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American Made

1937 house in Massachusetts , built on the top of a granite cliff

The north eastern coastal states of America are famous for their charming wooden or shingled houses. An antiques dealer and his partner live in this 1937 house, built on the highest granite cliff point in the area, which he has updated with great care to conserve the most attractive original features such as the American-made floor tiles inset with pre-colonial motifs, the wooden staircase and cloakroom with 30's fittings. The hand-painted living room mural by Norwegian Jonas Lie shows Vikings sailing to America. New wooden windows replace inappropriate 70's plate glass and the old and cold casement models. The interiors and contents are design driven, there is no single style but an Arts and Crafts look is created by period pieces such as several C1910 chairs and an American wooden bench sofa of the same date in the living room. The story here is one of handcraft, at its best from silver to pottery, salvaged copper finials on the 1st floor terrace, handblocked fabric and the celadon-painted furniture in the garden room. The owner slowly collected the rush-seated McHugh chairs one -by-one and the custom kitchen made of maple and oak was inspired by a Lutyens design in England while all the cupboard glass was salvaged from old windows. The master bed is an 1860's American empire style with a handmade Portuguese cover while the art in this room is mostly contemporary. This is a house full of quirky, interesting treasures, beautifully made and cherished.