rugged coastal setting. The entry hall (above) is distinguished by a granite fl oor and walls. The great stone hearth (top right) by Jeff Gammelin of Freshwater Stone dominates the living room. The Douglas fi r ceiling gives the great room (right) both drama and warmth.
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the loft above the master bedroom was not part of the original design. Its ladder stairs give the space a nautical feel, appropriate since it is used primarily as a studio for making ship models.
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throughout is one of soft wood, muted stone, and pale greens.Landscape architect Bruce John Riddell of Bar Harbor, Maine, designed
the grounds to make maximum use of the granite ledge and native plantings — wild blueberry, bunchberry, bayberry, creeping thyme, Rosa rugosa, wild geraniums, and shocks of lupine. The correspondence between wood and stone through the south-facing banks of windows is such that “the inside and outside are seamless,” says the wife.
At 2,800 square feet, the house imposed a material discipline on the own-ers that they enjoy. “We really had to downsize after 30 years in a huge old antique house,” says the husband. Built on a slab, the structure gets a lot of solar gain and is easily heated with propane-fi red radiant hot water.
The interior is sparsely furnished with white sofas and a black Eames chair, an antique sailmaker’s table, a grandfather clock, and several paint-ings by local artist Philip Barter. With the great room, sun porch, and two guest rooms in one wing and a den and master suite in the other, the house makes effi cient use of its dramatic space while separating public from pri-vate functions.
Design and construction “couldn’t have gone more smoothly,” says the husband, who now spends his time serving on the board of the local hospi-tal, building ship models, and working in a local boat shop. “It’s almost like Erling knew what we hoped our life would be.”
the screened porch (top) captures the island view for which the house is named. Architect Erling Falck (above) marries modern design with natural materials to create warm, livable houses.
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the living room derives its grace from symmetry and a neutral palette. John Stefanon’s playful design aesthetic is apparent in the juxtaposition of the painted twig mirrors and the antique sycamore console tables. The large framed photograph on the right wall is “Procession” by Robert and Shana ParkeHarrison.
&stylecomfort
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INTERIORS
A TOUCH OF WHIMSY ENERGIZES DESIGNERJOHN STEFANON’S SOPHISTICATED INTERIORS WRITTEN BY MOLLY JANE QUINN • PHOTOGRAPHY BY ERIC ROTH
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in the alcove connecting living and dining rooms, built-in bookcases display antiques and paintings by Stefanon’s mother. Antique Chinese plaques on the dining room walls (facing page, top) counter the contemporary furnishings. Stefanon and Jerry (facing page, bottom), a rescued West Highland terrier mix, relax in the master suite.
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His design ethos carries the same graceful levity, relying on a mix of classic and comfortable furnishings and just a bit of whimsy.
In his own home in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, Stefanon has created a haven of warmth and simplicity for his family, which includes spouse Michael Gackstetter and their two sons, 10-year-old Nate and 5-year-old Tyler. The journey
to their domestic bliss started six years ago, when Stefanon and Gackstetter were living in a house in the Jamaica Plain neigh-borhood of Boston.
“We were very happy in our home in J.P.,” says Stefanon. Then one night, a few friends came over for dinner and one of
the guests fell in love with the house. “She was very funny and took out her check-book and asked, ‘How much?’ But she was really serious, so Michael said maybe we should consider.”
After selling her their home, Stefanon and Gackstetter stumbled upon a 1935 Dutch Colonial–style house with Tudor embellishments. Though it was outdated, “the charm of it” appealed to them, says Stefanon. “The scale feels like a unique home without being over the top, and there is ample space for us. You could tell that someone built this house with a lot of thought.”
That was in 2004, before they adopted their sons, and their main concern was to fi nd a property with a generous yard and room for long stays by extended family.
Stefanon took a measured approach to his interior design. The large living
RATHER THAN “SINCERELY” OR “YOURS TRULY,” BOSTON INTERIOR DESIGNER JOHN STEFANON USES THE WORD “HAPPINESS” TO CLOSE HIS E-MAILS.
interior design jfs design studio, inc.
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room, for example, needed to be comfortable enough for everyday lounging but formal enough for cocktail parties. And the furniture and color scheme in the adjacent sunroom needed to be different enough to be clearly defi ned as a sepa-rate space, but similar enough so as not to be jarring.
“I stayed with neutrals,” says Stefanon. “It’s a nice way to have a lasting effect and to bring in color with smaller accesso-ries. I love aqua and gold; I love mixing silver and gold. When things are lit by that blue-gold-white light of a sunset, that to me is very peaceful.”
His predilection for natural hues is derived from his childhood in Brazil. His father’s family is from Italy and his mother’s from Greece and France. After World War I, both sides immigrated to Brazil. Stefanon’s parents lived in Rio de
Janeiro, but he spent much of his time at his grandparents’ farm in the countryside, where he made his own kites and ran barefoot through fi elds. “We were brought up in very simple, very humble homes,” says Stefanon. He and his family later moved with his banker father to California, where they lived for 15 years.
For their Chestnut Hill house, Stefanon chose a mix of antiques, select pieces from the couple’s Jamaica Plain home, and accessories and fi ne art that imbue each room with a casual glamour. In the dining room, a table from Adesso, a Boston store specializing in contemporary furniture, is fl anked by antique carved wood plaques, salvaged from a temple in China, that Stefanon reworked as wall hangings.
The only room that was fully updated was the kitchen. Though cramped and outdated, it had a farmhouse charm, with drawers for potatoes and bread and cupboards with rick-ety latches. Stefanon wanted to integrate modern amenities yet still retain the room’s unique aesthetic. He accomplished that with hickory plank fl ooring and Thomasville Cabinetry in buttery yellow. An antique Dutch table and chairs seem a
a twig chandelier in the breakfast nook references the woodsy setting outside the French doors. The chairs and table are from Italian furniture maker Kartell. A coral throw pillow adds color to the master bedroom (above), where Stefanon pairs a contemporary chair with an antique Dutch writing desk. The photograph is by Finnish artist Arno Rafael Minkkinen.
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relic salvaged from the original home. Stefanon opted for marble countertops and back-splash simply for the gorgeous contrast when baking fl our is scattered across the stone. “In France,” he says, “kitchens always have marble counters.” But the room gains the most warmth from the teak sink that Stefanon imported from England. It was made using boat-building techniques and then soaked in polymer, so it’s nearly impervious to water and requires just a rubdown with teak oil now and then.
After living in the house for four years, the couple began the process of adopting a child. Little did they know that they would become parents to two rambunctious boys nearly overnight. Immediately, friends questioned how their stylish and predominately white home would be affected. Surprisingly, Stefanon says that little has changed.
“It’s really just showing them to have respect for your own space,” says Stefanon. “We sit down to have dinner together every night in the dining room.”
And, yes, Nate wrote on one of the white chairs that fi rst week. But for Stefanon, it’s all part of the joy of truly living in a home. “They are so much like us, it was like it was always meant to be. We couldn’t have dreamt up better kids.”
And surely the boys couldn’t have dreamt up a more loving, livable, and yes, happy home. an antique table and chairs lend authenticity to the renovated farm-style kitchen (facing page). The teak sink is by British furniture designer William Garvey. The sitting room (above) is a playful nook for reading. Leather armchairs from Oly Studio fl ank a daybed upholstered in burlap. In the front hall (left), a staircase niche holds a humorous self-portrait by Boston artist Michael Costello.
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the deck has unobstructed views of Frenchman Bay. Shallow windows (facing page) defi ne the fi rst fl oor’s private bedroom spaces while the expansive glazing on the upper level brings natural light and vistas to the public living spaces.
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ARCHITECTURE
on a stunning but challenging site, architect and clients create a harmony of form and function W R I T T E N B Y J O H N B U D R I S • P H OTO G R A P H Y B Y S A N DY A G R A F I OT I S
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david cadigan bought a vintage maine farm near frenchman bay in 1968 and tookresidence in the “yin” house — a two-century-old Cape overlooking a tired apple orchard and already overfl owing with stuff.
After living amid the tidy chaos for 40 years, he and his partner, Vincent Montgomery, in 2008 moved high up the hill to the “yang” house, an unabashedly contemporary dwell-ing stripped to its bare essentials. Designed by architect Bruce Norelius, the new house, built on a solid ledge with soaring views of the bay, is a 2,200-square-foot sonnet of con-crete, cedar shingles, and pared-down lifestyle.
It was created even though its two inhabitants had polar oppo-site visions of the kind of house each wanted. “Vincent’s a minimalist,” Cadigan says. “I’m a maximalist,” one who wanted to live in something “warm and friendly.” Montgomery pipes in with a glib, “I wanted it cold and uninviting.”
But Montgomery’s levity is woven with truth. Nothing — no fi xture, material, or design — would be gratuitous. Every detail needed to serve function and a wire-tight budget. “I knew right from the fi rst gun,” says
Norelius, “this was going to be a terrifi c project with two men who knew what they wanted, even if they didn’t know quite how we would get there.”
Norelius, the principal of Bruce Norelius Studio, a fi rm he established in 2008, is a former partner at Elliott Elliott Norelius Architecture (now Elliott + Elliott), a well-known fi rm in Blue Hill, Maine, where he supervised the design and execution of several of the fi rm’s award-winning projects. Now operating out of Los Angeles, Norelius hopes to focus more intensely on a select, small number of projects on both the East and West coasts. With Cadigan and Montgomery, he may have met his match for informed clients. “They have an impressive architecture library, larger than mine,” says Norelius. “They were the fi rst clients from whom I borrowed books.”
After a conversation with Norelius about the work of Donald Judd, Cadigan and
architecturebruce noreliusstudio
builderpeacockbuilders
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standard andersen windows frame the view from the living room (above and left). Polished concrete fl oors maximize the radiant heat that warms the house. The second story forms a sheltered carport at the main entry (facing page). Storage space to the right of the entrance keeps fi rewood and tools under cover, even on the snowiest days. From this view, the exterior is simplicity itself, with just one window punctuating the white cedar boxes that formthe house.
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Montgomery were soon on a plane to Marfa, Texas, to view fi rsthand the work of the architect and artist synonymous with minimalism. “David and Vincent did their homework,” says Norelius.
The house they collaborated on consists of two rectangular boxes set at right angles, one stacked on the other. The south-facing walls on both levels are fully glazed, yielding a double dividend of solar gain and an eagle’s view of the ocean. At about 1,200 square feet, the lower level contains two identical bedrooms with a shared master bath between them. That private space is tucked behind the wall of a long but subdued entry hallway. Custom-built beds face the bay and Mount Desert Island, and each room has a work area of desk, drawers, and
bookshelves at its rear. A small screened porch off Cadigan’s bedroom is his bonus for claiming the title of maximalist. “Vincent wanted less, so that’s what he got,” he says with a laugh.
Upstairs are the living, kitchen, and dining areas, along with a half bath, pantry, and a 600-square-foot deck. Both levels are unifi ed by bare, polished concrete fl oors that optimize the radiant heat. The whole structure is clad in local white cedar shingles, perhaps a trib-ute to the farmhouse they left behind. “Bruce had considered using cement-board panels, but that was a little too much for me,” says Cadigan.
The house may perch on a 50-acre parcel, but the actual building
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the bathroom serves as a link between the two lower-level bedrooms. David Cadigan’s room (this page) has a small screened porch, which is accessed through French doors. Otherwise, the rooms are identical, with custom beds, built-in desks, and shelving.
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site was more like an urban lot, pushed tightly to the upper prop-erty line on one side and a steep drop on another. “Both David and Vincent were fi rm that we couldn’t blast the ledge, so we weren’t able to use conventional concrete forms,” says Norelius. “So the smaller the footprint, the less complicated and costly it all would be.”
Costs were kept to $165 per square foot by also using off-the-shelf
Andersen windows, standard stick framing, and prefabricated compos-ite-wood I-beams. Norelius credits contractor and principal builder Tobin Peacock of Peacock Builders of Bar Harbor, Maine, for money-conscious choices. “Tobin’s indispensable technical and cost-saving expertise let us make the right aesthetic decisions without compro-mising the budget,” says Norelius.
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the stairway of southern yellow pine (above) is a concession to budget, says Cadigan, who wanted it done in cherry. As the fl oor plans below indicate, it leads from the lower-level entryway to the upper-level living, dining, and kitchen area.
One conceit Norelius tries to work into every design is a sense of surprise, no easy task in a house both small and spartan. But the mys-tery begins as soon as one enters through the front door. Faced with a long and narrow hallway, there is no clear indication of where to go. Then, after a moment, the light shaft of the second-level stairway extends a subtle invitation.
Now two years complete, the grounds surrounding Cadigan’s and Montgomery’s live-in sculpture no longer bear the evidence of construction. The blueberries and huckleberries are in fruit and wild-fl owers are in the last riot of late summer bloom. Cadigan, pointing to a tall, weathered white pine just to the west of the house, says, “When a pair of bald eagles nest in that tree, the house will be fi nished.”
the ledge on which the house is built is covered with blueberry, juniper, and other native ground covers. Parapets on three sides preserve the illusion of a fl at roof, which is actually pitched slightly to shed water.
first floor1 wood storage2 storage3 carport4 entry5 staircase6 bedroom7 bathroom8 porch9 mechanical
second floor1 kitchen2 pantry3 half bath4 dining5 living6 terrace7 closet8 staircase
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sheep await shearing at Watson Farm in Jamestown, Rhode Island. The 2009 Rhody Warm blanket (facing page) is a buffalo plaid. The pattern changes each year, since the color of the wool is a deciding factor in the design.
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HOMEGROWN
Rhody Warm
written by jill connors | photography by nat rea | produced by lynda sutton
rhode island sheep farmers take a waste-not, want-not approach to surplus wool, turning out unique, handsome all-natural blankets
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Sustainability takes many forms, few as comforting — in both a tactile and soulful way — as the Rhody Warm blankets pro-duced in Rhode Island. It started with sheep, as so many things in Rhode Island have over the centuries. Sheep have grazed its seaside meadows since the 1600s, on land graced by dry-laid stone walls that can still be seen today. Exports of wool, mutton, and cheese (yes, sheep cheese) formed the basis of the colony’s earliest
commerce and are said to have brought the state out of the economic plight that followed the Revolutionary War.
So it rankled Polly Hopkins when in the 1980s and ’90s there was so little demand for sheep’s wool that farmers were literally throwing
it away. “We used it as mulch in our garden for a few years,” says Hopkins, a third-generation sheep producer who is president of the Rhode Island Sheep Cooperative, a group of farmers dedicated to fi nd-ing markets for local sheep products.
As Hopkins and other Rhode Island farmers watched the demand for wool decrease, partly due to the popularity of synthetics such as Polarfl eece, they did some brainstorming. They had some success sell-ing yarn for hand-spinning and knitting, which were both experiencing a resurgence, but found that the yarn took only a fraction of the hun-dreds of pounds of wool the Ocean State produced each year.
“We’re creative; we fi nd other ways to sell wool,” says Don Minto, a sheep producer who, with his wife, Heather, manages Watson Farm in Jamestown, Rhode Island, a 265-acre property with a 1796 farm-house owned by Historic New England. In 2006, Hopkins, the Mintos, and other farmers collaborated on procuring a government grant to fi nance the initial costs for producing an undyed soft wool blanket made entirely from local fl eece — and Rhody Warm was born.
It was an immediate success. The 2006 blanket featured a win-dowpane pattern in gray and off -white. “We placed an ad for it in the local paper on a Thursday in mid-December,” recalls Don Minto, “and the blankets sold out by Sunday!”
a cat snuggles on a Rhody Warm blanket (above) in the barn at Historic New England’s Watson Farm in Jamestown. At the farm’s Sheep Shearing Day last May (facing page, clockwise from top left), Melissa Higgins handles a sheep; the 1796 farmhouse; Heather Minto checks a fl eece for matted areas immediately after one of the farm’s 50 sheep, which produce about 500 pounds of fl eece per year, was shorn; the animals return to the barn after the shearing.
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That fi rst year, 19 Rhode Island sheep producers collected 1,600 pounds of wool to produce 371 blankets in sizes ranging from crib to king. Since then, says Hopkins, as many as 65 local producers have contributed wool, and as many as 600 blankets have been pro-duced in a given year. “It goes up and down, depending on how much wool is produced,” says Hopkins.
The blanket production sequence that began in 2006, a lengthy and geographically circuitous one, is still followed. The animals are shorn in late spring, and in June the sheep producers gather to “skirt” the fl eece, that is, remove matted sections and sort it by color. White, nonwhite, gray, and black fl eece are bagged separately and shipped to a wool scour-ing facility in South Carolina (no such facility remains in New England). “The wool comes back clean and fl uffy,” says Hopkins. At this point, the blanket design is discussed. “Only after we see the wool washed and carded do we know what percentage of light and dark we have, and then we can plan the design,” says Heather Minto, who is not only a sheep pro-ducer but a textile designer as well.
A small windowpane pattern with a natural background and oxford grey panes was chosen for the 2010 blanket (past patterns include buffalo plaid and herringbone). After the pattern is committed to paper, the washed wool is shipped to a mill in Massachusetts, where it is spun into yarn. Another textile mill in Massachusetts weaves the yarn into cloth, which is shipped to a Rhode Island mill where it is cut into various sizes, the edges are fi nished, and the Rhody Warm label is added. The fi nal products range in size from lap throw ($80) to king size ($225), and this year, shawls and dog coats are also being offered.
“We like to get the blankets back to the farmers by late October, so they can sell them in November,” says Hopkins, who says the blankets are a favorite holiday or wedding gift. As for the sheep, well, they’re still grazing, and that’s the way it should be in Rhode Island.
HOMEGROWN BLANKETS
Long before “locally grown,” “sustainable,” and “neutral palette” were part of the consumer vocabulary, New Englanders used simple blankets in whites, grays, and browns to ward off the chill. They had to — there weren’t other choices. Today, in addition to Rhode Island, several other New England states are again making wool blankets from their locally raised sheep.
rhode island Rhody Warm blanket, risheep.org
connecticut The Connecticut Blanket Project, ctsheep.org
massachusetts Baaay State Blanket Project, worcestersheep.com
vermont Vermont Fiberworks Blanket, vermontsheep.org
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N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0 • D E S I G N N E W E N G L A N D 9 7
undyed yarn spun from local Rhode Island wool is popular with knitters. A lamb, ready for its shearing (facing page, left); Heather Minto of Watson Farm (facing page, right) stands near a fl ag made of old fence wood, with her collie Blue beside her.
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98 D E S I G N N E W E N G L A N D • N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0
PARTY PERFECTION • For Los Angeles interior designer and host extraordinaire Joe Nye, throwing an elegant yet understated soiree is just another day in the life. But while he effortlessly entertains with élan, he knows it’s not so easy and enjoyable for all. So he put his passion to the page and spelled out how he throws a party and loves the process, to boot. Flair: Exquisite Invitations, Lush Flowers, and Gorgeous Table Settings ($30, Rizzoli) is 159 pages of glossy inspiration. Broken into four chapters — table settings, paper, fl owers, and essentials — Flair doesn’t bombard with words. Rather, Nye lets the images do the educating, accenting them with one-page introductions and quick tips. One of the
book’s best features is Nye’s go-to party fl owers presented as a short photo-glossary.
accompaniment compendium
In the spirit • Exquisite ideas for hesitant hosts and gift giverswritten and produced by danielle ossher
bi
11•17–21SCHOOL OF THE MUSEUM OF FINE ARTS SALElocation Bostontickets Freebenefits Student scholarshipsinfosmfa.edu/artsale
12•3–4MAINE COLLEGEOF ART HOLIDAY SALElocation Portland, Mainetickets Freebenefits Education, outreach, and student programsinfo meca.edu
12•4RHODE ISLANDSCHOOL OF DESIGN ALUMNI SALElocation Providencetickets $7; free for childrenunder 14, RISD studentsbenefits Studentscholarshipsinfo risd.edu/alumni_sale
12•6–11MASSART HOLIDAY SALElocation Bostontickets Freebenefits Student fi nancialassistanceinfomassart.edu
Scour the holiday sales hosted by art schools across New England for an original gift that gives back.
12•3–9HARTFORD ART SCHOOL CERAMICS HOLIDAY SALElocation Hartford, Connecticuttickets Freebenefits Student conferenceinfohartfordartschool.org
106CompendiumREV.indd 98 10/19/10 7:03:45 PM
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Congratulations to the winners of the2nd Annual IFDA Designer Showcase Awards.
Sponsored by IFDA and Design New England Magazine,this award celebrates exceptional interior design by an individual or firm.
CHRIS KAYTrademark StyleCommunityService Award
BEVERLY RIVKINDBeverly RivkindInterior DesignDining Room
SHIRIN TAHSILIModa CucinaKitchen
DEBORAH FARRANDDressing RoomsSpecialty Space
KAREN DZENDOLET and THOM GLYNNEye Catching Interiors LLCLiving Space
4.
1.
2.
2. 3.1.
4.
To view before and after photos of the winning entries, go to www.ifda_ne.org.
3. DES IGNnewengland
INTERNATIONALFURNISHINGSAND DESIGNASSOCIATION
Entries judged bythe national award winning
Design New England editorial staff.
SPONSORS:
DNE.indd 1 10/18/10 1:30:26 PM
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ad index
Audio Video Design, avdesigns.com 57
Barrett & Company, barrettandco.com 53
Billie Brenner Ltd., billiebrennerltd.com 42
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Boston International Fine Art Show, fi neartboston.com 101
Boston Society of Architects, architects.org 40
Bulthaup Corp, bulthaup.com 29
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FH Perry Builders, fhperry.com 41
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Howell Custom Building Group, howellcustombuild.com 21
Huston & Company, hustonandcompany.com 40
Hutker Architects, hutkerarchitects.com 37
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Kristen Rivoli Interior Design, rivoliinteriordesign.com 52
LaBarge Homes, labargehomes.com C3
Landry & Arcari, landryandarcari.com 17
L’Attitude Art & Sculpture Gallery, lattitudegallery.com 54
LDa Architects, lda-architects.com 43
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Ligne Roset, lignerosetboston.com 23
M. Steinert & Sons, msteinert.com 51
Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams, mgandbw.com 2
NanaWall Systems, nanawall.com 9
New England Architectural Finishing, nearchitecturalfi nishing.com 59
Nine Zero Hotel, kimptonhotels.com 100
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Payne Bouchier, paynebouchier.com 13
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RBC Wealth Management, rbcfc.com/marcie.daleo 55
Renjeau Galleries, renjeau.com 52
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Roomscapes Luxury Design Center, roomscapesinc.com 11
RW Interiors, rwinteriors.net 59
S + H Construction, shconstruction.com 48
Stone Technologies, Inc., stonetechonline.com 39
Susan Reddick Design, susanreddickdesign.com 10
The Boston Shade Company, bostonshadecompany.com 4
The Classic Group, Inc., theclassicgroup.net 36
The Holland Companies, thehollandcompanies.com 14
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Van Dam Architecture and Design, vandamdesign.com 49
Village House Interiors, LLC, villagehouseinteriors.com 49
W Boston Residences, 100stuartstreet.com 1
Webster & Company, webstercompany.com 31
Westborough Design Center, westboroughdesigncenter.com 35
Wm Gregory LLC, wmgregory.com 37
Woodmeister Master Builders, woodmeister.com 7
106AdIndex.indd 100 10/19/10 7:07:40 PM
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40 Outstanding Galleries
from the U.S. and Europe
offering Traditional and
Contemporary Fine Art
Arader Galleries (NY)Arcadia Fine Arts (NY)Argosy Gallery (ME)Avery Galleries (PA)Blue Heron Fine Art (MA)Bowersock Gallery (MA)Brick Walk (CT)The Caldwell Gallery (NY)The Christina Gallery (MA)Clarke Gallery (MA)Cooley Gallery (CT)Debra Force Fine Art (NY)Eckert Fine Art (CT)Edward T. Pollack Fine Arts (ME)Elizabeth Clement Fine Art (MA)Fraser Gallery (MD)Fusco & Four Modern (MA)Galeria Quorum (Spain)Galerie Jean-Francois Cazeau (France)Gerold Wunderlich & Co. (NY)Gladwell & Company (England)Heinley Fine Arts (MA)International Art Acquisitions (NY)Jay Chatellier Fine Art (NJ)Joy Kant Fine Art (MA)Koman Fine Art (FL)Marine Arts Gallery (MA)Martha Richardson Fine Art (MA)McClees Galleries (PA)Principle Gallery (VA)Questroyal Fine Art (NY)Quidley & Company (MA)Renjeau Gallery (MA)Schantz Galleries (MA)Stephen Foster Fine Art (DC)Susanna J. Fichera Fine Art (MA)Tom Veilleux Gallery (ME)Vose Galleries (MA)William Vareika Fine Arts (RI)Wynne/Falconer Gallery (MA)
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FOURTEENTH ANNUALBOSTON INTERNATIONALFINE ART SHOW
November 18-21, 2010
The CycloramaBoston Center for the Arts539 Tremont Street, in the South End
GALA PREVIEW
Thursday Evening, November 18
To benefit Boston Symphony Orchestra Enjoy fine food, delicious wine, festive music, and ofcourse the first choice of a dazzling array of fine art.Tickets $100, $250 & $500. Call 888-266-1200 or online at www.bso.org/BIFAS.
WEEKEND SHOW & SALE
Friday 1-9, Saturday 11-8, Sunday, 11-5 Admission $15, under 12 free.Café at the show. Valet and discount parking available.
Friday Evening Special Program “The Fine Art Of Living”, with apanel discussion at 7:00pm on “Art in Your Home,” to benefit 99.5 All Classical, a service of WGBH.Sponsored by Design New England
Saturday: New Collector’s Series, 3pm & 4pm
For information: 617-363-0405 www.FineArtBoston.com
Complimentary weekend admission with this ad, courtesy of Design New England.
THE CLASSICGROUP
Top to bottom:
Joshua Suda, Principle GalleryEric Forstmann, (b.1962), Eckert Fine ArtHarry Aiken Vincent (1864-1931), Avery GalleriesGen Paul (1895-1975), Galerie Jean-Francois Cazeau Dale Chihuly, Schantz Galleries
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What’s mine is yours • More homeowners are opening their doors and handing over their keys for the latest in travel trends, the house swapwritten by john budris
accompaniment real estate
102 D E S I G N N E W E N G L A N D • N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0
haran Vijay never thought of himself as a house swapper until his daughter became the mother of twins last year. “I live in Portland, Maine, my daughter lives in Austin, Texas, and I needed to be close by her for a few weeks,” says Vijay. “The expense of a hotel was out of the question, and living at my daughter’s house wouldn’t work so well, so the swap was just perfect.”
For Vijay, the trade came courtesy of a free Craigslist posting and a Texan with a hankering for New England foliage. “I grew up in Oklahoma, lived a long time in Texas, and always wanted to see those famous autumn leaves,” says Johnnie Morgan, an Austin-based nurse. “I had such a good time at Sharan’s house in Portland last year that I’m swapping for a place on Peaks Island this fall.”
Vijay and Morgan are among a fast-growing, international com-munity fi nding new value in their homes — swap equity. There are three typical types of exchanges: simultaneous, where homeowners swap at the same time; non-simultaneous, where the stay times are fl exible (usually the case with homeowners who have more than one property); and hospitality, where “swappers” stay as guests with the homeowners.
Accommodations offered for exchange can vary from primary residences to second homes, from one-bedroom apartments to man-sions, cottages to castles, and houses of every kind in between.
“There’s no typical client or typical house or typical length of stay,” says Katie Costabel, co-owner with her husband, Karl, of HomeLink International (HomeLink-USA.com), a clearinghouse that has matched prospective home swappers for 57 years with an interna-tional client list of some 13,500 members. “There are many reasons to make a house swap,” she adds, “not just for vacations.”
She estimates home-swap activity has increased 30 percent to 40 percent over the last three years. Clients run the gamut from stu-dents and professionals looking for living arrangements for a semester or a sabbatical to retirees in search of a little adventure. Longer-term exchanges are a way for swappers, particularly in a soft market, to relocate while they wait for housing prices to recover before posting the “For Sale” sign.
Home swapping is nothing novel. In the wake of World War II, European schoolteachers on summer vacation popularized the trend through their unions, and the practice quickly spread to the rest of the world through printed directories. Today, the Internet has many sites marketing houses, including several targeting spe-cifi c audiences, including gays, home-schoolers, waterfront-home owners, and surfers. Some charge a nominal annual fee, typically $100, with a free year if no successful swap is arranged during the membership period.
Although trading places is often initially a budget-conscious move (even a modest hotel room can sometimes cost $100 per night), many swappers remark that the greatest benefi t is experiencing an area like a local rather than like a tourist, all the while having the comforts of home.
“It made no sense that most of my own personal travel budget went to hotels, which, no matter how lovely, were impersonal,” says British public relations guru Debbie Wosskow, founder of luxehome-swap.com, a UK-based website catering to a high-end clientele.
Wosskow advises prospective swappers to never underestimate the desirability of their homes. A condo in Boston, for example, could grab the attention of a villa owner in Tuscany, says Wosskow. Many of her clients are “gappers” — successful people not yet ready to retire who want a “change of channel” as a transition before the next proj-ect. “Especially for those with second homes, swapping is a way to gain some extra value without income tax consequences, since no money is being exchanged,” she says.
House swapping is not for those who shrink at the idea that oth-ers will sleep in their beds, use their dishes, and explore their stuff. However, for many, it can be ideal. Just ask Dawna Smith and her husband, Norman, of Harpswell, Maine, who are veterans of 20 happy house-swapping years, both internationally and stateside, with a few surprises. “We traded with a gentleman who simply said he was in the baking business,” she says. “It turned out he was in charge of a major international corporation, and at his villa in Acapulco, we had tenor Julio Iglesias living next door.”
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* For information on how to nominate candidates for this honor write to [email protected]
Design New England celebrates
its Fourth Anniversary by announcing
THE MIDDIESMentors In Design
Our salute to professionals in the field of residential design who share
their time, expertise, and wisdom with the next generation.
FOUR YEARS OF SPLENDID HOMES AND GARDENS
PHO
TOG
RAPH
BY
ERIC
RO
TH
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104 D E S I G N N E W E N G L A N D • N O V E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 0
In his mind’s eye, architect Paul Lukez brought heaven to earth on his fi rst visit to a hilltop outside Guaimaca, Honduras, a village of 20,000 people where the average salary is $5 a day. On an annual service trip with his family and members of
Sacred Heart Parish in Lexington, Massachusetts, Lukez visited the 350-acre site that was donated four years ago to the local mission where four Dominican Sisters of the Presentation run a boarding school for girls, a clinic, a community center, and, now, an organic farm. While he was there, Sister Maria Ceballos confi ded her vision for a center for spiritual retreats, training, and classes, which would also feature a residence hall for paying guests. It would take the mission closer to its goal of becoming self-supporting.
Lukez, whose fi rm is in Somerville, Massachusetts, knew the church would be the soul of the project, and set to work designing an open-ended pavilionlike structure that would capture the remarkable light and breathtaking views. Though he uses vernacular references — timber roofs, plaster walls, a bell tower — the church is far from orthodox. Inside, the fl oor slopes toward the valley, and the dramatic vista of lush forest and endless sky form the sanctuary for the simple altar and cross. Plans in hand, the parishioners at Sacred Heart now hope to raise money to build the complex that will bring physical and spiritual sustenance to this community.
written by gail ravgiala
SUSTAINING GRACE • The natural beauty of a Honduran hilltop inspires the design of a spiritual retreat that will help support a community
giving back
To donate to the Mission at Guaimaca, visit the “Support Ministries” page on dominicansistersofthepresentation.organd choose “Support our mission in Honduras.”
a terrace at the church entrance is a welcoming gathering spot. Bays to the right accommodate small groups. Inside (below, top), pews face the view. Stone steps (below, bottom) lead up to the entrance.
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inspiring design.brought home
Story Board:
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interiors ▼
Simple PoetryArchitect and clients create a harmony of form and function on a stunning but challenging site.
homegrown ▼
Simple Poetry
architecture ▼
Comfort & StyleA touch of whimsy energizes designer John Stefanon’s sophisticated interiors.
Rhody WarmRhode Island sheep farmers turn surplus wool into handsome all-natural blankets.
visit ▼Elizabeth Hourihan • As work and family overlap, organization and a clear head facilitate this designer’s heart-and-soul agenda
selections ▼Gather round the table Three design mavens create table settings that are sure to refresh.
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