THIS PAGE , LEFT : The original living room with wood stove . BELOW : In the living room , the two-tier Visual Comfort chandelier balances the scale of the room . Floors are Brazilian cherry . FACING PAGE , ABOVE : Breakfast nook transom windows allow cross ventilation . BELOW : Kitchen bar stools are Design Within Reach . Island lights are Pottery Barn .
Eye for Design
In a hot real estate market , it ’ s hard to imagine a house near the beach lingering for ten years . Nevertheless , that was the fate of this noble , but overly loved home in Green Hill , which languished for a decade before a Jamestown couple bought it in 2020 .
Built in 2004 , the 3,700-square-foot house had good bones , but its interior was overwhelmed by too much detail . Ornate plaster columns , Palladian windows , heavy wood ceilings and every room painted yellow had created a disjointed , vaguely Italian villa vibe .
“ The original builder put his heart and soul into it ,” says architect Laurie Keene , but the design wasn ’ t working . The entire space needed a major refresh , and Keene ’ s clients were game . “ We knew each other , so we worked well together ,” she says .
Top of the to-do list : The living room . A new marble fireplace , with mantel and sleek millwork , is more in proportion to the highceilinged space than its curvy predecessor , an undersized wood stove that was a distraction in the large room .
106 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l MAY 2022