Between 2007 and 2012, designing and executing a Designer Show House was a Wilson Kelsey Design staple as Sally and I shifted our practice from commercial/corporate interior design to residential interior design. Having transitioned out of commercial interior design around 2005, at the time we saw participation in show houses a great vehicle to showcase our...
This past weekend I spent time revisiting and remembering one of our favorite projects, the renovation of the Forster – Leach House an 1804 Federal Period home in Manchester, MA, whose design is attributed to well known Salem architect, Samuel McIntire. Sally and I have been decluttering and cleaning the office because in the next...
Renovation projects. They’re never ending. It’s home ownership’s dirty secret. The one no one ever tells you about – until after you’ve purchased your first home. Sally and I are in the process of selling our home and doing the downsizing thing this summer. Going thru photograph albums of the work we’ve done on the...
Sally and I always enjoy our summer snackies and sippers on the side porch or on our circular brick patio in the back yard. In the summer, it is one of our favorite evening time rituals as we relax before dinner. Sally and I took this past July 4th week off, thoroughly enjoying several days...
Are window treatment decisions based upon esthetics alone, or should there be other considerations? My approach to window treatments is that first, they must function for what they are intended to do, and second, they should be beautiful and add to the feeling you want to create. So how do I go about achieving that?...
Kitchen storage – it’s always a hot button when Sally and I work on a kitchen design with a client. They all seem to be storage obsessed. Terrified that there might not be enough storage for all their stuff… KITCHEN STORAGE : CASE STUDY 1 We first encountered this behavior when we worked on a...
If a house could talk, what would it say? Quite a bit, if you make time to open your eyes and ears and listen. Thanks to the generosity of the Peabody Essex Museum, I recently had the opportunity to visit the Cotting-Smith House, located in Salem’s McIntyre Historic District, and field measure architectural details and photo document...
What is Coastal Style? Is it a look? A feel or vibe? A place? What is it? I found myself asking these questions after Sally and I had received notification from Ocean Home Magazine that Wilson Kelsey Design had been named to their 2019 Top 50 Coastal Interior Designers list – for the fourth year...
Sally and I covered some of the hidden costs of construction in our most recent post about our bathroom renovation. In that post we discussed why you need a contingency budget, which is intended to protect you from two major sources of hidden renovation or construction costs. Unforeseen conditions Scope creep There are other hidden...
“A construction contingency budget? Why should I need one? I mean, what can be so hard about this? It’s four walls, a floor and a ceiling?” our client asked in disbelief. Then the contractor opened up the walls… CONTROL WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL As I wrote in our most recent post, a proper set of construction...