Seaside Living
Anita and her team embraced this opportunity to see an older home through a modern lens. Her clients wanted a stately, 40-year-old home on a point in Swampscott made over for a more casual lifestyle—while enhancing its spectacular ocean views. The 9,000-square-foot home had an understated elegance, but it hadn’t aged well. In order to properly frame the views, Anita switched out narrow panes with wider ones, quite simply transforming a showstopping bay window wall. She reimagined the dated layout, beginning with a dark vestibule that led to a large foyer. In a sweeping move, all the first-floor, full-height walls were taken down to create an open plan. Dark, heavy rooms gave way to an overall sense of lightness. The palette was inspired by the ocean, the surrounding rocks and sandy beaches. Fussy ornamentation was exchanged for hand-glazed custom millwork. The great room was transformed into clearly defined areas for living, dining, cooking and working. Throughout the home, the furnishings were oriented toward the water to enhance the indoor-outdoor connection. A graciously appointed master bedroom suite became a true sanctuary, perfect for reading, resting, relaxing—and taking in those remarkable views. Crediting a satisfying collaboration with the architect, builder, craftspeople and the clients themselves, Anita says the oceanfront home is now properly in sync with its owners—and the times.
Before
After
Project Plans and Approach
This 40-year-old home is an example of a project that needed a complete gut renovation of both the interior and the exterior in order to bring it’s full potential to life. We were able to accomplish that with all new features and furnishings, and allowed the views of the ocean to remain a key feature of the home with careful space planning
Architect: James Velleco of Grazado-Velleco Architects
Interior Designer: Anita Clark Design
Builder: Bruce Paradise of Paradise Construction
Landscape Designer: Doug Brown of LeBlanc Jones
Specialty Finishes: Bernice Hartnett of Wallflowers and David Taubneck of Fantastic Finishes
Kitchen Designer: Barbara Baratz of Venegas & Co.
Custom Millwork: Ray Pascuito of About Face Kitchens
Photographer: Michael J. Lee Photography