Kitchen of the Week: Respectful Renovation of a 1730 Home
Updated amenities transport a Massachusetts kitchen into the modern world
A house that has stood for nearly 300 years is bound to have been through changes. The John Kimball Jr. House in Ipswich, Massachusetts, built in 1730, had been remodeled and added on to numerous times before the current homeowners, the Wonson family, approached Cummings Architects. “There were some additions and renovations done piecemeal throughout the years,” says Cummings designer Chloe Rideout. The last was in 2005, when space was added for bedrooms and closets. Rideout oversaw this renovation, which included a complete remodel of the kitchen and other improvements that respected the Georgian-style home’s historic character.
In the kitchen, the architects enlarged the space and installed new cabinetry, an island, backsplash tile, lighting and appliances. The large beam and posts around the kitchen island are timber framing from the original house.
Before: The old kitchen had standard white cabinetry, black appliances and insufficient lighting.
After: Reclaimed wood used for the beams, flooring and shelving brings back the character of the old house, while stainless steel appliances, new cabinetry and a new island with shiplap siding modernize the space.
The architects chose spruce for the island counter, and granite for the perimeter counters. “The homeowners wanted something durable but rustic looking, so we went with leathered black granite on the perimeter. It is also a relatively affordable stone,” Rideout says. The light gray ceramic backsplash tile has rough edges that give it a wavy, textured look.
The choice of paint color was an important part of maintaining the home’s period character, Rideout says. The window trim is darker than the walls in keeping with the home’s original era. The architects went with Benjamin’s Moore’s Stonybrook for the trim and Revere Pewter for the shiplap walls.
Look for gray ceramic tile in the Houzz Shop
The architects chose spruce for the island counter, and granite for the perimeter counters. “The homeowners wanted something durable but rustic looking, so we went with leathered black granite on the perimeter. It is also a relatively affordable stone,” Rideout says. The light gray ceramic backsplash tile has rough edges that give it a wavy, textured look.
The choice of paint color was an important part of maintaining the home’s period character, Rideout says. The window trim is darker than the walls in keeping with the home’s original era. The architects went with Benjamin’s Moore’s Stonybrook for the trim and Revere Pewter for the shiplap walls.
Look for gray ceramic tile in the Houzz Shop
The architects transformed a former bathroom into the kitchen pantry. The builders used floorboards found in the attic to create a sliding barn door to the pantry.
Before: This photo shows the former “hall” living space that the Wonsons use as a family room. The room leads into the kitchen.
After: The architects enlivened the hall-family room with paint and new windows. They painted the cabinetry using Benjamin Moore’s Saybrook Sage. “We used traditional window grille patterns for the replacement wood windows and the new windows in the addition,” Rideout says
Floors throughout the home are now a mix of original and replaced planks. “For cost savings, we butt up new wide-plank eastern white pine to the existing floors and stained to match as best we could,” Rideout says.
Floors throughout the home are now a mix of original and replaced planks. “For cost savings, we butt up new wide-plank eastern white pine to the existing floors and stained to match as best we could,” Rideout says.
Before: Here’s a look at the first-level floor plan before the recent renovation.
After: In the newly renovated home, the architects expanded the kitchen (seen on the bottom section of this plan) into the existing sitting room, and the breakfast nook was relocated. Storage and a mudroom were added, and a bathroom was relocated. The areas labeled “hall” and “parlor” — Georgian-era terms — on the plans are living areas.
The new plans were approved by the town’s Architectural Preservation District Commission, which Rideout says was an easy task for the firm since it has worked on numerous historic homes.
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The new plans were approved by the town’s Architectural Preservation District Commission, which Rideout says was an easy task for the firm since it has worked on numerous historic homes.
More on Houzz
Read about other Kitchens of the Week
Find a kitchen designer near you
Shop for kitchen and dining products
Kitchen at a Glance
Who uses it: The Wonson family
Location: Ipswich, Massachusetts
Size: 215 square feet (20 square meters), plus a pantry of 60 square feet (5.6 square meters) and a breakfast nook of 110 square feet (10 square meters)
Designer: Chloe Rideout of Cummings Architects
This home is in a historic district on Ipswich’s High Street, which dates back to the founding of the coastal town north of Boston. The homeowners, a couple with three children, wanted a larger kitchen, more storage and updates that would respect the home’s history. The architects also added a large mudroom, a storage room and a master bathroom.
“It was important to them, despite adding square feet, to maintain the historical aspects of the home and reflect that in the new work,” Rideout says. During the process, Houzz helped provide a visual reference for communicating ideas, she says. “We used Houzz to look up reference images of other projects when trying to explain how something would look.”
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