“Bad kitchen” is not at the top of most house hunters’ wish lists. But when James Cregan, senior director of real estate at Bloomingdale’s, and Michael Amigron, director of showrooms and events for Ralph Lauren, began thinking about leaving the confines of their Brooklyn brownstone for a home in the country, they longed for a spot where they could bring both their cache of antiques and their unique skill sets. They hit pay dirt when they found an 1800s-era Georgian Colonial in Weston, Connecticut, with good bones and “a kitchen we wouldn’t feel bad about ripping up,” James says.
After moving in, the couple agreed to live with everything as is for at least six months—but that lasted a month. “Cooking was way harder than we could have imagined,” James says. “The floors were so slanted that lemons rolled off the island.” Adds Michael, “The sink was eight-inches deep—doing dishes was incredibly challenging.” Mealtime headaches expedited scheming, sketching, and the selection of a contractor and a cabinetmaker who could help create a modern space that would honor the home’s architecture.
Following the kitchen, they turned their attention to a living area outfitted with a massive fireplace and little else. “There’s a good drab and a bad drab, and this was a bad drab,” James says. To take the room from blah to bold, they installed custom paneling and trim, brought in wallpaper and rich red paint, and removed the recessed lighting. “We looked to history for the pagination of the paneling and the choice of moldings,” Michael says.
Now, five years in, after having initially prioritized what Michael calls the “customer-facing rooms,” the couple is focused on the personal. They have reconfigured the wonky primary suite and are exploring how the house can grow as their family does. Says Michael, “We need to replenish our wallets, but the sketchbook never gets put away.”
Take a tour of the home’s renovation:
After: Warm Texture
Venetian plaster applied on the walls and ceiling lightens up the home’s entry.
Before: Living Room
After: Mindful Millwork
Michael and James scrolled through their fair share of photos of old homes in the English countryside before determining the trims they wanted to bring to their living room. “This was the opposite of a gut. We added the millwork to breathe a sense of historical life into an otherwise empty room,” James says. A full wall of paneling, plus wainscoting across the other three walls brings texture to the space while allowing the original fireplace to remain the star. An assortment of classic furnishings including a reproduction English drop-leaf coffee table, a pair of toile-covered slipper chairs (Facebook Marketplace finds!), and a circa-1790 Welsh walnut server make it an even cozier spot for teatime.
Get the Look:
Trim Paint Color: Eating Room Red by Farrow & Ball
Ceiling Paint Color: Pointing byFarrow & Ball
Wallpaper: “Uppark” by Farrow & Ball
Coffee Table: by Lillian August
Traditional silhouettes and a few framed selections from Michael’s preserved-butterfly collection add interest to the living room, as do the massive fireplace and 18th century-inspired floral wallpaper.
RELATED:Pretty Living Room Paint Colors for Walls, Trim, Ceilings, and More
Before: Family Room
After: High-Contrast Color
While the home’s previous owner kept the house well-maintained, interior improvements in areas such as the family-room addition came to a halt decades ago. Still, Michael and James say not every update has to be dramatic. Here, a new coat of paint in a soft gray green color inspired by the surrounding landscape went a long way in refreshing the dated space, as did a slipcovered sectional, framed 18th-century botanical prints, and an antique Louis Philippe buffet.
Get the Look:
Trim Paint Color: School House White by Farrow & Ball
Wall Paint Color: Mizzle by Farrow & Ball
RELATED: Cozy and Inviting Family Room Ideas for the Most Use Space in Your Home
Before: Dining Room
After: Prioritized Patina
Exposed beams and wide-planked pumpkin pine flooring, as seen here in the dining room, were two of the main draws of the house. “The previous homeowner bleached and waxed all the floors every single year, so they feel more like art than just a surface you walk on,” James says. The room’s pine bench came with the house, and the couple kept it exactly where it had been while bringing in a massive antique table and a set of eight Hitchcock chairs Michael found on Craigslist for $90. “I told James, ‘Sorry, you have to drive two hours to rural Maine to get them,’” Michael says. “He did it generously.”
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Antique Table: from HTC Home
Before: Kitchen
After: Form With Function
After attempting to cook in the kitchen for about a month, James and Michael decided that it was high time for a gut renovation. “The aesthetic was charming, but we felt we could create something that married impactful visual interest with the required modern necessities,” James says. They worked with their contractor and their cabinetmaker Dean Cabinetry to combine efficiency with timelessness via a better appliance layout and design elements like classic Shaker-style cabinetry, aged brass pulls, soapstone countertops and range backsplash, and a right-sized 57-by-44-inch island.
Get the Look:
Trim Paint Color: Shadow White by Farrow & Ball
Cabinet Paint Color:French Gray by Farrow & Ball
Island Paint Color: Treron by Farrow & Ball
Sconces: “Princeton” by Schoolhouse
Appliances: byThermador
RELATED: Best Kitchen Paint Color Ideas to Update Your Space
After: Mixed Materials
The upstairs bathroom is a blend of refined and rough-hewn thanks to Venetian plaster walls, an antique chair, and the pine paneling behind the pedestal sink installed by the previous homeowner. “He was very passionate about wood, and took a lot of care in salvaging planks from his [luxury building] projects and bringing them home,” says Michael.
RELATED: 82 Best Bathroom Decorating Ideas to Add Some Soul to Your Bathroom Remodel
Before: Guest Bedroom
After: Soulful Glow
With the overhead lighting gone and the walls newly finished in reflective Venetian plaster, daylight and nighttime lamps bring a romantic glow and airiness to the tiny guest room. The couple furnished it with period pieces including an antique Persian rug, a chest of drawers turned nightstand they found while antiquing in New Hampshire, and a pair of vintage twin beds dressed in striped and floral bedding.
Get the Look:
Bedding: by Ralph Lauren Home
RELATED: Guest Bedroom Ideas to Create a Cozy Space for Company
