Renovating a kitchen in an antique home sometimes requires more than just design decisions about cabinets, countertops, walls, and windows. When M.R. Brewer took on an historic kitchen project in Cumberland Foreside, they realized a radical change needed to happen before anything else: an increase in ceiling height. Turns out, the original 1920 colonial had been added onto in the ’80s, and the kitchen had seven-foot ceilings—which by today’s standards—felt tight, recalls designer Tavia Douglass. So, they first dropped the floor into the basement in a different part of the house, where it could be more easily done, and then started from scratch with a new kitchen. That initial step added about six months to the project, she says, but the ceiling gained a foot, so it paid off.
“The owner has great taste and knew from the start what she wanted,” says Tavia. Initially, she’d had taupe in mind for the kitchen color, but after exploring the variety of soft, nuanced whites available, together they chose Benjamin Moore’s creamy “White Dove.”
With two young children in the family, it was key to be mindful of practicality when making design decisions. For example, the idea of a walnut wood countertop was nixed, instead they went with walnut only at the coffee bar and opted for durable marble-looking quartz for the island. Now when the kids are sitting at island stools doing homework and nibbling on an afternoon snack, there are no worries that island will take a beating.
Overall, they leaned traditional—brass hardware, shaded sconces, simple molding. “Traditional kitchens are seeing a resurgence in Maine and even nationally,” says Tavia. An antique table that was a family heirloom fits in perfectly. But they also introduced a contemporary flourish with the dining room chandelier and a few pops of color—mostly blues and greens—here and there. And, of course, modern updates to organize cooking equipment and clear countertops were integrated into the space.
“The new kitchen is a major upgrade from the tiny, walk-through galley kitchen they’d lived with for quite a while,” says Tavia. “Their function as a family has greatly improved, and it’s much easier and more enjoyable to entertain now. The wife even threw a party for her husband in the new space during the renovation!”
