Our clients purchased a 4,000 SF historic home on a beautiful property with direct access to the Assabet River. The main goals for the design were to add visual interest to house exterior (existing house had very a overbearing roof structure and a back façade with inconsistent elements, i.e. doors, windows, window spacing); add functional and visually appealing outdoor living spaces to the home (re-design existing screened porch and large outdoor patio for dining); design interior spaces that provide generous and comfortable circulation and comfort from room to room…spaces to accommodate aging in place. The clients wanted the interior design layout to focus on the outdoors. They wanted us to create interior spaces that can be used for entertaining large groups, but that still feel intimate and incorporate natural materials, layer textures and finishes to create warmth and visual depth. The original home’s interior layout felt very disjointed so we re-organized the rooms while keeping the overall integrity of the home intact. We amplified the home’s existing main hallway - originally designed as the “spine” of the house – by modifying the central staircase to serve as a focal point, by eliminating the oppressive bookcases that lined the hallway and by enlarging the entrances to rooms accessed from this hallway. We added art lights and sconces along the hallway so the clients could display their art collection. The home’s interior felt very dark due to the low ceilings and dated finish materials; we re-energized the home by knocking down walls wherever structurally possible to allow for clear sight lines, selected finishes and fixtures specifically to brighten up each interior space (light oak floors, tone on tone wall colors, layered lighting in mixed metals). The clients requested custom built-ins throughout the home to suit their storage needs; in an effort to visually enlarge each room, built-ins were designed that paid homage to the home’s traditional architectural vernacular, but that didn’t add visual weight.