Vineyard Vibe

Photo by Sean Litchfield

Sheffield says one of the goals in the new design program was to positively impact the compartmentalization older homes often experience with multiple smaller rooms, particularly on the first floor. “Simply by opening up the connections between the rooms and widening doorways, we created a stronger access between the front of the home and the back of the home. So now, when you enter the home, your sight line extends to and through the other living spaces and draws you in. You have a feeling that the house is larger than it actually is, and it encourages you to navigate through the space to explore what comes next.”

Sheffield also discusses the elements that subtly allow you to relate easily to the style and design of the home, particularly the choice to incorporate shiplap in various ways throughout the home. “The cohesion of the program was expressed through the simple color palette, and use of shiplap in different ways. It was used as wainscoting as well as paneling in the bathroom. Since we couldn’t really modify the original staircase, we introduced that traditional material there, so it stops you and creates a moment. All of those moments are really what that material lends throughout the house.”

Despite the soft hues of white that make up the background of the overall design story, Sheffield convinced Emily to introduce pops of a classic marine-navy blue, which greets visitors on the sturdy front door. The blue appears again as backsplash to a modest yet efficient built-in bar in the dining room and the back of an original built-in china cupboard that Kontje also painstakingly restored. And perhaps the crowning touch of this perfect maritime blue is found on the base of the oversized island in the kitchen.

The kitchen is not large, yet does not suffer from inefficiency. Shiplap makes an appearance again on the ceiling and on one wall that serves as a pot rack. The modest kitchen accommodates a Wolf range, a Bosch refrigerator, and other high-end appliances including a wine cooler tucked into the island, while still leaving plenty of storage in the tall Crown Point cabinetry.

Emily was reluctant to lose the original pantry in the home during the renovation process. For her, it was a unique throwback detail not found in other homes and full of memories growing up. Sheffield was successful in convincing her that by removing the pantry, the orientation of the kitchen could pivot to naturally communicate with 300 square feet of space that was gained by adding a porch, accessed via a Marvin Ultimate Bi-Fold Door.