When a couple of doctors who specialize in acupuncture asked designer Hannah Guilford to renovate their North Conway, New Hampshire, home, they arrived with tastes that didn’t quite speak the same language. He preferred traditional warmth; she leaned decidedly modern. What they did share was a love of Asian design—and one very specific request. “She told me, ‘The Noguchi coffee table has to be part of the living room,’” Guilford recalls. “So I made it the foundation for everything else.”
Guilford, who runs the Maine-based design-build firm Heart & Hammer Homes with her husband, Cody, quickly realized this project would be different. The house, a Craftsman-style structure with a brick turret and interiors frozen in the early 2000s, had belonged to the couple for years as a seasonal retreat. Recently, though, it became their full-time residence. And with that shift came a renewed desire for a home that felt intentional—not catalog-picked. “It was solid but dated, definitely builder-grade,” Guilford says. “They wanted personality. They wanted a point of view.”
A VISION EMERGES
That point of view came into focus as Guilford studied the Noguchi table—a sculptural blend of wood and glass, a perfect intersection of organic and modern. Its flowing silhouette inspired the home’s revamped design language, which merges Japanese and Scandinavian influences into a serene, textural palette of white, cream, black, bamboo, and marble.
Bamboo flooring now runs throughout the main rooms, creating a seamless visual thread that unifies spaces without altering the layout. Aside from converting part of the garage into a laundry and ski-tuning area, and carving out space for a custom refrigerator, the footprint stayed intact. “The house didn’t need more rooms,” Guilford says. “It needed clearer identity.”
QUIET DRAMA IN THE KITCHEN
The kitchen became the wife’s refuge of clean lines and contemporary finishes. Guilford reoriented appliances and replaced an awkward L-shaped island with a streamlined central one topped in extra-thick black Dekton—a bold move that delivers subtle Asian undertones.
Open shelving dotted with greenery adds softness, while black basketweave pendants echo the husband’s more traditional leanings. A slatted-wood wall conceals a door to the powder room so flawlessly that guests rarely notice it. “It had to disappear entirely,” Guilford says. “That was one of the trickiest details Cody built.” The kitchen now connects effortlessly to the dining and living areas—an essential shift for a family that loves to gather around food and conversation.
WHERE STYLES MEET
In the dining room, the couple’s pre-renovation black stove became a central character. Guilford balanced it with traditional wooden chairs lacquered in black and paired them with a crisp, contemporary table. Above it all hovers a Sputnik-style chandelier, its silhouette playfully referencing the stylized birds that later appear on the primary bath wallpaper.
The living room is anchored by that beloved Noguchi table, which informed one of the renovation’s most striking elements: a new floating staircase of glass and wood that feels more sculptural installation than mere circulation. Black wall sculptures punctuate the room with natural shadows and texture.
A MARBLE-LADEN RETREAT
Upstairs, the primary suite reflects the husband’s affinity for marble—four varieties, to be exact. The bath is wrapped in a mix of fluted Calacatta Lilac and dramatic Calacatta Viola, the latter used for a custom sink, shower niches, and a bench top. Guilford chose the stones not only for their beauty but for their emotional resonance. “The wife and daughter had just been to France, where these marbles are everywhere,” she says. “I wanted the space to feel like a souvenir from that trip.”
Traditional black-and-white patterned flooring grounds the room, while a sliding wood door with delicate butterfly joints—a nod to Japanese joinery— adds handcrafted subtlety. Black-lacquer cabinetry with brass gingko pulls deepens the connection to the couple’s Asian sensibilities. In the bedroom, a wicker bed faces a wallpapered accent wall of stylized branches that echo the forest outside. A custom bench at the foot of the bed subtly mirrors the joinery in the bath door, and burl wood nightstands reinforce the home’s palette of warm natural finishes.
SPACES TO GROW
The wife’s office received its own transformation—a daybed for lounging, textured cherry-blossom wallpaper, and a Scandinavian handmade wall hanging that brings softness to the space. The daughter’s room layers subtle pink tones with furnishings chosen to age gracefully. The first-floor guest room gained new life (and a bit less closet space), thanks to a reconfiguration that made room for the kitchen’s refrigerator and pantry beyond.
BALANCING ACT
From the “secret” kitchen door to the custom joinery and marble compositions, the renovation is less about dramatic overhauls and more about thoughtful calibrations. Guilford found harmony in the couple’s differing tastes, weaving them into an atmosphere that feels collected, intentional, and deeply personal. “I’m grateful for the creative freedom they gave me,” she says. “And I love that the design reflects both of them—nothing feels compromised. It feels balanced.”