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Houzz Tour: New Character for a 1980s Post-and-Beam Home
An architect and interior designer give an oddball house a pleasing, evolved-over-time historic look
Just a quick walk from Goose Rocks Beach in Kennebunkport, Maine, sits a home that architect John Buckley deemed “kind of an oddball house.” Not oddball in a bad way. “I don’t know what you know about Maine, but it’s full of great old Yankee craftsmen,” Buckley says. “This house was kind of an oddball because it is built with true post-and-beam construction, complete with mortise-and-tenon joints. But it was built in the 1980s.” And along with its 1980s vintage came standard finishes that were of that era, as well as a nondescript style.
The homeowners are a couple with grown children. Though they live in New Jersey full time, the husband is from the area, and buying the property was a sort of homecoming for him. They planned to spend a significant amount of time here in the summer and a few other weeks throughout the year, rent it out when they weren’t using it, and eventually retire here full time. They hired interior designer Elizabeth Robinson to complete a full renovation, and she brought in frequent collaborator Buckley to help with reconfiguring the house and changing the finishes. This included lots of new millwork, all new windows and new flooring. The result is the look of a historic house that has evolved over decades.
The homeowners are a couple with grown children. Though they live in New Jersey full time, the husband is from the area, and buying the property was a sort of homecoming for him. They planned to spend a significant amount of time here in the summer and a few other weeks throughout the year, rent it out when they weren’t using it, and eventually retire here full time. They hired interior designer Elizabeth Robinson to complete a full renovation, and she brought in frequent collaborator Buckley to help with reconfiguring the house and changing the finishes. This included lots of new millwork, all new windows and new flooring. The result is the look of a historic house that has evolved over decades.
The main floor has an open plan, with the staircase in the center. The team replaced the existing flooring in the house with engineered white oak. Buckley kept the geometry of the stairs but changed the railing and the balustrade and used white oak on the treads. The front door can be seen behind the staircase.
Buckley and Robinson also replaced an existing fireplace with a wood stove that better fit the space. And they installed a new slate hearth that’s flush with the floor.
Floors: Echo Flooring
Buckley and Robinson also replaced an existing fireplace with a wood stove that better fit the space. And they installed a new slate hearth that’s flush with the floor.
Floors: Echo Flooring
The interior designer mixed antiques and more modern pieces to make the home look as if it had evolved over time. The dining room chairs are a modern take on classic Windsor chairs, while the antique turquoise buffet grabs attention. The artwork has a vintage look, and the lighting mixes a traditional brass finish with a modern style.
Buckley replaced the windows as part of the renovation. “All the existing windows had really heavy grids before — they were like 10 over 10 or something like that,” he says. The new windows are less busy yet still have a traditional look.
Windows: Elevate, Marvin
Browse dining chairs in the Houzz Shop
Buckley replaced the windows as part of the renovation. “All the existing windows had really heavy grids before — they were like 10 over 10 or something like that,” he says. The new windows are less busy yet still have a traditional look.
Windows: Elevate, Marvin
Browse dining chairs in the Houzz Shop
For the kitchen, Buckley was inspired by the clean look of English kitchens by deVOL. He designed the natural white oak cabinets himself. They have vertical board facings with slight reveals. “They were designed to be quiet and stand within the post-and-beam construction,” Buckley says.
He also added nickel gap boards to the walls, an element he repeated throughout the house. Nickel gap means boards separated by the width of a nickel.
This photo also shows the ceiling, which appears to be covered with with tongue-and-groove paneling. However, as is typical with post-and beam-construction, these are actually the floorboards of the upstairs and are 1½ inches thick. They’re visible because there’s no drywall hiding the post-and-beam structure of the home.
He also added nickel gap boards to the walls, an element he repeated throughout the house. Nickel gap means boards separated by the width of a nickel.
This photo also shows the ceiling, which appears to be covered with with tongue-and-groove paneling. However, as is typical with post-and beam-construction, these are actually the floorboards of the upstairs and are 1½ inches thick. They’re visible because there’s no drywall hiding the post-and-beam structure of the home.
The island in the center is open on one side so stools can be stowed underneath. “I like to make the legs higher than usual to make cabinetry read more like furniture,” Buckley says. “I can create a certain cadence when legs come down to the floor and break up a toe-kick. And they make the cabinets look like they are standing rather than floating.”
Find the right backless counter stools
Find the right backless counter stools
At the opposite end of the kitchen, an eat-in area fits nicely into an existing bay. Buckley designed a wraparound bench and Robinson selected a sturdy, utilitarian wood table with straight lines. It provides a nice contrast to all the white around it.
Just beyond the eat-in nook is the mudroom entrance. It has another entrance off it that leads to a separate apartment over the garage. The apartment has one bedroom, one bathroom and a kitchenette.
The floor tile in the mudroom is cement by Clé Tile, with grout that’s a perfect match color-wise.
New nickel gap boards wrap the powder bath walls, lending a sense of age.
Shop for a wall-mounted sink
Shop for a wall-mounted sink
The first floor has a primary bedroom and bathroom. There had been a bedroom and bathroom down here before, but Buckley’s reconfiguration connected them as a suite. In here, more nickel gap boards add an old Maine coastal look to the walls, and the posts and beams are painted a serene white.
Robinson and Buckley worked together to reconfigure the primary bath. Nickel gap wainscoting and a beautiful floral wallpaper, Bowood by Colefax and Fowler, lend vintage appeal. The flooring is a small-scale marble tile.
“Elizabeth and I liked the idea of looking for found objects and turning them into vanities,” Buckley says. “In here we were thinking of old farm tables. So the idea started with the idea of turned table legs.”
However, they quickly realized a table wouldn’t provide the storage the homeowners needed, so Buckley designed a chest of drawers crafted from white oak and incorporated turned legs. “We wanted the vanity to look like it had been around the block a little bit,” he says.
The countertop and backsplash are marble.
However, they quickly realized a table wouldn’t provide the storage the homeowners needed, so Buckley designed a chest of drawers crafted from white oak and incorporated turned legs. “We wanted the vanity to look like it had been around the block a little bit,” he says.
The countertop and backsplash are marble.
On the second level, Buckley and Robinson designed a large multipurpose space. “The idea was that two couples could rent the entire property and bring their kids,” he says. While he refers to this room as the library, it also serves as the TV lounge, playroom, home office and overflow bedroom.
Robinson enlivened the space with wallpaper and bold colors plucked from it. The wallpaper mitigates the vast height of the ceiling — had that wall been all white, the furniture would have looked awkwardly low and out of scale.
Robinson enlivened the space with wallpaper and bold colors plucked from it. The wallpaper mitigates the vast height of the ceiling — had that wall been all white, the furniture would have looked awkwardly low and out of scale.
New windows swing open to view the dining room below. They were fabricated in Brooklyn, New York, by the homeowner’s brother-in-law, Wesley Martel of Martel Design & Fabrication. The windows share the natural light between spaces and also give the kids and parents a fun way to call to each other.
The custom ladder leads to a special spot. “Carpenter Derek Preble completed all the millwork and custom items like this, and he did an amazing job,” Buckley says.
Hire a local carpenter
The custom ladder leads to a special spot. “Carpenter Derek Preble completed all the millwork and custom items like this, and he did an amazing job,” Buckley says.
Hire a local carpenter
At the top of the ladder is a fun hideout. Previously, the space above the bathroom was unfinished.
Check out our beginner’s guide to get started on your home project
Check out our beginner’s guide to get started on your home project
The home has the popular vacation house setup that puts a group of siblings, cousins or friends in the same bedroom. This is the kids bedroom, on the second floor. Robinson recommended a classic Arts and Crafts wallpaper — Blackthorn by Morris & Co. — which dates to 1892. It has the look of another layer added over time.
Buckley designed custom bunk beds with adjacent shelves. They’re wrapped in nickel gap boards and each bunk has its own reading light and niche. The bunks also have a ladder, which wasn’t photographed.
The upstairs bathroom has a slate floor laid in a herringbone pattern. Paired with square porcelain tiles on the walls, the tile selections give the room a timeless look.
Buckley and Robinson altered the layout of the bathroom to accommodate a roomy shower stall. And they repeated the found-object vanity idea, with Buckley again custom-designing the piece. The turquoise chest of drawers adds to the timeless style of the room.
The adult bedroom on the second floor has a beautiful vaulted ceiling.
Robinson covered the walls in a wallpaper that represents a storm yet has a serene feel. And as she did throughout the house, she added carefully curated pops of color — here they’re seen in the reading sconces and throw rug.
Wallpaper: Tempest, Quercus & Co.
Wallpaper: Tempest, Quercus & Co.
The separate apartment mentioned earlier is above the home’s connected two-car garage. It has a roof deck that serves as a private outdoor space.
This is the kitchenette in the apartment. Beadboard cabinets with bin pull hardware lend a coastal cottage feel. And open shelving makes it easy for guests to find dishes and glassware.
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This is the kitchenette in the apartment. Beadboard cabinets with bin pull hardware lend a coastal cottage feel. And open shelving makes it easy for guests to find dishes and glassware.
More on Houzz
Tour more homes
Hire a local design pro
Shop for your home
House at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple, who also rent the home out
Location: Kennebunkport, Maine
Size: 3,000 square feet (279 square meters); four bedrooms, 3½ bathrooms
Designers: John Buckley (architecture) and Elizabeth Robinson of Mia Carta Design (interior design)
General contractor: Bowley Builders
This photo of the living room shows off the post-and-beam construction. “Because it was built in this old manner, it was not so easy to modify,” Buckley says. “There was a clear structural grid and we had to stick within those parameters. We peeled back the layers to give it a more authentic look.”
Buckley and Robinson did a lot of stripping and staining of the dark posts and beams. This allowed for contrast without making the structural elements too bold or distracting. “We wanted the structure to lie quietly in the background,” Buckley says.
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