This home in Marblehead, Massachusetts, is the first house on the sea side throughout the causeway from the town’s beautiful Marblehead Neck neighborhood. “It’s a house everyone understands,” says designer Dee Elms.
Her Boston-based clients desired a summer and weekend home that would completely embrace its waterfront location. Elms and her staff at Terrat Elms Interior Design worked with them in their remodel, making an ocean-inspired, low-maintenance house full of natural light and happy doses of colour.
at a Glance
Location: Marblehead, Massachusetts
Who lives here: A busy Boston household during weekends and holidays
Size: 5,300 square feet; four bedrooms
Terrat Elms Interior Design
Windows facing the water line the rear of the home. The eyebrow window near the peak of the great room adds additional all-natural light. “That made such a massive difference to the interior and exterior,” says Elms.
TV console: Hudson; window seat fabric: Dalston, Cowtan & Tout
Terrat Elms Interior Design
Elms relied on the Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams showroom for plush upholstery and also chose Sunbrella fabrics to keep the furniture comfortable and easy to keep. Backgrounds and accent fabrics came mostly from China Seas. “The scale and colours just went flawlessly with the house,” says Elms.
Rug: Faber’s Rug Co.; java table: Brickmaker’s table, Hudson; white sofas, rattan chairs, glass table lamps, linen chair, dining table: Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams
Terrat Elms Interior Design
Grass fabric wallcovering and wide moldings from the entryway set the tone for a warm, coastal-inspired house. The home was owned by three families, each of whom left developments. “The improvements actually didn’t speak to each other,” says Elms. “Our job was to take what we had and set a cohesiveness that was missing.”
Background: China Seas
Terrat Elms Interior Design
Among those clients loves red and can’t get enough of it. “Whenever we had a meeting, she’d even be wearing red,” says Elms. “We chose to use the colour in particular spots around the house.” The kitchen was a great area. Overscale gingham-style fabric covers upholstered benches in a connected casual dining area.
Bench fabric: Sun Check, Ralph Lauren; barstools: Brewster Barstools, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams; dining table: Big Sur Dining Table, Crate & Barrel; chairs: Kiki slipcovered chair, Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams
Terrat Elms Interior Design
The front part of the house does not let in as much light as the back and can feel really exposed to the road. Elms had plantation shutters installed all the front windows for solitude and left the rear windows uncovered.
Terrat Elms Interior Design
The kitchen design was created with plenty of counter space for food prep, serving and eating. Calacatta marble counters sit at a low height for convenient baking and cooking. The large bar counter is constructed of Caesarstone. Custom made cabinetry and neutral backsplash tile work nicely with the vivid walls.
High counter: Lagos Blue, Caesarstone; Elson; cabinetry: Brookhaven; backsplash: Hudson Brazil Nut, Stone Source; wall colour: Poppy, Benjamin Moore
Terrat Elms Interior Design
A cheerful green Chippendale chair from Hudson accents a built-in desk region and message centre beside the fridge.
Terrat Elms Interior Design
An indoor/outdoor cabana room toward the rear of the house has a massive slider that opens up to the backyard. Elms Lay the walls with white fabric for a tropical feel.
White couch, black side table: Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams; pink and taupe chairs: Clementine, Verellen; trunk: classic
Terrat Elms Interior Design
A deep red bedroom reflects the customer’s love of the colour. A traditional white bedspread with subtle traces of blue in a decorative pillow retains the palette from going overboard.
Terrat Elms Interior Design
“When we didn’t use red, we used derivatives of it such as pink, which she also loved,” says Elms. Pink China Seas background in the master bath gives the space a light, feminine feel.
Terrat Elms Interior Design
A wine storage and tasting area filled with custom walnut wine racks is nestled to the bottom floor. A Caesarstone pub and luxury barstool offers the ideal spot to enjoy a glass out of a favorite bottle.