Circa-1750 Kitchen and Bath Receive Modern Makeover

OLD SAYBROOK, CT —

The owners of a circa-1750 home, located here, knew they had a ton of work ahead of them if they wanted to completely transform it and infuse it with 21st-century sensibilities and style. So much so, that, after attempting renovating it on their own, the owners finally sought the help of professionals.

Enter architects Sabrina Foulke and Greg Nucci, AIA, of Point One Architects, also based here. The owners turned to Foulke and Nucci for help and brought with them Jerry Mals, an independent cabinetmaker based in Berlin, CT. The owners sat down with Mals, Foulke and Nucci and told them that while the post-and-beam home had historic roots, they did not want to restore it back to the way it was in 1750. Instead, according to Foulke, they wanted to go contemporary on the interior.

"They were not interested in staying true to the style of 1750.

In fact, they wanted nothing that was antique," she recalls.

With that mandate in mind, Foulke and Nucci devised a more open, more modern, completely revamped layout for the kitchen, as well as for the entire home. The plan called for starting from scratch.

"We gutted the entire home, then completely restructured and rebuilt it. The kitchen was a just a small piece of this whole-house renovation," says Foulke. "We gave the entire house a more modern, open-plan design, with the kitchen being the only space that was truly its own room on that level."

Simultaneously, Mals worked on creating the custom cabinetry that would help warm the contemporary style of the kitchen and the rest of the home.

OPENING DESIGN DOORS

The choice of door style is what truly dictated the warm, contemporary style the kitchen in this home received.

"We went with a full-overlay slab door, which is fairly modern in feel. But the wood species we chose really warmed the space up. It was Makore Fiddleback, which is a type of mahogany," explains Foulke.

The warmth was continued onto the floor where Santos mahogany was applied. "It's a little darker and redder than the cabinetry," she points out.

To further maintain the warmth of the wood throughout the kitchen, Foulke, Nucci and Mals used all natural finishes. Häfele pulls were also applied to all of the cabinets.

Other natural wood touches that warm the contemporary feel of the kitchen include framed arches in natural mahogany, according to Foulke.

WATER WORLD

After the door style and wood species were selected, "we then set about locating the different elements in the kitchen," Foulke indicates.

One of the assets of this house is its spectacular water views, notes Foulke. "We are over water, so we decided to take advantage of that. We positioned the kitchen's only sink to [be located under a window that overlooks] the water. We installed a bay window and centered the Rohl fireclay, single-bowl, undermount sink and the Rohl satin nickel, single-lever faucet underneath," she elaborates.

"There was another window, as well. It was sort of an odd placement, next to the Zephyr Milano hood, but the view from there was worth it," she continues.

To further take advantage of the water views, Foulke and Nucci opted for much less wall cabinetry. Instead, they located much of the storage elsewhere, in places such as the pull-out pantry and the island – which is all storage, in fact.

The island is also made of the same Makore Fiddleback wood as the rest of the kitchen’s custom cabinetry. But here it’s accented by white painted columns that "tie back to the home’s post-and-beam construction," Foulke points out.

She and Nucci extended the Verde Vecchio granite that tops the island on two sides in order to create space to eat. They used the same granite for the rest of the kitchen countertops.

"The green countertops and warm, honey amber of the cabinets really play well against the water views. It gives the kitchen a natural feel, in addition to being contemporary," relates Foulke.