Oak Hollow

Boston Suburbs, MA

This early 20th century home and its surrounding landscape were reimagined to add spaces for contemporary living without losing the house’s original architectural character and heritage. When our clients found the property, they fell in love with it and saw the potential for it to—with significant modifications—become their forever home to raise their family. The expansion created new rooms that are an important part of 21st century family life: On the main floor, a large kitchen with casual family dining, family room, outdoor room, large garage, and mudroom. Upstairs, the expansion accommodated a new primary suite, guest bedrooms, and a sitting room. At the lower level, new spaces were created for recreation, exercise, and entertainment. All floors were tied together vertically with a new grand staircase.

To achieve the design goal of preserving the original architectural character of the house, these new spaces connect seamlessly with the original rooms, resulting in an integrated, cohesive whole. All elements of the new home work in tandem, from the exterior architectural massing and details to the integration of the expanded house with the landscape, pool, and pool house, and from the easy flow of the interior rooms to the balance of architectural hard finishes, furnishings, and fabrics.

The new kitchen, breakfast room, family room, and outdoor room embrace a contemporary sense of space, with expansive volumes, more natural light, and open visual connections between one another. The historic rooms create more of a visual statement: The bold and moody living and dining rooms and richly paneled office. Downstairs, the modern basement lounge and adjacent Swedish spa-inspired gym are rich complements to the rest of the home. Throughout the house, the homeowners’ extensive art collection provided inspiration to inform the color palettes. With a mix of collected, custom, and sentimental pieces, the interiors evoke a welcoming sense of warmth and timeless elegance.