KHS-designed custom bathroom vanity

Take a look at a recently installed custom bathroom vanity designed by KHS. (Yes, in addition to architectural services, KHS offers interior- and furniture-design services.) This new vanity replaces a tiny vanity in the master bath of this antique home. The homeowner requested additional counter surface and cabinet storage in a design that would complement the traditional interior, which also includes a claw-foot tub. The resulting KHS custom design is meant to be elegant and furniture-like to suit this stately residence. The countertop is Carrara marble; the mirror, faucet, and sconces are from Pottery Barn; knobs are from Adler’s Design Center and Hardware.

Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’re interested in getting the “KHS look” for your home, too.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

Get the KHS Look: Design featuring C2 Paint "Magnet" color

If you’re a frequent House Enthusiast reader, then you’ve heard me sing the praises of C2 Paint before. Their “Magnet” color is one of my favorites. Depending where and how you use it, it can be deep and striking, liquid and soft, or stony and subtle. On the fireplace surround above at the KHS Harvard Shaker House renovation/addition, it tends toward the deep and striking, boldly contrasting the putty grey (C2 “Pavement”) floor.

“Magnet” on the floor of the KHS Shaker House renovation/addition

Elsewhere, in the same KHS project, C2 “Magnet” makes an appearance as a floor paint. Here, it comes across as more liquid and soft, especially where it juxtaposes the C2 “Sheer” cabinetry and trim. Using a limited palette of colors — sometimes in different applications — can help rooms of a smaller home flow one into the other to create an overall more spacious effect (as I mention in The New Small House and The New Cottage).

At our own cottage, C2 “Magnet” on the screen door and Dutch door (which I had modified from an existing stored door) takes on yet another tone. It has more of a stony subtle flavor in an exterior application. I wrote about this Dutch door in an earlier House Enthusiast post.

As with any paint color you’re considering, you’ll want to look at a sample of it in different qualities of light and in different orientations (vertical or horizontal) to get an idea of how it will look in relation to the other surfaces where you plan to feature it. Fortunately, C2 offers poster-board-size samples to help you make a decision.

Now, go forth with color confidence. You’ll be glad you did.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

Gray-and-white kitchen renovation added to the KHS architecture and design portfolio

I recently added the KHS Bristol Kitchen renovation to the KHS website portfolio pages. Give it a look if you have a moment.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

Cottage kitchens from The New Cottage in The Vine from the Vineyard Gazette

Pick up a copy of The Vine from The Vineyard Gazette for a story I wrote about three cottage kitchens found in my latest book The New Cottage from The Taunton Press. Better yet, pick up a copy of the book ;-) Available at Bunch of Grapes on Martha’s Vineyard, a local bookstore near you, and online.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast

Get the KHS Look: Design featuring O&G Studio of Warren, RI

Next up in “Get the KHS Look” is O&G Studio furnishings as seen in my book The New Cottage from The Taunton Press and here online in the KHS Touisset Small House renovation/addition. This new kitchen/dining/sitting space, which resembles a crisp enclosed porch, is an addition to a c. +/- 1910 cottage in Warren, R.I. The renovation/addition includes design elements inspired by tradition that we’ve updated for a cleaner aesthetic. The white, reveal board wainscot is a more contemporary take on the tried-and-true beadboard found elsewhere in the original house. And clear-finished mahogany ceiling beams reinterpret the exposed ceiling joists in the adjacent original living room, while lending the kitchen a bit of a nautical finish. So O&G stools and chairs, which reinvent classic design, fit right in.

The O&G seating is the “Wayland Fan-back counter stool,” made of maple and sporting an Azimuth stain, which suited the mildly nautical vibe.

At the nearby KHS-designed custom mahogany table, the O&G “Wayland Low-back side chairs”, also in maple with Azimuth stain, sit opposite the KHS-designed custom banquette. (And, yes, those are more “Spiral Tide” pillows by Oliveira Textiles)

Here’s another view of the side chairs.

Near the cottage entrance, the “Moana mirror” by O&G captures a view of the original stone fireplace surround which was fitted with a new wood-stove insert, new soapstone mantel, and new soapstone hearth as part of the KHS renovation.

It was important to this homeowner to utilize local vendors and craftsman, like Warren’s O&G Studio, where possible. But you can acquire O&G furnishings and KHS design services, too, even if you’re somewhat farther afield. Don’t be shy; be in touch.

by Katie Hutchison for House Enthusiast