Built with pride. Finished with Ponders. Specializing in custom wood flooring and millwork. www.pondereshollow.com @pondershollowflooring
Overhead Door Options, LLC, is a family owned and operated company that offers a wide variety of high-quality residential and commercial garage doors and openers.
We provide prompt and professional installation, maintenance and repair for all makes and models of garage doors. Based in the Lakes Region, we serve all of New Hampshire. From simple residential installations to challenging commercial ones, you can count on us to help you choose and install the right product.
THE ARCHITECTURE & INTERIOR DESIGN ISSUE
46 Framing a View
Boasting spectacular mountain views and cozy, rustic interiors, this vacation home brings a taste of the Adirondacks to New Hampshire. By Debbie
Kane
| Photography by John W. Hession
56 Family Comes First
Behind its stately brick facade, this Bedford home harbors serene, nature-inspired interiors designed to keep both parents and kids happy. Janice Randall Rohlf | Photography by John W. Hession and Morgan Karanasios
66 Friendly, Not Fussy
A coastal house in Rye is intentionally classic and comfortable. Dan Szczesny / Photography by John W. Hession
Photo by John W. Hession
residential commercial interior design
Rob Karosis Photography
DEPARTMENTS
INFORM & INSPIRE
FABULOUS FINDS
22 Warm & Cozy
Compiled by Amanda Andrews
TASTE
26 As Good as it Gets
There’s no cutting corners on bread at artisanal bakery Blue Loon.
By Mary Ann Esposito | Photography by John W. Hession
CREATE
32 The Essence of Simplicity
Classically trained studio furniture
maker Brad Wolcott combines traditional techniques with a contemporary feel.
By Crystal Ward Kent | Photography by John W. Hession
HOME AWAY
38 Lumen Nature Retreat
High Style in a Sylvan Setting
By Janice Randall Rohlf
SHOP TALK
26 Forest + Ash
The Elements of Style
By Crystal Ward Kent
Photography by Freebird Photography
20 From the Editor 80 Living Small A
By Christina Polletto
Photography by Morgan Karanasios
86 Green Space
Stan Fry’s Peterborough gardens
By Robin Sweetser / Photography by Stan Fry
94 Mark Your Calendar
Compiled by Elisa Gonzales Verdi
96 Parting Shot An
VICE PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER
Ernesto Burden
EDITOR
Janice Randall Rohlf
ART DIRECTOR
John R. Goodwin
PHOTO EDITOR
John W. Hession
PROOFREADER/STAFF WRITER
Amanda Andrews
CREATIVE SERVICES DIRECTOR
Jodie Hall
SENIOR GRAPHIC PRODUCTION ARTIST Nicole Huot
CONTRIBUTORS
Mary Ann Esposito, Dan Szczesny, Morgan Karanasios, Crystal Ward Kent, Stan Fry, Christina Poletto, Debbie Kane, Elisa Gonzales Verdi, Robin Sweetser
DIGITAL OPERATIONS & MARKETING MANAGER Morgen Connor
VP/CONSUMER MARKETING Brook Holmberg
VP/RETAIL SALES Sherin Pierce
BILLING SPECIALIST/IT COORDINATOR Gail Bleakley
STAFF ACCOUNTANT Nancy Pfuntner
New Hampshire Home is published six times a year by Yankee Publishing, Inc.; 250 Commercial Street, Suite 4014, Manchester, NH 03101; 603-624-1442. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without the publisher’s written permission is prohibited. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any mistakes in advertisements or editorial. Statements and opinions expressed in this magazine do not necessarily reflect or represent those of this publication or its officers. Every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, Yankee Publishing, Inc.: New Hampshire Home disclaims all responsibility for omissions and errors.
New Hampshire Home is mailed to our subscribers six times a year and is available at more than 200 newsstands across the state and New England, including the following locations: Barnes & Noble, Books A Million, Hannaford, Market Basket, CVS Pharmacy, Shaw’s, Walmart
HOW TO CONTACT US
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EVENTS CALENDAR & HOME SUBMISSIONS
EDITORIAL CORRESPONDENCE
To submit industry events and home-related news, send an email to editor Janice Randall Rohlf at janicerohlfnhh@gmail.com with a basic description of the event or happening, its time, date, place and a phone number that the editors can call you for more information. Details should be submitted 3 months before the issue’s cover date.
To submit your home or design project, or to suggest a story idea for editorial consideration in New Hampshire Home, email janicerohlfnhh@gmail.com
PRINT ADVERTISING
New Hampshire Home offers businesses the most cost-effective way to reach New Hampshire’s upscale consumers of home products and services. Information about advertising in the print editions and online is available by contacting Jessica Schooley 603-624-1442 ext. 5143 • 603-345-2752 jessicas@yankeepub.com
§
Builders Show Accolades
SILICONE SEALANT BETWEEN TWO PANELS
New Year, New Look!
I’M NOT ONE for making resolutions, but the beginning of a new year does call for a little fanfare. My colleagues and I at New Hampshire Home have spent the last several months tossing around ideas for a redesigned magazine to kick off 2024, and this issue is the result of our brainstorming. We hope you like it!
Before you dive into reading the stories, you will notice our new look — an updated design spearheaded by our creative director, John Goodwin, a pro at finagling fonts and finessing photography to achieve just the right combination. Meanwhile, camera equipment at the ready, our photo editor, John Hession, crisscrosses the state taking much of the stunning photography that ends up in these pages. During his many years in the business, John has forged relationships with other top-notch photographers whose work we also use from time to time.
This high-quality imagery tells a story visually that the words expand upon. Sitting around a conference table on many occasions, New Hampshire Home’s editorial, art and sales teams proposed and rejected a number of content suggestions. We agreed that shining the spotlight on three feature homes per issue was a good format to continue. To complement these deep dives, in our front-of-thebook, with the new name “Inform & Inspire,” and in the back section, we offer shorter takes on design and build in a variety of scenarios — patios, gardens, travel accommodations, retail destinations and more. And we listened to our readers who asked for more coverage of modest-sized and sustainable homes, and will be giving you our take on “Living Small” on a regular basis.
Our longtime food contributor, Mary Ann Esposito, switches things up a bit by showcasing a variety of food destinations throughout the state, accompanied as always by her very own recipes in a department we call “Taste.”
Whether you are a reader or an advertiser, thank you for your loyalty to New Hampshire Home. The magazine’s continuing success depends on the satisfaction of our audience, so we invite your feedback on our new look.
Wishing you good health and much happiness in the year to come!
Janice Randall Rohlf Editor
Mary Ann Esposito is familiar to Granite State foodies as the host of public television series “Ciao Italia.” She is the author of 14 cookbooks, including her most recent, Ciao Italia: Plant, Harvest, Cook!, which recently won the 2023 New Hampshire Literary Award for Outstanding Work of Non-Fiction. In this issue’s “Taste” department, she introduces us to artisan bakery Blue Loon in New London.
Crystal Ward Kent is a journalist who covers everything from restaurants to historical subjects. She enjoyed writing this issue’s “Shop Talk” and “Create,” as both are part of what makes New Hampshire unique.
Dan Szczesny is a journalist, author and speaker who has written several books of travel memoirs, poetry and essays. Dan wrote the feature story “Friendly, Not Fussy,” about a coastal Rye home buit to relax in.
Robin Sweetser is an organic gardener who grows as much of her family’s produce as possible. A big fan of Stan Fry’s Peterborough gardens, she wrote about them for this issue.
JANICE’S PHOTO BY ERIC BRUST-AKDEMIR
Warm & Cozy
Kobe Swivel Chair by American Leather Circle Furniture in Portsmouth circlefurniture.com
Pof Pof ottoman in Pink, Saffron Yellow, and Lemon Yellow Italmoda Furniture in Nashua italmodafurniture.com
Fisherman Cabled Fleece Throw in Navy L.L. Bean with multiple NH Locations llbean.com
Anti-inflammatory Tea Value Pack 27 Teas in Manchester 27teas.com
Find Your Style
Rustic Styling
Sustainability is about choices — those that we make as a manufacturer and those that you make as a consumer. Some eco-conscious options require systemic changes, while others are simple to implement. However, both contribute signi cantly to a more sustainable future.
Rustic
Softly distressed or raw and weathered, this warm and relaxed design style brings the charm of the outdoors in. Surrounded by carved materials, natural materials and a hodge-podge of textures and embellishments, the design elements of the rustic style come together to tell a uniquely long and rich story.
Stop by one of our design centers (Ja rey, Peterborough, Pembroke, Andover or Ashland) to nd your style.
As Good as it Gets
There’s no cutting corners on bread at artisanal bakery Blue Loon.
AS SOMEONE WHO LOVES to pull my own loaves from the oven, I am in awe of artisan bakers whose passion is to transform flour, water, salt and yeast into one of the world’s most historically significant, honored and desired foods: bread.
Blue Loon Bakery in New London is one place you can find these dedicated culinarians, among them Blue Loon’s co-owner and head bread baker, Laurie Schive, who is also the chairperson of the Bread Bakers Guild of America. I asked Laurie why she chose to get her hands into dough and pursue a career in baking
Interview
artisan bread — so different from the soft and spongy mass-produced sandwich loaves that remind us of school lunchbox fare.
What is your background, and what drew you to becoming an artisan bread baker?
I had a career with the CIA (not the Culinary Institute of America) and while living overseas I started baking sourdough bread to relieve stress. I didn’t have any formal baking experience, but I loved the creativity and science behind this exercise.
My husband and I were living outside of D.C., and when our last child went
off to college we talked about where we wanted to live. My husband is a Dartmouth College graduate and knew the Upper Valley area; I grew up in New Jersey and loved the rural feel and change of seasons in New England.
We had friends in New London, so decided to settle here. Before long, I realized the town had everything except an artisan bakery. So, I set out to change that! Before opening Blue Loon, I took professional courses at King Arthur Baking and the San Francisco Baking Institute, but most of my baking and small-business skills are self-taught.
and recipes by Mary Ann Esposito | Photography by John W. Hession
Laurie Schive, co-owner of Blue Loon.
INFORM & INSPIRE Taste
Muffuletta
SERVES 6
This impressive stuffed bread is chock-full of cured meats, cheese and pickled vegetables, all layered and compacted together in a country bread, such as a boule from Blue Loon. The origin of this exceptional sandwich loaf comes by way of Italy, especially from the regions of Calabria and Sicily, and is known as a muffuletta.
Boule Bread
1 (round loaf) at least 6 to 7 inches in diameter and 2 inches high.
Salad Filling
8-ounce jar pickled mixed vegetables, drained and minced
½ cup pitted green olives in brine, drained and minced
¼ cup diced fennel and fennel leaves
½ cup diced sweet red peppers
1 teasp oon minced garlic
2 tablesp oons extra-virgin olive oil
Salt to taste
Meat and Cheese Filling*
¼ p ound thinly sliced Genoa salami
1/3 p ound thinly sliced ham
1/3 p ound thinly sliced capicola
½ p ound thinly sliced mozzarella cheese
¼ p ound thinly sliced provolone cheese
1. In a bowl, combine the mixed vegetables, olives, fennel, fennel leaves, peppers, garlic and olive oil. Set aside.
2. With a bread knife, cut a ½ -inch thick “lid” off the top of the bread and set aside. Remove the interior crumb of the bread, leaving about a ¾-inch-thick shell. Reserve the crumb of the bread for another use, such as for breadcrumbs.
3. Spread half the salad ingredients evenly in the bottom of the bread shell. Layer the meats and cheeses alternately on top of the salad, making as many layers to fill the bread until they are even with the rim of the bread. Spread the remaining salad over the
top. Replace the bread lid and press down on the loaf with your hands while you wrap the loaf tightly in aluminum foil. Place a heavy weight such as a cast-iron skillet or two heavy cans on top of the bread and refrigerate it for at least 6 hours or, even better, overnight.
4. An hour before serving, remove the weights and foil and place the loaf on a serving plate. With a bread knife, cut it into wedges while it is still cold. Allow to stand for 20 minutes before serving.
*Note: Amounts given for filling are approximate and depend on the size of the bread.
Laurie’s answers reminded me of an old Italian saying: “e’ buono come il pane,” meaning, “as good as bread.” The phrase is often used when referring to the character of a person who is reliable and trustworthy. If you are as good as bread, that is as good as it gets.
Why the name Blue Loon?
Our whole family was involved in helping us create the idea for the bakery, but no one could come up with a name we really loved. It was our then 10 -year-old granddaughter who suggested Blue Loon. We said, “Marissa,
that’s a great name, but there’s no such thing as a Blue Loon.” Her reply was, “There are loons on the lakes in New London, and if there isn’t a blue loon, there should be.” Who could argue with that logic? So, Blue Loon was born. One of our sons came up with the logo — a Blue Loon with a wheat stalk for a wing.
What advice do you have for novice bread bakers?
Anyone can learn how to bake bread, and with a little effort you can make something that is close to miraculous. When I was first teaching myself, an experienced baker told me that “bread doesn’t need you as much as it needs time.” So I slowed down and enjoyed the process of getting my hands in the dough. Also, I suggest talking to bread bakers, both serious home bakers and professionals. I learned so much just by
Challah and a boule from Blue Loon Bakery
INFORM & INSPIRE Taste
Overnight Oven-Baked French Toast
SERVES 8
Wake up to this delicious version of French toast made with Blue Loon’s challah bread, ricotta cheese and a sauce of blueberries and raspberries. Prepare it the night before, and in the morning pop it in the oven. While it bakes, make the yummy fruit sauce topping.
French Toast
12 to 14 ½-inch-thick slices challah or brioche-type bread (or enough for three layers)
1½ cups whole milk ricotta cheese, well drained
1/3 cup honey
1¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
8 extra large eggs
1½ cups light cream or milk
¼ teaspoon salt
1. In a bowl with a handheld mixer, whip the ricotta cheese with the honey until smooth and uniform. Stir in the cinnamon. Set aside.
2. In another b owl, combine the eggs, cream and salt and beat on low speed until all the ingredients are well blended. Set aside.
3. Place a single layer of the bread slices in the base of a buttered 9-by-13-inch casserole dish (you may need a few small pieces to fill in any gaps). Spread half of the ricotta mixture evenly over the slices.
4. Top with a second layer of bread slices and spread the remaining ricotta cheese mixture over the slices. Top with the last layer of bread slices.
5. In a b owl, lightly beat the eggs with a whisk until they are well blended. Whisk in the cream and salt. Pour the mixture evenly over the top of the bread slices, allowing it to seep into the edges of the pan.
6. Cover the pan tightly with foil and place it in the refrigerator overnight.
7. When ready to serve, preheat oven to 350°F and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover the pan and bake 25-30 minutes longer, or until the top of the bread looks lightly browned. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, then cut into squares and top each piece with some of the fruit sauce. Serve immediately.
Fruit Sauce
1 cup water
1½ tablespoons cornstarch
2/3 cup sugar
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup fresh raspberries
In a medium saucepan off the heat, combine the water, cornstarch and sugar. Place the mixture over medium heat and cook, stirring until the mixture starts to thicken and coats the back of a spoon. Slowly add the blueberries and raspberries and gently fold them into the sugar mix. Keep sauce warm until ready to use.
asking questions of other members in the Bread Bakers Guild of America (BBGA).
Tell me about the Bread Bakers Guild of America. And what is Camp Bread?
I’ve been a BBGA member since 2016 and the board chair since January 2023. We’re a nonprofit dedicated to the craft, culture, careers and community of bread baking, with an emphasis on providing education to aspiring bread bakers, production bakers and bakery owners. Our current focus is to increase our Spanish-language education for production bakers and to create a “business of baking” curriculum for new bakery owners, with a goal of helping them build sustainable, community-focused bakery businesses. The best thing is I get to go to the BBGA’s Camp Bread — a three-day baking conference held at Johnson & Wales University in March 2024. Three days of bread baking, eating and talking is my idea of heaven!
For the average consumer, do you think bread has a negative connotation as a carb with consequences?
Well, any food can have consequences if you eat too much of it. And many who buy what I’d call “industrial” bread at a supermarket don’t realize how many unrecognizable ingredients are in it — azodicarbonide and datem, for example. But I think the average customer buying their bread at a small artisan bakery like ours knows that they are getting high-quality, healthy food. Most of the breads we bake are naturally leavened (aka sourdough), and we also incorporate whole grains like whole wheat, whole rye, rye chops, flax and sunflower seeds into them. I’m always happy to talk ingredients and the benefits of good bread with customers — we even have a window looking into the kitchen so anyone can stop by to see exactly how we make the bread. NHH
Courtesy photos
The Essence of Simplicity
Classically trained studio furniture-maker Brad Wolcott combines traditional techniques with a contemporary feel.
EVEN WHILE in the deserts of Iraq, Brad Wolcott of Concord dreamed of creating furniture. As a cavalry officer with the U.S. Army, Wolcott served a 13-month combat tour in a remote outpost. Many days were filled with dangerous patrols, but there was downtime, and during those quiet hours Wolcott sketched furniture — what he would build, how he would build it and how he would make it his own.
In his youth, Wolcott was a kid who built things. This talent could have taken
him down any number of paths, but while studying at Dartmouth he found his passion in working with wood. He spent four years at the college’s Hopkins Center Woodworking Studio, studying with craftsmen Greg Elder and Dudley Whitney. While there, he fashioned everything from Alaskan snowshoes to a Shaker-style, pencil-post bed. The experience instilled a love of woodcraft that he wanted to explore further.
After four years of military service
and no woodworking, Wolcott enrolled at Boston’s North Bennett Street School when he was once again stateside. There, he learned how to work with hand tools and hone his craftsmanship. “Traditional construction techniques are the hallmark of fine American furniture,” says Wolcott, adding that he combines traditional with a contemporary feel.
Known for its clean lines and smooth curves, Wolcott’s work appears deceptively simple. A case in point is the wooden
By Crystal Ward Kent | Photography by John W. Hesson
The five-armed serpentine configuration of this “Calypso” table is meant to evoke a seastar. Wolcott, opposite page, chose curly maple because, he says, “the curl resembles the way light dapples the sand below the waves on a sunny day.”
INFORM & INSPIRE Create
Above: A bowfront sideboard in figured cherry with ebony and holly details.
Right: The Hollis Communion table is a contemporary design based on Christian traditions that stretch back more than two millennia. Made from the wood of two maples, every aspect of the table represents an element of the rite of communion. The inlay is made from ox horn, as the ox is a symbol of redemption through sacrifice. Behind the translucent ox horn is a circular golden nimbus. The nimbus is a symbol of divinity in Christian art.
music stand called “Adagio.” Shaped like a musical note, it appears to be just four rows of wood on a curved stand fitted into a curved base. In reality, it is a master class in wood craftsmanship. There are no flat surfaces; the base required 17 strips of walnut cut sequentially from the same board. These were then tapered and laminated back together around a curved form so that the grain flows continuously. The long stem is composed of eight similarly cut strips that connect to the base with a complex angle joint. The four rows of wood that hold the music were created essentially in a vacuum, as they appear to float in the air. Imagine keeping these pieces level and parallel with no fixed frame of reference! Wolcott feels Adagio was his most challenging piece, and ultimately the most rewarding.
Wolcott works with North American hardwoods such as maple, cherry, walnut and holly. He spends one week to three months on a piece, depending on the complexity, and while he enjoys creating all kinds of furniture, he finds tables the most fascinating. “Tables have a wide range of possibilities,” he observes. “The shapes and sizes can be taken in many directions.”
Often, Wolcott adds texture to his pieces by using fur, stone, upholstery and textiles, as well as other natural elements. One example is “Kinnd,” a bowl-shaped coffee table that was turned on a lathe. The exterior is wrapped in Icelandic shearling, while the top is black walnut.
Wolcott is heartened by the success of his work, and hopes more people will appreciate fine wood craftsmanship. “I love everything about what I do,” he says. “From the creating to the technical aspect, to working with other craftspeople. What I love best is knowing that something I made brings joy to someone’s home. A piece of handmade furniture generates pleasure for a lifetime, and the patina and beauty only improve with age. It is something both useful and lovely to pass on.” NHH
“Kinnd,” a bowl-shaped coffee table in walnut, ash, poplar and Icelandic shearling illustrates how Wolcott sometimes adds texture to his pieces.
Wolcott calls “Adagio,” a deceptively simple-looking music stand in walnut, curly maple and ebony, “a musical note wrapped in space.”
The Design Scene
Circle Furniture partnered with New Hampshire Home for an open house Nov. 6 in its Portsmouth store. Renowned color consultant Lara Gibson of Studio 333 shared her expert advice on working with neutral tones in your home. In addition to an evening of inspiration and fun, this event doubled as a charity fundraiser benefiting New Hampshire’s own Room for Love, whose mission is to create magical spaces for children with health issues, special needs and economic hardships.
Bob Richard, owner of Circle Furniture; Janice Randall Rohlf, editor of New Hampshire Home; Andrea Dupont, Room for Love; Jonathan Boyle, president of Circle Furniture Jaye Carr; Heather Nadeau; Renee Carmen; Nina McCarthy; Hanna Schaffer Spotlight on the décor Circle Furniture Portsmouth crew: Nichole Chichester, design consultant; Catherine Douty, vice president of stores; Laura Nickerson, vice president of buying; Stephanie Birchenough, design consultant; Brian Bechard, vice president of merchandising; Hannah Pasquale, design consultant; Jonathan Boyle, president; Tina Owens, design consultant; Laurie Donahue, design consultant; not pictured, Jo-Anne Lucas, store manager Donna Ali, owner of Islington Bottle Shoppe
Guests meet and mingle Guests enjoy refreshments Cindy Hale representing Circle Furniture; Debbe Daley, owner of Designs by Debbe
Bob Richard, owner of Circle Furniture; Andrea Dupont, Room for Love; Paula Richard, office manager at Circle Furniture Guests listen to a presentation from color consultant Lara Gibson, of Studio 333 Jessica Schooley, New Hampshire Home advertising sales manager; and Jenna Pelech, New Hampshire Home advertising and events sales director
Lumen Nature Retreat
A SIX-MONTH ROAD TRIP from Boston to Argentina was the impetus for one of New Hampshire’s newest and most inspired luxury camping sites, Lumen Nature Retreat in North Woodstock.
“We bought a 20-year-old Land Cruiser, put a tent on the roof and headed south,” says Boris Mordkovich, sharing the details of his and his wife Susan Zhao’s novel honeymoon. “Neither one of us had done much camping in the past, but it was fantastic. When we came back, that idea stayed with us, and because we have a little bit of a hospitality background and
High Style in a Sylvan Setting
have built and run some other properties, eventually it led to this.”
Lumen provides an experience as far from scout-camp, pup-tent living as you can get in a serene wooded setting beside a babbling brook. Invited to spend a night last summer, I was enchanted by the combination of high design and rustic simplicity, for which the term glamping falls short.
“We think of ourselves as a landscape hotel,” says Mordkovich about the luxurious, everything-is-included Nordic cabins, A-frame tents and safari tents nestled on
By Janice Randall Rohlf
20 acres in the heart of the White Mountains. “The units are part of the landscape; they fit in without dominating.” Two-thirds of the sites face either the brook or a pond.
While all the options for accommodations are thoughtfully appointed and comfortable, the lykke and hygge Nordic cabins are a tour de force in terms of providing the cachet of custom design and ease of living within a 150-foot-square space.
“Small details make a big difference,” says Zhao, who collaborated with the cabin-on-wheels manufacturer on the interior design of Lumen’s units. She
Hygge and lykke cabins, the top tier of accommodations at Lumen Nature Retreat, were custom designed to offer maximum comfort in a minimum of space. A wall-size window offers a view of the brook and lets daylight stream in, bouncing off blond wood walls.
INFORM & INSPIRE Home Away
wanted to achieve a “Nordic, clean” look, and asked herself, “How do you do homey, but not busy?” The experience she and her husband had living on a boat in Boston Harbor gave her a few ideas for the cabins, including how to capitalize on different interior elevations. By necessity (because of the wheel arches) the couch area is higher than the rest of the space. Zhao,
who turned this quirk into an asset, says this “gives the space a Japanese tearoom effect.”
Sunlight from wall-size windows bounces off blond wood veneer walls and, in the hygge cabins, rays also stream in through a skylight in the loft area. West Elm, Pottery Barn, Burrows and Article were among Zhao’s favorite sources for fur-
niture and accessories, and each cabin has a ventless biofuel fireplace from French company Le Feu that looks like a piece of contemporary art. Sleek, too, are the enamel dishes and Fellow Stagg electric kettle for pour-over coffee or tea. A convection cooktop and mini fridge round out the efficiently equipped kitchen. Each remarkably private, all-electric
BY JON KREYE
Minimalistic A-frames have everything you need and nothing you don’t — a luxurious bed, smokeless firepit and comfy chairs under the stars.
PHOTO
PHOTOS BY JOHN W. HESSION
DESIGN BY ZERO TEN DESIGN
INFORM & INSPIRE Home Away
campsite has its own premium smokeless firepit, Adirondack chairs and a picnic table, and dining out nearby is also an option. After dinner, you may choose to relax in one of two saunas on-site — reserve a time slot upon booking to enjoy soaking sans company.
Lumen’s accommodations are so attractive and well thought out that even the absence of running water in the units is a minor inconvenience. Especially when within a two- to five-minute walk of every site sits a newly renovated, climatecontrolled bathhouse that includes hot showers, brand-name toiletries and a designer feel.
On their road-trip honeymoon, Mordkovich and Zhao were especially captivated by the Bolivian salt flats. A world away at Lumen, their goal is to recreate the magic closer to home using different ingredients. NHH
This barrel sauna with a panoramic view on the pond is one of two saunas available to enjoy at Lumen. Reserve a time slot upon booking to enjoy private sauna time.
PHOTOS BY SUSAN ZHAO
INFORM & INSPIRE Shop Talk
Forest + Ash
The elements of style can be found on every table and shelf.
ON ANY GIVEN DAY, Exeter shop Forest + Ash bustles with activity. People flock here to check out the ever-changing merchandise, which ranges from candles and pillows to home goods, purses, jewelry, rugs, handcrafts and more. Since opening in July 2019, Forest + Ash has developed a devoted following, with patrons regularly making the drive from Concord, Manchester, Massachusetts and beyond.
“We see many clients here every weekend,” says Robin Drunsic, co-owner and founder with her business partner, Hanna Schaffer. “They make a day of it, browsing the store and coming for lunch in Exeter.”
What’s the secret? In part, it is an eye for unique and tasteful items that are difficult to find elsewhere. “We work hard
to source from great artisans and to find things that other local stores don’t have,” says Drunsic. “We also have interior design expertise.” Forest + Ash’s interior design service is led by Schaffer, who worked independently as a designer before teaming up with Drunsic. “Our design clients love the Forest + Ash look, which is a clean, modern yet homey style, and clients can create that vibe through the items offered in the shop,” says Drunsic.
All staff are trained to offer design advice if clients ask. “Your home is your sanctuary and the place you want to feel like you, but many clients struggle with choosing the right rug or accent piece that pulls it all together,” explains Drunsic. “We encourage clients to bring in photos
of their rooms, and we help curate what works.”
Keeping the shop’s inventory fresh and diverse ensures that patrons always discover something new. Drunsic and Schaffer also put extra effort into redesigning their window displays every two to three months. “Watching for the new window display is a thing,” Drunsic says with a laugh. “People stop to see what we create.”
While Forest + Ash is filled with treasures, there are customer favorites, such as the candles, diffusers and lotions from Farm + Sea out of Amesbury, Massachusetts. Another must-buy is the popcorn popper that folds flat, pops up to pop the corn, then folds flat again.
The shop features quality goods avail-
By Crystal Ward Kent | Photography by Freebird Photography
Robin Drunsic, left, and Hannah Schaffer, right, are co-owners of Forest + Ash.
able in a wide spectrum of prices, with pillows, for example, ranging from $48 to $168. “We also offer affordable art, so everyone can have great pieces,” says Drunsic. “Sarah Madeira Day, an amazing artist from Falmouth, Maine, provides us with gorgeous prints that always sell out. We also have fantastic New Hampshire maps illustrated with famous landmarks, from Brainstorm in Dover. They come framed and are hugely popular.”
Drunsic and Schaffer have more exciting plans for Forest + Ash, including offering appointments for design consultation and opening a second location. For now, they are happy their store is thriving and bringing joy to others. “One client comes in every week just to be in the shop,” says Drunsic. “She says being in Forest + Ash makes her happy. What more could you want?” NHH
Forest+Ash ¦ 603-418-6284 forestandashshop.com
FRAMING A VIEW
Boasting spectacular mountain views and cozy, rustic interiors, this vacation home brings a taste of the Adirondacks to New Hampshire.
BY DEBBIE KANE PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN W. HESSION
With its panoramic views of the White Mountains and rustic Douglas fir timber frame, this family vacation home evokes the casual luxury of Adirondack “great camps” of the 19th century.
When a New Hampshire couple showed architect Cris Salomon of Samyn-D’Elia Architects in Holderness the site where they wanted to build a vacation home, he was immediately interested. The property, located on a hillside in Bethlehem, has stunning panoramic views of the White Mountains. Salomon was even more excited when the couple told him they wanted their home to evoke one of their favorite vacation spots, Lake Placid, New York. “I grew up in the Adirondacks, so the opportunity to build a home inspired by that area was great,” says the architect.
Built high on a hill, the three-floor, 6,000-square-foot home has everything the couple and their active family needs: indoor and outdoor spaces for entertaining, plenty of bedrooms, a large mudroom to accommodate their sports equipment, even a fitness room and sauna.
Salomon took his design cues from the Adirondacks’ famed 19th-century “great camps.” The new home exemplifies that style, combining grandness and luxury with a rustic aesthetic. Salomon designed the home’s timber-frame structure and worked with Timberpeg Inc., of Claremont, to execute it. Contractor Kurt O’Connell, who has constructed many timberframe homes, was the builder on the project. “The frame comes precut, and we assemble the post-and-beam structure on-site,” he says. “Some of the designs are quite intricate, but I love building this style of home.”
So does Salomon. The great room, with soaring ceilings crisscrossed by exposed beams of rough-sawn Douglas fir, showcases the timber-frame structure. “Designing that room and figuring out its geometry was both fun and challenging because the roof structure is a low pitch, and we had to hide more modern elements like duct work and mechanical systems,” says
Left: The great room’s rustic feel is enhanced by details such as authentic birch bark trim, exposed beams and stained wood walls. The floors are dark oiled walnut.
Opposite page: The grand fireplace, constructed of stone from the Adirondack region of New York, occupies the far end of the great room to keep the space oriented to the outside mountain views.
Salomon. “It’s like doing a math puzzle.” The room’s web-like roof truss is connected by steel tie rods. “That was necessary from a structural design standpoint, instead of using a continuous piece of lumber,” says Austin Ward, regional manager of Timberpeg. “It really opens up the space and brings in a mix of materials.” There’s also interesting roof geometry. “The way the great room is faceted — like half of a hexagon — is one of the things that makes this design unique and adds a lot of architectural interest inside the home,” Ward says.
The space is anchored by a floor-to-ceiling stone fireplace, containing stones from the Adirondacks procured by Charles J. Precourt & Son of Sudbury, Massachusetts. Oiled black walnut floors throughout the home are sturdy and can withstand wear and tear.
Another unique design element is authentic birch-bark
accents in the great room as well as in the main-floor powder room and the upstairs primary bedroom. “They come in panels and are assembled in a way that they appear to be one continuous piece of birch bark,” says O’Connell.
Directly off the great room is the kitchen, featuring Shaker-style custom cabinetry by D.S. Huntington of Peterborough. Framed by open shelves, the focal point of the space is the rustic zinc stove hood, which the homeowners found. Appliances are by Wolf and Sub-Zero. The countertops and backsplash are Audacia quartzite with hints of charcoal and black; the white oak kitchen island is topped by black diamond granite. The kitchen opens onto a second-story deck and covered porch with an outdoor kitchen, grill and seating area. Railings fabricated from real tree branches add another distinctive Adirondack-style element to the exterior.
Echoing the warmth of the great room, the kitchen is designed for easy entertaining. The Shaker-style, mint-green cabinets were designed by D.S. Huntington. Quartzite countertops and the backsplash behind the Wolf range have the look of marble but are easy to maintain. The white oak island, topped with black diamond granite, provides another working surface for meal prep. The stove hood, procured by the homeowners, is zinc.
The second-floor bump-out with a Juliet balcony overlooking the great room is a comfortable space for the homeowners’ children to play games or do homework.
Top and left: A unique feature of the home’s exterior is its roof trusses, designed by the architect and fabricated by Timberpeg. The cedar stickwork railings are custom-built by Adirondack Logworks of New York.
Below: Built-in cabinets with metal inserts in the mudroom, designed by D.S. Huntington, echo the color and style of the kitchen cabinetry. The floors are easy-to-maintain porcelain tile.
Designed for relaxation, the primary bedroom and bathroom take advantage of natural daylight and the mountain views. The vanity (top left), fixtures and lighting are from Restoration Hardware. Echoing other elements found throughout the house, the headboard wall in the primary bedroom is lined with authentic birch-bark panels.
Left: John Otte, project manager; Amelia Brock, project architect; Cristopher Salomon, principal: all from Samyn-D’Elia Architects
Upstairs, a bump-out overlooking the great room provides a private space for younger children and teens to gather to play games and socialize and is a connector to the primary bedroom suite and other bedrooms. On the ground level, in addition to bunk rooms and a television room, there’s a fitness room with a sauna. The homeowners often use the space to host yoga practice for friends. “The windows are low, so you can practice and enjoy the views while you’re on your mat,” says Salomon.
Another must for this active family: a large mudroom, off
the garage, features built-in closets and cabinets to readily stow ski and hiking gear. An easy-to-clean slate floor accommodates heavy boots and melting snow or mud.
Contemporary lighting throughout the house is from Hubbardton Forge and Restoration Hardware; the comfortable modern furnishings are from Restoration Hardware.
The homeowners are delighted with their stylish getaway. “This was a fun project with a lot of interesting details,” says Salomon. “It’s a grand house but also comfortable.” And built for years of enjoyment. NHH
Designer Emily Shakra transformed a long, narrow, dark space into this sunny, clean-lined kitchen with custom touches galore. Dan Hughes of Capital Kitchen & Bath and Craig Pothier of Pinecrest Construction were instrumental to the renovation.
family Comes First
Behind its stately brick facade, this Bedford home harbors serene, nature-inspired interiors designed to keep both parents and kids happy.
when Mike and Kelly Burnett started looking to buy a house in Bedford, their two sons and one daughter were not old enough to weigh in on the purchase themselves, but they had significant influence on their parents’ decision. “With three kids, it’s chaos, so I wanted our home to be a place of warmth and stability; a place they wanted to be,” says Kelly.
The big, brick house on a cul-de-sac, with spacious rooms and a nice backyard to play in, checked all the boxes at the time. But the longer they lived in it, the more the Burnetts began to think about how much untapped potential the house had, and that’s when they consulted interior designer Emily Shakra.
“I asked Emily to create something beautiful but also something that kids can grow up in,” says Kelly, a former college athlete who enjoys being active with her family. “Everything that we chose (for the house) is usable and durable,” adds Mike.
BY JANICE RANDALL ROHLF
Photography by John W. Hession & Morgan Karanasios
Shakra listened to her clients as she pondered the challenging kitchen space before her: long and narrow with a couple small windows, a single sliding door to the outside, dark wood cabinetry and orange tiles on the floor. “My job was to figure out how to take this space that looked like a runway, brighten it up and make it user-friendly,” says Shakra, whose breadth of experience allows her to take such design conundrums in stride. She respected Kelly’s desire for a calming and organic palette of black, white and deep greens, and took note of the husband’s interest in lighting.
“I wanted all five of us to be able to sit down to a meal in the kitchen instead of the dining room, and I wanted there to be a separate place to prep meals,” says Kelly, seated at the larger of the two quartz-topped islands that now fulfill this particular wish. Five Scandinavian-design, slatted-wood pendants illuminate the islands, but the new trio of tall black-steel windows along with the additional sliders bring in so much daylight that the hanging fixtures are rarely turned on. Lit at
Inset: Adding new sliders between the kitchen and the patio heightened the indoor-outdoor connection.
Left: A family-friendly living space adjacent to the kitchen features a floor-to-ceiling brick hearth and a two-tier wagon wheel chandelier from the Lighting Showroom in Bedford.
night, they, along with strategically placed strip lighting, make the space look magical. More sunlight from the front of the house bathes the kitchen, too, thanks to a newly widened singledoor-size space between the kitchen and the dining room.
The Burnetts are quick to credit Dan Hughes of Capital Kitchen & Bath and Craig Pothier of Pinecrest Construction for the high quality of their work and their meticulous craftsmanship, which Shakra lauds as well: “They went along
with my ideas and executed them to a T,” she says, pointing out the black-steel-edged glass cabinet and the walnut accents beneath the islands, both firsts for the men. These and other custom details give the clients exactly the one-of-a-kind kitchen they were hoping for.
The primary bathroom and walk-in closet space for Kelly and Mike, along with the kitchen, were the crux of the project at its onset. To overcome the primary bath’s main challenge—
The living room's nature-inspired Company C rug influenced the rest of the furniture choices and accent selections. Floral arrangements throughout the home provided by Apotheca Flowers.
It took little more than new wallpaper and window-framing drapes from J & R Langley to freshen up Kelly's office space, which leads to the primary suite.
Gathering on the patio are, from left to right, Dan Hughes, Capital Kitchen & Bath; Bill Zeolie, Bedford Fields; interior designer Emily Shakra; homeowners Kelly and Mike Burnett; and Craig Pothier of Pinecrest Construction.
a sloped ceiling — Shakra created the illusion of height by bringing the wallpaper all the way up the ceiling slope instead of stopping at the top of the short wall. The zero-clearance shower and large-format floor tiles also make the room look bigger. Clever too was choosing teak — typically used in boatbuilding — for the soaking tub’s platform; most any other wood would suffer from splashing water.
Once Shakra renovated these spaces beyond her clients’ expectations, they asked her to refresh other parts of the house. “We kept it simple but we used a lot of rich materials,” says the designer. They proceeded in a cost-conscious way that also took into account Kelly’s sentimental attachments to various pieces. For example, the dining room table she ate at growing up was kept but surrounded by new seating — black wrought-
Premier-quality Eastern Accents bedding and new window treatments gave the primary bedroom a face lift.
Right top and bottom: Rounding out the primary suite are a new closet/ dressing room space and a gold-accented bathroom featuring a soaking tub on a teak wood platform.
iron barreled arm chairs — a new lighting fixture and custom drapes. And an antique jelly cabinet passed down through her family was incorporated into the re-fashioned den. “I know it doesn’t match completely,” says Kelly, “but I just wanted some pieces that mean a lot to me to stay.”
Sometimes very small changes made a big impact, like replacing a furniture piece’s bun feet with tapered legs, which, says Shakra, makes a more modern design statement without having to replace an entire sofa. “We went through every room and updated a few particular pieces,” says the designer, a proponent of updating re-purposed furniture with new cushions and splurging on high-quality bedding instead of buying a new bed.
Whether big-impact or subtle, every design decision in the
house contributes to a seamless transition from room to room. “Sleek, masculine finishes strengthen the elegant simplicity of the kitchen, a look that we wanted to continue into the rest of the home,” says Shakra. “To make the rooms flow, it was important to keep the same color palette throughout but add different textures.” In this spirit, the designer also convinced the wallpaper-averse wife to install it in four rooms. In some, it was the only change needed to bring the space up to date.
“Kelly and Mike wanted to create a sense of peace and happiness in her home and fill it with touches of selfexpression,” says Shakra. “My job was to listen to what they had to say.” Together, they created a home that speaks loudly and proudly for itself. NHH
The combination of wrought-iron barreled arm chairs and Kelly's childhood dining table lend a transitional feel to the dining room, with barely there, custom J & R Langley drapes allowing sunlight to flood in.
Top: The handiwork of Bedford Fields Home & Garden spruces up the patio.
Above: The house's stately brick facade belies the lively renovated spaces within.
CABINETRY: Capital Kitchen & Bath ¦ 603-225-8300 ¦ capitalkitchenandbath.com
BUILDER: Pinecrest Construction ¦ 603-647-4455
Situated on land that used to be the site of an 18th-century tidal grist mill, Gail and Fran DiNuzzo’s home is intimate and comfortable despite its size. The shingle-style house has views of the Isles of Shoals and is complemented by landscape architecture by Woodburn & Company.
friendly, NOT FUSSY
A
water-view house in Rye is intentionally classic and comfortable.
BY DAN SZCZESNY | PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN W. HESSION
Gail and Fran DiNuzzo’s home is intimate and low on pretension even though it is a brandnew, 5,000-square-foot shingle-style house with views of the Isles of Shoals from the couple’s second-floor primary suite. This focus on laid-back living is by design.
“Yes, it’s big and open, but it’s not stuffy,” Gail says. “We didn’t want things to be fussy.”
Everything about the home defies expectations, from the narrow street approach and modest driveway, to the sunwashed porches and the many cozy nooks and corners.
Walk through the home's front door and you will find yourself immediately in the kitchen, with a long granite island and plenty of relaxed gathering space in the wide-open sitting room across from it.
The reason the DiNuzzos wanted the open kitchen as the
central focus of the home has everything to do with family. “We wanted this space to hold and be comfortable for all our kids and grandkids,” Fran says, “which is currently 10, going on 12 or 13!” But building their dream home came with some unexpected and serious challenges, starting with the land upon which the home sits.
Goss Farm Land
The history of the land dates back to the early 1790s. Nathan Goss and his son Thomas built their house and barn on the land and helped in the effort to dig out Rye Harbor for merchant vessels. The Goss family also ran a tidal grist mill on the east side of Ocean Boulevard. A huge vegetable field was located behind the barn, with a focus on asparagus.
Around 2010, the Goss descendants split the property in two, with the northern section placed in conservancy.
The kitchen, defined by a coffered ceiling, features inset cabinetry constructed by CM Ragusa. The countertops are easy-care granite, and the custom-height leather stools are by Chaddock.
Left: Homeowners Gail and Fran DiNuzzo; project architect Britni Rotunda; interior designer Marcye Philbrook; Chris Ragusa, principal builder; Jon Sawyer, project manager; and Robbi Woodburn, landscape architect.
Below: Painted furniture lends a casual air to the breakfast nook. Variations of blue and neutrals carry throughout the home.
The southern section, where the DiNuzzo home is located, was divided into three residential lots.
Fran says that by the time the DiNuzzos heard about the land in November 2019, there was one plot left, and it had an unusual shape. The Realtor agreed to hold the property for the DiNuzzos for 30 days, giving them a month to find an architect to present them with a preliminary design.
Through the Realtor, they were introduced to Maugel DeStefano Architects in Portsmouth. They met with Britni Rotunda, the custom residential studio lead, and the design team to discuss their goals for the land and their home. “We have a wonderful design team, which enabled us to pull together a conceptual design for Fran and Gail quickly,” Rotunda says. “It was a fast process, but we were able to develop enough of a design and relationship for us all to say, ‘Yeah, we can do this!’”
As the design process progressed, Rotunda helped the DiNuzzos find a landscape architect and construction manager who understood their goals. Woodburn & Company, out of Newmarket, and CM Ragusa Co. Inc., out of Seabrook, were firms they all felt fit the team and project.
“Sometimes when big homes get built, the focus is on the outside and how the home looks on the lot, but here, the interior is important,” says owner and president Chris Ragusa. “The way the design team broke down the spaces, ceiling, cabinetry, and kitchen nook makes it feel like a smaller home full of intimate spaces.”
The House Takes Shape
Fran says the first thing they did was send Britni a couple dozen inspiration photos of how the couple envisioned their new home. “We wanted it to look like a coastal home,” says
The four-season room was designed to bring the outside in year-round. Mimicking an enclosed porch, the vaulted beadboard ceilings are painted a soft robin’s-egg blue. The woven shades are motorized.
Fran. “Gail wanted roof lines and pitches, and we wanted two stories, which meant we wanted an elevator to age in place. But the main design principle was for there to be a lot of windows on the waterside because we would spend most of our lives facing this direction.” The design team took this to heart, and as in many waterfront homes, the back of the house that faces the water features over 30 windows offering ocean views and seacoast breezes.
“Because of the shape of the property, it became more important than usual to work with the site so that the home's design did not feel forced,” says Rotunda. “As it so often happens, this design challenge was a blessing in disguise! Working with the property's shape resulted in a home with a custom
fit angle in the floor plan that helps distinguish the openconcept ‘rooms’ without walls, which aligned well with Fran and Gail's ‘friendly, not fussy’ goal. From an exterior perspective, it helped reduce the scale of the home and created oneof-a-kind views toward the water from each room.”
With the architect in place to work on the homeowners’ vision and the builder on board, one piece remained to complete the puzzle.
Interior Collaboration
At some point during construction, Gail stopped at a nearby lighting store and asked if they knew a local interior designer. That’s how she learned about Marcye Philbrook Design
Top: The shape of the driveway, landscaping and large front door were designed to create a welcoming vibe for visitors.
Above: The main stairway is bathed in sunlight and designed as art. Staircases like these that combine form and function are a Maugel DeStefano trademark.
Studio. “I loved her philosophy,” Gail says. “It was just a feeling when I talked to her; she understood what I was looking for very quickly.”
Marcye Philbrook joined the team in early 2022 with a simple plan: listen to Gail and Fran. “I come from a spatial point of view,” Philbrook says. “My goal is to have people enter a room and say they love it, even though they can’t put their finger on why.”
To that end, the home is awash in blues that mimic the
ocean. Philbrook worked with Gail to design the closet of her dreams and helped the DiNuzzos with every interior detail, from the shades in the four-season room to the backsplash behind the stove.
With all the pieces in place, in March 2023, the DiNuzzos moved in. Since then, they’ve incorporated their design philosophy into their lives. “The home is elegant and casual at the same time,” Fran says. “It’s a place to hang out in jeans if we want and just enjoy our family.” NHH
The primary suite includes a cozy, sitting area cum fireplace and a bathroom with his and hers vanities surrounded by custom cabinetry and paneling. The shower is lined in ivory marble tiles with an inset marble mosaic pattern that matches the tile “rug” in the primary bath floor.
Whether you’ve designed or built a spectacular kitchen, a beautiful bath, a unique outdoor space or a fabulous home, we want to see your most impressive work from the past year. For up-to-date event details and a complete list of award categories, judging criteria and the submission process visit nhhomemagazine.com/design-awards
MEET THIS YEAR’S JUDGES
Chris Brown Founder & Principle
b Architecture Studio Inc.
Gregory Lombardi Founder & Principle
Gregory Lombardi Design
Save the Date: April 18, 2024. The Design Awards returns to The Factory in Manchester for the design event of the year! 2O24
For sponsorship info contact Jessica Schooley: 603-345-2752 or jessicas@yankeepub.com
2023 OUTDOOR LIVING SPACES: PELLETTIERI ASSOCIATES
Vivian Robins Founder & Interior Designer
Vivian Robins Design
Profiles of Architects and Designers
Meet some of New Hampshire’s talented architects and designers, and learn how they create the perfect spaces for their clients.
Boehm Graham Interior Design
Focusing on the whole home
Frustrated with the dated look of your home? Embarrassed to invite your friends and family over? Transform your home, transform your life with Kacey Graham of Boehm Graham Interior Design. Since 1999, Kacey and her team have been crafting captivating stories of design, solving your most challenging dilemmas.
At BGID, we believe in the power of intentional design. Your home should be a reflection of you, a unique and special haven that makes you walk a little taller, feel brighter, laugh a little louder and live a little better. From new builds to remodels and vacation homes, our award-winning team is dedicated to curated, personalized, stunning spaces of distinction.
Working with BGID is a journey tailored just for you, personally and professionally guided from concept to our famous “reveal.” Let Kacey and her team guide you through the design process, ensuring your home becomes a source of pride for years to come. Experience LIVABLE, LOVABLE, LUXURY, with Boehm Graham Interior Design. Elevate your surroundings, elevate your life. Follow us on Instagram at kacey.graham.
Samyn-D’Elia Architects, P.A.
Award-Winning, Sustainable Residential Design since 1980
Samyn-D’Elia Architects’ (SDA) first residential design commission, in 1981, was for a local family with strong conservation principles and deep historical ties to Squam Lake. The imprint of the lake’s history, the aesthetic of the local architecture, and the focus the client placed on preservation and respect for the natural setting have informed our residential design work ever since.
At SDA, we approach design as a collaborative process focused on our clients’ values and goals. We create exceptional spaces by being insightful observers, effective listeners and efficient communicators. SDA’s residential designs embody and reflect our clients’ vision and core values, meet their current and future needs, and respect their budget.
SDA’s residential portfolio contains a rich assortment of projects, including meticulous lakeside camp renovations, post-and-beam family homes tucked into the landscape, and expansive, ski-out residences — each reflecting the unique and varied tastes, needs and dreams of our inspiring clients.
6 Central House Rd., Holderness, NH (603) 968-7133 | sdarchitects.com
PHOTOGRAPH BY ROB KAROSIS PHOTOGRAPHY
Ward D’Elia, AIA Cris Salomon, AIA
Kacey Graham INTERIOR DESIGNER
db Landscaping LLC
Innovative and engaging landscapes
Whether your property boasts leafy woodlands, sweeping vistas or a beautiful waterfront, Mother Nature’s landscapes are guaranteed to impress — and db Landscaping LLC can enhance that natural wow factor for your residential or business property.
In addition to designing the outdoor living space of your dreams, db Landscaping LLC takes care of the details, including permitting and adhering to regulations. Led by landscape architect Daniel Bruzga, our team has 15 years of experience navigating the process from design and environmental permitting, to construction and long-term care.
Our team works with you to select natural, local materials appropriate to your property’s surroundings. We happily provide services wherever our clients live and play — in New Hampshire, the greater Boston area, Cape Cod, the Caribbean and beyond.
PO Box 356, Sunapee, NH | (603) 763-6423 | dblandscaping.com
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JOHN W. HESSION
Daniel Bruzga
LICENSED LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT NH#107
Studio Sage
Providing Clients with Innovative Design
Amanda Raymond PRINCIPAL DESIGNER
Studio Sage is an intentionally small, full-service design firm, with a focus on specialty, individualized interior design. We strive to curate innovative design solutions tailored to our client’s specific lifestyle. We pride ourselves on a collaborative approach to projects, helping our clients discover, develop and execute their own unique aesthetic. Because no two projects are the same, we are equally challenged and inspired by the work that we do. From concept, completion and finishing with our white-glove art curation, we are proud to serve clients all over New England.
Michael Petrovick Architects, PLLC
Listen first. Design second.
Michael Petrovick Architects is a small architecture firm with people passionate about design and connecting with our clients. As creative alchemists, we seek to enrich the lives of those who live, work and play in the buildings we create. We aim to translate your vision into something better than you can imagine. We take inspiration from the charming, historic New England architecture that surrounds us. Using the backdrop of our community, we are as versed in preserving or adapting historical homes as we are designing modern buildings that fit within the community fabric.
There’s a reason why our motto is “Listen First. Design Second.” Our client goals are realized through our commitment to listening and personalized service that is part of our culture and is evident in the relationships we build with our clients, consultants and staff. We promise to engage you in the discovery process and listen carefully to develop a complete understanding of all the needs your home must fulfill for you to live your best life. Our goal is to design a home that reflects your style, is aesthetically pleasing, and brings harmony to your daily activities by emphasizing functional design.
210 Main St., New London, NH (603) 526-2121
studiosageinteriors.com
Keene, NH | (603) 636-7056
Amesbury, MA | (978) 378-2012
info@mjparchitects.com www.mjparchitect.com
Michael Petrovick NCARB, AIA
LIVING SMALL
Updating History
Careful space planning and a mix of old and new refresh a 19th-century Portsmouth condo.
WHEN DESIGNER Jennifer Myers of The Weekender House, a small interior design firm in Portsmouth, learned about a one-bedroom project on Islington Street, she assumed this new client would request what so many of her other customers desired: comfortable living spaces with a coastal aesthetic. Then she met the condo owner, Alicia Childs, and learned more about the unique project.
Turns out, Childs wasn’t seeking a version of coastal chic, after all. Instead, she had big ideas for the compact space, and wanted her new home to be colorful, patterned and personalized. “She had inspiration photos showing layered patterns, lots of wallpaper and classic designs,” says Myers. “The small space had to be functional for full-time living and work.” Last but not least, accommodating Childs’ dog
— a Cavalier King Charles spaniel named Finley — was important, too.
For Myers and Childs, who collaborated throughout the project, there was architectural history to contend with: The apartment is located within the 1848 James Moses House. The age of the building contributed to some unusual spatial quirks they needed to work around, along with elements that were fixed in place,
By Christina Poletto | Photography by Morgan Karanasios
A new brass-and-marble bar cart has the air of an antique. It’s great to roll from the kitchen to the dining and living rooms when entertaining.
Opposite page: Finley’s modeling debut. A small corner sectional allows lots of seating in the small space. The plaid ottoman is on casters for mobility and versatility.
LIVING SMALL
Right: A swivel chair can face the sectional or swing around for viewing the fireplace or TV atop an antique chest. Bamboo Roman shades have a top-down/ bottom-up feature for privacy from the street.
Below: New woven chairs and a chandelier were added to an existing dining table, while a custom round rug defines the space. Thibaut wallpaper wraps all the way around the doublesided fireplace.
such as walls, electrical outlets and limited closet space.
Childs, a consultant, had moved to Portsmouth from Boston just one month before. The apartment, with its basic beige walls, hardwood floors and three fireplaces was a blank slate that called out for a more vibrant personality. Reckoning with the unconventional floor plan was a catalyst for reaching out to Myers. “Primarily, I needed furniture and I needed help with the design,” says Childs. “The condo has kind of an awkward layout.” Tackling the idiosyncrasies of the spaces and scouting fabrics and wallpaper were priorities.
The nontraditional shape of the 800-square-foot condo meant that the two women had to rely on their intuition and develop a thoughtful strategy to bring their shared ideas to life. “The small spaces with a center fireplace did not allow for a lot of layout retooling,” says Myers. “However, we actually managed to get a good amount of comfortable furnishings into the modest space.” Myers says drawing up a floor plan beforehand allowed them to understand how to best utilize the space both now and in the future. “If you stick to your floor plan, you won’t regret or rethink any purchases,” says the designer.
Childs’ style preferences guided the design planning: Animal prints and wallpaper were high priorities, as was having interiors that didn’t feel dramatically different from the historic building itself. “We wanted the design to reflect the house,” says Myers, who launched the project with Kalamkari Vine wallpaper in red and gold by Thibaut to dress the fireplace wall in the main gathering space. “This was our jumping-off point, and it set the stage for the living room and dining room.”
Mixing a round table Childs had with new woven chairs keeps the dining room from becoming too serious. While the base for the chandelier couldn’t be moved, its fixture was switched out for an adjustable egg drop pendant, which did allow hang-
LIVING SMALL
ing the light directly over the dining table.
Lighting fixtures and window treatments were updated throughout, and wallpaper was brought into the main living and sleeping spaces.
The bedroom is warmly dressed in
beige Thibaut Grassmarket Check to complement the trim painted Raccoon Hollow by Benjamin Moore. Animal print accent pillows are peppered throughout. Again mixing old and new styles, chairs, some from Childs’ grandmother, as well as
a bedroom ottoman were recovered, giving each piece a new look.
Myers says that integrating updated vintage furnishings into one’s décor can have a dramatic impact, which is the case in Childs’ home. “Every new piece is counter-balanced by an old piece. I think it will only get better with time, as Alicia continues to collect family pieces and great finds.” She adds that new fabric can work wonders on not-so-new pieces. “I think new upholstery helps keep a more traditional design from feeling stuffy or too uptight.”
Despite its modest footprint, the comfortable condo is suitable for living, working and entertaining. For Childs, it’s an ideal arrangement: “I like living in a cozy space,” she says. “It forces me to stay organized, which is always a plus, and the utility costs are lower. It’s easier to clean and, overall, there is just less maintenance. Plus, living small lets me live large in other areas of my life.” NHH
A very feminine bed with custom pillows contrasts with the more masculine, plaid Thibaut wallpaper. New upholsery updates the chairs.
Childs newly redecorated condo occupies half of this 19th-century house.
EXTERIOR PHOTO BY ALICIA CHILDS
DESIGN Details
Outside the Box
After a challenging bout with boxwood blight, Cheri and Stan Fry’s magnificent gardens in Peterborough will once again star in a garden tour this summer.
GARDENS are never truly done. There is always something new to add, a different combination of plants to try, ideas to follow through on, another border to create or hardscape to build. However, some changes are sparked by disasters. Even a garden that is seemingly perfect can be thrown into disarray by circumstances beyond the gardener’s control.
Cheri and Stan Fry have one of those seemingly perfect gardens in Peterborough. They started from scratch, and after working on it for 33 years it has grown to
52 gardens spread over 12 acres. In keeping with the style of their stately colonial home, the gardens start out as very structured and formal but become looser as they flow away from the house. “We started with perennials near the house but they needed borders, so we put in boxwood edging and some larger evergreens for winter interest,” says Fry. A fan of British Gardens Illustrated magazine, he has gotten inspiration from his travels to the Cotswolds, Ireland, Spain and France. Vermont garden designer Gordon
By Robin Sweetser | Photography by Stan Fry
Hayward and Chicago landscape architect
Douglas Hoerr have also contributed ideas to this effort. “We took an area at a time and tried to keep distinct gardens, but tied it all together with repeating plant material like boxwood or Japanese maples,” says Fry.
Edges and Hedges
Used extensively throughout the 12 acres, boxwood outlines garden rooms without blocking views, borders beds and walkways, and defines the levels of
There’s nothing boring about this boxwood hedge that snakes its way down the crabapple allée. Fry has two favorite varieties of winter-hardy evergreen boxwood: ‘Green Mountain’ and ‘Winter Gem.’
Opposite page: Fry has a large collection of urns and places 125 of them each spring. These four are centered in squares of boxwood, which are especially attractive in winter when dusted with snow.
GREEN SPACE
Fry is interested in the technique of layering. This area of the garden flows from tall arborvitae, to crabapples, hydrangeas, wave-topped yews, a stephanandra-covered wall and finally to the lawn.
terrain-changing terraces that soften the transition down the steep hill at the rear of the house. “I wanted to disguise the fact that one garden may be much higher than the next, so we hid some of the walls with taller evergreens or masked the height by growing stephanandra over the top of a wall,” he explains, “but many are edged with boxwood. I want to have elements that tie the gardens together, and I like that the boxwood is so versatile. It can be sheared to look very neat and tidy, or left to grow into big balls.”
Damage Control
The Frys are always on the lookout for new ideas and plants to add, but were
Terraces lined with evergreens including boxwood and yews break up part of the steep, 110-foot drop from the house to the ponds at the rear of the property.
GREEN SPACE
Fry loves symmetry but likes to have a little chaos in it, such as these random box balls dotting the pathway and emerging from the formal yew hedges.
forced to make some larger changes when boxwood blight, a disease that is common in the Mid-Atlantic states, hit their garden. Stan thinks it arrived on infected nursery stock. “We planted 20 new ones; it came in on those, and we did not notice it. When
we sheared the plants, we spread it to others.” Since boxwood is a major element of their garden, this quickly became a crisis situation. “We have over 5,000 boxwood,” Stan says. “Initially we were advised by the NH state entomologist to tear everything
out, so we dug up several hundred, some of which were quite large. It literally destroyed the gardens, as they are not easy to remove.”
Then he talked to nurserymen and gardeners in South Carolina and they gave
GREEN SPACE
him some ideas. “Then we went to Ireland and I spoke with gardeners there, as well as one in England,” he says. Gardeners in the U.K. and Ireland have been dealing with boxwood blight for years, and he has been following their advice. “We stopped watering, applied calcium to the root system and quit shearing.” Now they shear the plants only in late winter when the blight is not active, and it has impacted the look. “Because we are only shearing in March, it modifies gardens that were not disturbed because the boxwood now grow much larger,” he explains. They are getting used to not having the sharp edges and
tightly sculpted hedges they were used to seeing.
“We altered the design in several areas where we replaced the boxwood with other evergreen shrubs,” he says. They used native inkberry holly (Ilex glabra) ‘Strongbox,’ which naturally grows into a neat rounded mound; leucothoe ‘Girad’s Rainbow,’ a modern cultivar of a native shrub; evergreen euonymus ‘Manhattan,’ known for its glossy, dark green foliage; and dwarf Pieris japonica ‘Cavatine,’ which grows only two feet tall and wide, producing white blossoms in early spring. “In other cases we changed the entire layout
and installed deciduous trees and arborvitae,” he explains.
The Fry garden has been a favorite on garden tours for years, but they closed the garden the past five years out of respect for other gardeners. “The fungus spreads easily on shoes,” Fry says. This coming year will be the first it is open again. “It feels like we are on the other side of this and can safely open the gardens up again.” The Frys’ garden will be open on Saturday, August 24, as part of the Garden Conservancy’s Open Garden Days program. Make plans to visit and see the changes! NHH
The swimming pool is bordered by dense layers of sculpted yews, privet and arborvitae that mask the safety fence and create additional privacy.
MARK YOUR CALENDAR
Events Around the State
Compiled by Elisa Gonzales Verdi
THROUGH JANUARY 7
LaBelle Lights
LaBelle Winery in Derry is once again holding its annual LaBelle Lights holiday display through Jan. 7. Patrons can stroll the grounds and enjoy a dazzling light display of over a million twinkling lights between 4:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. that is sure to bring joy and excitement. LaBelle Winery; 14 NH-111, Derry ; 603-672-9898; labellewinery.com
THROUGH MARCH 31
Toward the New: A Journey into Abstraction
The Currier Museum of Art presents a new collection-based exhibition looking at the long journey toward abstraction that encompasses its many manifestations. Many painters celebrated the physical properties of paint for its own sake — its thickness, texture and color — beyond its historic role as a transmitter of visual information, while sculptors used modern materials and industrial processes. Artists featured in this exhibition employed a variety of tools for inspiration, including complex compositional formulas, bold geometric forms, experiments in visual perception and arbitrary color, and the unconscious. Many of the Currier’s all-time favorites are included in the show, such as works by Pablo Picasso, Josef Albers, Alexander Calder and Joan Mitchell. Currier Museum of Art; 150 Ash St., Manchester; 603-669-6144; currier.org
JANUARY 5
Art ‘Round Town Gallery Walk
The first Friday of every month, year-round, downtown Portsmouth celebrates its inspired art community in big-city style with its Art ‘Round Town gallery walk. As a thriving creative community rich in history, Portsmouth retains and honors its past while continuously cultivating an exciting contemporary art scene. Within its early 19th-century brick facades, cobblestone sidewalks and streetscapes, the collective Portsmouth art galleries represent the work of international and national artists from as distant as Europe, New York, San Francisco and Los Angeles and as near as down the street. Portsmouth; 603-610-5510; portsmouthchamber.org
JANUARY 8
Architects of an American Landscape
Join the Mountain Garden Club at 9:30 a.m. as they host Hugh Howard, the author of “Architects of an American Landscape.” Howard will revisit the lives of landscape designer Frederick Law Olmsted and architect Henry Hobson Richardson. Olmsted remains widely revered as America’s finest park designer, a pioneer environmentalist and the force behind Manhattan’s Central Park. Richardson, the most influential architect of his era, left us Boston’s iconic Trinity Church, the Shingle style, and the wildly popular “open plan” he conceived for family homes. Snow date is January 22. North Conway Community Center; 78 Norcross Circle, North Conway; mountaingardenclub.org
JANUARY 9
Orchids All Around Us
To submit industry events and home-related news, send an email to the editor at janicerohlfnhh@gmail.com
Join the Great Island Garden Club from 10 to 11 a.m. for a special presentation by the NH Orchid Society’s Jean Stefanik as she gives her tips and tricks for keeping your orchids and tropical plants healthy and happy all winter long. Attendees are invited to bring their “sick” orchids for analysis and will learn how to re-pot their orchids. There will even be an orchid raffle! Snow date is January 10. Macomber Room; New Castle Rec Center, 301 Wentworth Road, New Castle; greatislandgardenclub.com
JANUARY 19 - FEBRUARY 11
Winter Wine Festival
Celebrate 20 years of fine cuisine and delicious wine at Wentworth by the Sea Hotel. Featuring winery representatives and premium wine from around the globe, multi-course grand dinners, jazz brunches and more, Wentworth by the Sea invites you to celebrate culinary excellence all month long. Wentworth by the Sea; 588 Wentworth Road, New Castle; 603-422-7322; opalcollection.com/wentworth
JANUARY 20
Mary Ann Esposito, From Ciao Italia: My Lifelong Food Adventures in Italy
Join Mary Ann Esposito at the Tuscan Village from 10 a.m. to noon for a cooking lesson! Learn how to make Mary Ann’s Spinach Gnocchi, receive a copy of her book “Ciao Italia: Plant. Harvest. Cook!” and a gift basket full of ingredients. Tuscan Village; 9 Via Toscana, Salem; tuscanbrands.com
JANUARY 25 - 27
Art and Bloom
The Concord Garden Club is excited to announce its 21st Annual Art and Bloom exhibit, a Concord mid-winter tradition that invites art and flower lovers to enjoy beautiful floral arrangements paired with works of ar t. This year, the club is partnering with the Kimball Jenkins Estate, where the event will be held. Club members and local floral professionals will create floral arrangements inspired by works of art and crafts on display during Kimball Jenkins’ January art exhibition. The event will kick off Concord Garden Club’s yearlong celebration of the club’s 100th anniversary and will coincide with Intown Concord’s Winter Festival. Kimball Jenkins Estate; 266 N Main St., Concord; concordgardenclubnh.com
JANUARY 26 THROUGH JANUARY 28
Concord Winter Fest
The Hotel Concord and Intown Concord are excited to announce Concord NH Winter Fest will return for its sixth year in a row! Enjoy icecarving demonstrations and meet some of New England’s most talented ice carvers on Friday, Jan. 26, followed by an ice-carving competition and Concord NH Winter Fest on Saturday, Jan. 27, and Sunday, Jan. 28, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. This is an outdoor event, so be prepared for the elements. Weather permitting, there will be a free trolley service on Saturday to shuttle people to and from the Black Ice Pond Hockey Tournament. Downtown Concord; 603-226-2150; members.intownconcord.org
RESOURCES
As a fourth-generation, family-run sawmill, Ponders Hollow is fortunate to provide some of the finest timber in the world. The diverse grains and colors of New England trees make it the ideal flooring option for any household. Every project is special, that’s why we use state-of-the-art machinery and hand-grading to tailor each board to your specifications. Westfield, MA; (413) 562-8730; pondershollow.com
Create a spa-like experience in your own backyard. We manufacture four-season, luxury plunge pools designed to be warm in winter, cool in summer and small enough to fit almost any backyard space. Soake Pools are made and hand-tiled in New Hampshire, delivered fully finished on the inside and ready for your finishing touches. Small pools, big benefits. Start planning your 2024 project with us now! Pembroke; (603) 749-0665; soakepools.com
FEBRUARY 1
Quarterly Educational Series
Kick off 2024 with an educational presentation at Nashua Home Design Center, Southern New Hampshire’s residential design destination. Learn from experts, tour members’ showrooms, access exclusive deals, enjoy light refreshments and get inspired! Doors open at 6:00pm, presentations start at 6:30pm. Reception to follow. The evening’s presentation topic will be available in early January on the design center’s website. Nashua Home Design Center; 520 Amherst St., Nashua; nashuahomedesigncenter.com
MARCH 2 AND 3
New Hampshire Home Show
The New Hampshire Home Builders Association will hold its annual Home Show at the Doubletree Hilton Hotel in Manchester. Interact with builders, remodelers, decorators and landscapers. The latest in homerelated products and services will be showcased — everything from solar systems to mortgages, hot tubs to custom closets, to fabulous kitchens and baths. 700 Elm St., Manchester; 855-605-0318; nhstatehomeshow.com
Whether you’d like to call attention to the architectural details of your room or create a crisp contrast of styles, Ponders Hollow provides a vast array of handcrafted custom millwork. We offer countless traditional and contemporary designs in numerous wood species to fit the needs of any finishing wood project.
Westfield, MA; (413) 562-8730; pondershollow.com
Accent on Kitchens
Your home should reflect who you are and what you love. The Accent team is creative and committed—combining experience and innovation with a friendly, low-key approach. The results are rooms that become the heart of your home: beautifully designed spaces that will be an expression of your lifestyle for years to come.
North Hampton, NH; (603) 964-1771; accentonkitchens.com
Ponders Hollow Custom Wood Flooring
Ponders Hollow Custom Millwork
Soake Pools
Photograph by Jon Caron
INSIDE MY CLIENT’S HORSE BARN, beyond the stables, is an indoor arena and adjacent viewing room. This room is traditionally a comfortable space where prospective buyers can view horses, family members can watch riding lessons, or clients can gather during a clinic. My client’s goal was to transform this space into a luxurious lounge where she could enjoy post-ride beverages and snacks with her family and friends.
Inspired by the elegance and richness of European hotel lounges, this Equestrian Lounge in Rye includes dark-stained cherry cabinets, multiple backlit glass shelves surrounding a large-screen TV and a wellappointed bar with a sink, dishwasher, ice maker, refrigerator and freezer drawers, a
built-in oven and a built-in coffee machine. Nestled between the customized windows overlooking the riding arena, a small electric fireplace offers both atmosphere and heat on cold autumn days or after an early morning ride. The backlit quartz below the bar top adds to the ambience offered by the fire. A dominant element and tantamount to the success of the project is the high-gloss walnut bar top with a Chicago bar rail that even those from the Windy City would praise.
With high-performance vinyl wood-look plank flooring, the space is both practical and elegant. Nothing could be better when getting out of a leather saddle than sinking into a buttery leather recliner and sipping on a perfectly aged Kentucky bourbon! NHH
— Mari Woods, interior designer, mariwoods.com photo by Kevin Edge
