A Dover home’s journey from jailhouse to historic jewel

Photographed by Rob Karosis/Produced by Marsha Jusczak  The original chandelier still hangs in the dining
room; its pineapple motif signals hospitality.

As a child, Dennis Ciotti of Dover, New Hampshire, used to walk by a splendid three-story Georgian-style home on his daily trek to school. Big houses had fascinated the boy from the age of six, when his parents let him watch Gone with the Wind. The movie fired his imagination, and he fell in love with the grand plantations featured in the film. One day in 1963, Ciotti went by the Georgian-revival house, and the front door was open, allowing him to glimpse the grand, sweeping staircase in the front hall. The owner, Mrs. Brown, stood in the entrance, and he was seized by a strange impulse. “I’m going to own this house one day!” he called to her. “Is that so?” she said with a laugh. “Well, you best get on to school now!”

Finding delight in a cottage by the sea

Photographed by Rob Karosis/Produced by Marsha Jusczak To enlarge the view and increase natural light, the couple installed a floor-to-ceiling picture window in the dining area.

For many couples, the idea of a 10-year renovation would bring to mind fired contractors, delayed permits, and marital stalemates over the selection of cabinet pulls. For George and Donna Scontsas, their decade-long project to renovate and decorate a Maine getaway was a labor of love, with shopping expeditions around the Maine seacoast and even scouting trips to Europe for special design pieces.

Integrating a home with its surroundings

Photographed by Rob Karosis/Produced by Marsha Jusczak PKsurroundings helped with the kitchen redesign,
which included turning the center island.

Far from their previous homes in San Diego and Panama City, Panama, a designer and her husband have created a New Hampshire home that reconnects them intimately with their natural surroundings.

Past meets future in a historic Portsmouth home

Photographed by Rob Karosis/Produced by Marsha Jusczak Architect Ann Whitney and designer Jeff Osborne used an open floor plan to accommodate easy entertaining. The exposed brick gives instant character to the family room, and the combination of natural materials yields a relaxed, soothing tone to the house. The Scandinavian-style wood stove adds both form and function. Its sleek lines inject a modern touch to the room while providing heat in a tightly sealed space. Artwork by Carol Aronson-Shore and Tom Glover adds color.

Do you ever wonder just how energy efficient you can make your home? When a couple decided to renovate their New Englander-style home in historic Portsmouth, they asked exactly that question. Never mind that they would already be under the constraints of Portsmouth’s Historic District Commission (HDC), which aims to keep homes true to the period in which they were built.

Scaling down creates new possibilities

Photographed by John Benford A bright, welcoming kitchen was on the homeowners’ wish list.

When considering where to retire, experts recommend evaluating your needs now and what you will need as you get older, and then coming up with a wish list.

A getaway apartment renovation

Photographed by Rob Karosis | Produced by Marsha Jusczak Half cabinets keep the space feeling airy and open.

A longhorn skull, an Hermès rug, Ikea cabinets, and sleeping space for five: all of these things and more have found a place in the renovated getaway home of one Texas-based couple in Hampton, New Hampshire.

Well-designed baths make guests feel right at home

Photographed by Kristina O’Brien Connie Prince’s master bath uses mirrors and glass to give a long, narrow room an
expansive feel. Light fixtures from Restoration Hardware. Cabinetry by Wright-Ryan Construction.

Last of a three-part series (See “Double the Fun” and “Guest Star”)

Anyone who has built or remodeled bathrooms knows that choosing the fixtures and finishes can be overwhelming. And when multiple baths need attention, chances are good that it will be the guest baths that drop to the bottom of the priority list, after both the budget and design fervor have run dry. If walls could talk, a guest bath is more likely to say, “We’ve fit you in, but don’t get comfortable,” than “Glad you’re here.”

Innovative storage on the Music Hall Kitchen Tour

Photographed by Greg West Bold pops of color add punch to the cool grays and whites of the overall color scheme. Note the
flooring, which looks like hardwood but is actually cork.

Gorgeous cabinets, efficient islands, amazing floor plans—inspiration awaits on the Music Hall’s 26th annual Kitchen Tour, which takes place May 13. This year’s tour takes guests to the Little Harbor area of Portsmouth, New Hampshire, where homes ranging from historic to modern showcase kitchens to tempt every taste. Twelve kitchens are featured on this year’s tour, more than ever before, says Ashleigh Tucker Pollock, event coordinator. “We have four kitchens dating from before 1900 and one from 1900, as well as those of a more recent vintage,” she says. “Guests will love seeing the ways you can blend a modern, efficient kitchen with a centuries-old home.”

Feeling at home in a Maine cottage built for entertaining

Photographed by Kristina O’Brien

Second of a three-part series

When Connie Prince bought an old property in Boothbay Harbor, Maine, she knew restoring it would mean surprises along the way. (See “Double the Fun”, Spring 2016.) In addition to the large main house, one of its attractions was a small cottage that was used as a guesthouse. It had charming original details, such as Douglas fir floors, crown molding, and a brick fireplace. Prince intended to fix up the cottage first and live there over the summer while the main house was being renovated.

Bringing two houses into the twenty-first century

First of a three-part series

Photographed by Kristina O’Brien From the front of the three-acre property there is a stunning view of Boothbay Harbor.

Everyone in Boothbay Harbor knew the house with the yellow awnings, a yellow so brilliant, boat captains used them as a landmark to get their bearings. Built in the 1920s, it was classic Maine style—big, rambling, with an enclosed sun porch in front, balanced by an octagonal room on the opposite side. The house had painted shingles and six-over-six windows with shutters and window boxes overflowing with red geraniums. A tall, thick hedge hugged the house like a scarf. The huge lawn rolled away to the road and beyond that was the harbor’s rocky shoreline. It was a grand old lady down on her luck, elegant from afar, but on closer inspection a bit frayed around the edges.

A summer home that captures the magic of Maine

Photographed by Lynn Karlin The living room is 30 feet by 40 feet, with a fireplace made of stone from the island.

Maine has 3,166 islands. We know because the Maine Coastal Island Registry counted. The largest, Mount Desert, is 108 square miles. The smallest are granite ledges that can barely accommodate a few sea gulls.

Creating a home and garden filled with art, show dogs, and happy memories

Photographed by Rob Karosis/Produced by Marsha Jusczak

Below a gold-framed painting of two children playing in water stands a yard-high gong from Thailand. A ceremonial Berber marriage necklace hangs in an enormous frame in the dining room, above penguin sculptures from Argentina. A glowing collection of paperweights from California-based Lundberg Studios sits atop a generously sized coffee table, itself shortened from a dining room table built by James Taylor of York, Maine.

New décor brings a Portsmouth condo to life

Photographed by Rob Karosis/Produced by Marsha Jusczak A chandelier from Rockingham Electric hangs above a new dining room table and chairs. On the credenza is Ostia, a 2014 carved panel in oil with white gold leaf, by artist Gary Haven Smith, represented by George Marshall Store Gallery.

Downsizing. It is a liberating word, an opportunity to free yourself of too many possessions, and especially in New England to spend less time and money on home maintenance.

Simple forms and natural materials unify a North Shore home’s design

Photographed by Rob Karosis Curves such as the “eyebrow” arch above the upstairs window are a key design element. They also appear on interior and exterior arches and above entryways throughout the house.

At its best, the collaboration between architect and homeowner yields not only a beautiful home but also a work of art. This happened recently with a home designed by TMS Architects near Newburyport, Massachusetts. Chris and Diane Gerrish knew they wanted to work with the Portsmouth, New Hampshire-based firm after seeing samples of their work. “I love TMS’s attention to detail and the way their houses look unique,” Chris says. “My wife, Diane, and I wanted something different.” At the meeting with Bill Soupcoff, principal architect at TMS, the couple paged through books of the firm’s designs, choosing various elements they liked from the portfolio of homes. “I had no idea how Bill would bring all of these disparate pieces together,” Chris says. “But I had no doubt that he would. We had confidence in TMS’s approach.”

Call it a villa or hacienda, this coastal home is unique

Photographed by Rob Karosis | Produced by Marsha Jusczak The complex of villa, chapel, and garden feels like a village.

Colonials, Cape Cods, and saltboxes with prim plantings are the status quo in most coastal New Hampshire towns, but David Pelletier was determined to follow his own drummer. Yet try though he might, he could not put his finger on exactly the home he wanted to build on the 33-acre lot he had purchased in 1993.