As nature-lovers and owners of an Instagram famous dog, Sophie and Justin Hur spend lots of time outdoors. When it came to renovating the kitchen of their newly purchased traditional Colonial-style Newbury home, they wanted to bring some of the outside in. They hired Lisa Ritchie, owner/principal of Lisa Ritchie Interiors in North Andover, to create a warm, peaceful sensibility in their kitchen and adjacent bathroom. Ritchie collaborated with Heartwood Kitchens to design a modern, well-laid-out space that would serve modern needs while fitting seamlessly into the period home. Meanwhile, she sought out natureinspired colors, materials and finishes to give the space an inviting lightness and serenity that matched the landscape outside the window.
“They love a muted palette. They like brass, brown, green,” Ritchie says. “Anything that is subtle but lots of texture.” Texture and varied color notes are prominent in the tiles that stretch all the way up the walls, which carry varying shades of white and off-white. On the wall over the stove, these share space with a monumental, custom-designed range hood that is done in a Venetian plaster style whose texture contrasts nicely with the shinier tile and the softer sheen of the wood cabinets below. “The hood just really stands out,” says Ritchie. “It was a good touch.”
The dark wood color of the lower cabinets is reflected in the ceiling beams, which were a nice surprise Ritchie didn’t sufficiently appreciate at first. They initially blended in with the dark ceiling behind them, but showed up beautifully against a lighter ceiling redone in white shiplap, bringing a sense of woodsy charm to the space. The beams are the same color as the lower cabinets, and the same shade is present in the striations of the light pine floors. “Once we painted the ceilings and one wall white, the beams just popped,” says Ritchie. “They became their own thing.” Like the tall range hood, the beams draw the eye upward, accentuating the height of the space and the way the light filters in through the three slanted skylights.
But the height of the room isn’t its only unusual dimension: The space is somewhat too thin to accommodate a traditional kitchen island, so the design dispenses with it in favor of a counter peninsula that accommodates two stools with rattan backs. “This was a very different layout, and it gave us an opportunity to explore a long, narrow space and still get a very designed look out of it,” says Ritchie. “I would say it’s a nontraditional space. Not only do they not have the island, but they don’t have the hanging pendant lights over the island. They have a lot of walking-around space and gathering space. So I think this is special because it looks different from many designs you see out there now.”
At one end of that long, narrow space is a separate eat-in area with built-in benches flanking a round table that’s topped with a dramatic oceanscape in moody tones and a unique black rattan light fixture. “Black works so well as an accent,” says Ritchie. “In this case, we did black and rattan, so it adds texture. It’s a little bit of a boho feel.” In the adjacent bathroom, Ritchie’s design removed a large bathtub in favor of a roomy shower lined with green, nature-inspired subway tile. A separate water closet for the toilet is papered in a leafy pattern that matches the shades of the shower tile and ties in with a small landscape painting hanging over the sink. Black and polished nickel hardware and lamps contrast with the nature theme, giving the space a modern sensibility that differs from the more old-world feel of the brass hardware and lamps in the kitchen.
Ritchie found an enjoyable synergy with the clients, realizing quickly that her taste was a good match for their vision. She was particularly pleased they were open to having her pick out art for the walls, an element that can bring strategic visual interest. “I was able to show them things, and we could agree on them right away,” she says. “I really like the palette. I love the colors they chose. I love natural wood tones. This is a space that I would want in my own house.”