Kitchens We Love

Rich walnut, cream-colored cabinets, and white walls come together in a kitchen that looks as though it evolved over time. The ceiling molding lends interest while framing the island below. Owner Megan Aurora thought through every detail for both beauty and function. “I’ve been dreaming about this kitchen for years,” she says. “I’m not a designer, just a strong-headed owner.”

Architect Colin Smith printed life-size images of the windows, whose details reinforce the home’s Tudor-style origins, so Aurora could see exactly how they would look.

The arch reflects original arches elsewhere in the house. The cabinet’s hue echoes the hydrangeas the homeowner dries every year to bring her garden indoors for the winter.

The island is topped with Le Blanc quartzite. A pullout bin keeps compost scraps out of sight.

A custom brass-trimmed metal hood adds a little bling above the La Cornue induction stove, and a pot filler makes boiling up a batch of pasta easy.

Baskets tucked into cubbyholes in the island hold fresh fruit for easy access; a hidden pocket door can cover the baskets for a finished look.

Imagination at Work

Long before walls came down, Megan Aurora had built the kitchen in her mind. Working with architect Colin Smith, she transformed the cramped back of her 1895 Colonial Revival in Lexington into a gathering space that looks original to the house. A new arch echoes existing openings elsewhere in the home. Expansive windows above the farmhouse sink fill the room with daylight. “The windows really make the kitchen,” says builder Nicholas Vercollone, noting how they echo the home’s original detailing.

“I designed the kitchen around what I had, where I work, how I work,” Aurora says. Cabinets and drawers incorporate ventilated produce storage and a pullout compost center into the Le Blanc quartzite island. Cream-painted and walnut cabinetry lend the room the patina of a house that has evolved over time. “She worked so hard to make this magical for her family,” says Niki Vercollone, Nicholas’s wife and colleague. Across the room, a pantry cupboard painted Sherwin-Williams Mulberry Silk takes its cue from the pink hydrangeas Aurora dries each fall. Together, they keep her garden close through New England’s long winters.

Project Team

Architecture: Colin Smith Architecture
Builder: Highline Construction
Cabinetry: Ellekin Millwork & Cabinetry
Photography: Dan Cutrona

The walnut shades on the pendants play off the handsome furniture-like island. Pietra Del Cardoso on the island top and counters makes a fine companion for the moody deep-gray hue of the lower cabinets. The backsplash above the Bertazzoni stove is a noncombustible faux V-groove paneling that matches the wood-paneled walls.

Built-in hutch cabinets add to the kitchen’s abundant storage.

The green glass lamp is a repurposed vintage bottle; interior designer Kristina Crestin had a hole put into the cabinet and a socket installed behind the cabinetry panel to hide the cord.

The window-seat, a last-minute addition, has turned out to be one of the most popular spots in the house.

Room to Grow

The owner of this antique Marblehead home initially hoped to renovate her kitchen within its existing footprint. But, says designer Kristina
Crestin, “She realized she could spend a lot of money and not actually make the kitchen measurably better.” Instead, an addition by architect Nancy Twomey transformed the former kitchen into a proper mudroom and half bath, creating the airy space the original footprint could never provide.

Benjamin Moore Nightfall grounds the perimeter cabinetry. A substantial walnut island with soft curves warms the center of the room. “The floor
and island are the stars,” Crestin says of the reclaimed terra-cotta-inspired concrete hex tile and furniture-like centerpiece. Vertical V-groove paneling helps, as she puts it, “get some old house back into the kitchen.” A bronze-toned metal hood adds another layer of texture.

Builder Shawn Curran says expansive windows are another key to the room’s airy feel. “It’s a cleaner design,” he says of windows that extend closer to the countertops than was once typical. A custom stone double sink and floating window seat fulfill the promise of the addition.

Project Team

Architecture: Twomey Design Associates
Interior architecture and design: Kristina Crestin Design
Builder: Curran & Sons Construction
Cabinetry: Northshore Custom Woodworking
Photography: Jared Kuzia

Rich walnut cabinetry, creamy quartzite, and pale green tile give the parents’ compact kitchen warmth without sacrificing brightness.

Floor-to-ceiling cabinetry makes every inch count, while sculptural pendants lend a softer note above the island.

A clever lift mechanism raises the stand mixer to counter height when needed, then tucks both appliance and bowl neatly behind cabinet doors when baking is done.

Soft white cabinetry, a plaster hood, and sculptural pendants give the monochromatic upstairs kitchen calm appeal. Windows relocated during the renovation bring natural light to the range wall.

A slab of Carrara marble turns the coffee station into a focal point, while open shelving and concealed storage keep everyday necessities close at hand.

Kindred Kitchens

Although they occupy two floors of the same Jamaica Plain home, these kitchens express distinctly different personalities. Conceived by Helios Design Group founder Chris Hosford and designer Ariel Roth, they belong to a multigenerational family that transformed a two-family house into separate residences for parents on the first floor and their daughter, son-in-law, and children on the second. The arrangement allows the grandparents to age in place while keeping the generations closely connected.

Each generation, however, envisioned its home differently. “The daughter knew what she wanted from the start,” Roth says. “She liked warm woods, natural stone, a more subdued palette. The parents wanted a lot more color.”

The first-floor kitchen, created through a complete gut renovation, transformed a cramped space that also housed the laundry and mudroom into a hardworking hub for homeowners who love to cook. Rich walnut cabinetry provides abundant storage. An island painted deep forest green becomes the focal point beneath sculptural pendants. Creamy quartzite countertops, pale green tile, and corner windows overlooking the backyard keep the compact room bright and inviting.

Upstairs, the younger couple’s kitchen retained much of its original footprint but gained additional counter space, relocated windows, and custom built-ins. Off-white cabinetry, Carrara marble, a plaster hood, and floating shelves displaying favorite ceramics create a calm, monochromatic backdrop.

One especially refined detail carries the countertops directly into the window openings, eliminating a traditional backsplash. “It has to be laid out perfectly,” says builder and cabinetmaker Tim Schiefer of the installation, which depends on exceptionally level floors.

Roth selected gently sculptural lighting to reinforce that serene atmosphere. “I wanted something that felt soft, not hard modern, that didn’t distract from the calm color palette,” she says.

Together, the two kitchens demonstrate how shared design can accommodate dramatically different tastes while strengthening connections across three generations.

Project Team
Architecture and interior design: Helios Design Group
Builder and cabinetmaker: Schiefer & Co.
Photography: Cody O’Loughlin
Styling: Sean William Donovan

Warm cherry cabinetry, oversized checkerboard marble flooring, and milk-glass pendants restore the kitchen’s late-nineteenth-century spirit.

Marble wraps the range wall for easy cleanup; fluted-glass cabinet fronts add texture and a subtle nod to the home’s late-nineteenth-century roots.

A furniture-like cabinet displays antique plates and copperware above baskets that neatly store table linens and other entertaining essentials.

Centered between wallpaper-lined niches, the breakfast nook invites lingering over morning coffee or casual family meals. A velvet banquette, marble-topped bistro table, and views of the peach tree beyond the windows create a quiet corner that feels connected to both the garden and the home’s Tudor heritage.

Restoring Identity

After years of renovations, the kitchen in this 1890s Tudor in Wellesley had lost its identity.

Looking to restore the home’s original spirit, designer Mariette Hedeshian found inspiration in a Morris & Co. wallpaper created by May Morris in 1893. Its peach-tree motif mirrors the home’s own peach tree just outside the kitchen windows, and from that single idea, the rest of the room took shape. “I designed the whole kitchen around that wallpaper,” Hedeshian says.

Warm cherry cabinetry returns the kitchen to its Tudor roots. “Cherry isn’t so popular right now, but we loved bringing it back for this house,” Hedeshian says. Deep charcoal-painted lowers, an overscale checkerboard marble floor, milk-glass lantern pendants, and a ceramic farmhouse sink reinforce the home’s late-nineteenth-century character. A furniture-like serving cabinet with open shelving and woven baskets offers display and storage. A custom banquette creates a cozy breakfast nook.

“The idea was to build something brand-new but to keep it within that era,” says builder Aaron Stone. Judging by the finished room, the kitchen hasn’t simply been renovated—it has rediscovered its identity.

Project Team
Interior design: Designer’s Touch
Builder: Vision Design-Build
Cabinetry: DM Cabinetry
Photography: Michael J. Lee