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Florida firm Traction Architecture was tasked with an extensive renovation of a classic 1905 Colonial Foursquare home in Brookline, Massachusetts. The clients, a family of five with a laid-back vibe and a love of vintage midcentury style, purchased the home for its solid structure and great neighborhood, but looked to the Traction team for a bright, colorful update.
The project began with a rethinking of the existing kitchen, part of which had formerly been a porch that was enclosed in a previous renovation. “To make the kitchen feel bigger, we actually made it smaller, restoring the original porch and incorporating large sliding glass doors to wash the space in light and reconnect it to the backyard,” says Jody Beck, founder of Traction.
Kitchen location: Brookline, Massachusetts
The before: “The kitchen was dark and inefficient—an enclosed room with randomly placed appliances and very little wall space for cabinets. It was visually cut off from the rest of the house and from the front and back yards,” Jody says.
The inspiration: “The house is a classic variation on a Colonial Foursquare, but the clients love color and midcentury-modern design. We wanted to insert bright and happy spaces throughout the house that reflected their personalities and laid-back lifestyle,” she adds.
Square footage: 250 square feet
Main ingredients:
Cabinets: Kerf Design
Cabinet fronts: Laminate in rust, ochre, night, and mint
Countertops: Caesarstone Pure White engineered quartz
Lighting: Schoolhouse pendant
Chairs: Case Study chairs by Modernica in Jadeite
Table: Hay Triangle Leg Table
Most insane splurge: “Our clients really splurged on color,” Jody says. “I suggested they pick out a bright accent for the cabinets, but instead of one color they came back to me with four! It took many iterations to come up with an arrangement of all four colors that looked complementary and purposeful. Ultimately everyone was really happy with how it turned out.”
Sneakiest save: “We had a relatively small area to work with, so our sneakiest saves were really about reclaiming hidden and unused spaces. There was a process of discovery and serendipity in the renovation,” Jody says. “There was an old servant’s stair hidden behind one of the kitchen’s walls. We transformed it into a bank of stepped cabinets that house the refrigerator and pantry. We also discovered that part of the existing kitchen had been a porch that was enclosed in a previous renovation. To make the kitchen feel bigger, we actually made it smaller, restoring the original porch and incorporating large sliding glass doors to wash the space in light and reconnect it to the backyard.”
The best part: “No matter how cloudy or cold or gray it is outside, when you step into the house, the combination of light and color lifts your mood,” Jody says. “I love that when you stand in the kitchen, you can now see across the house and out to both the front and back yards.”
What I’d never do again: “We began construction in February of 2020 with the expectation that I would be making regular trips up to Boston from my office in Tampa to monitor construction progress. One month into construction the whole world shut down, and it became clear that travel was not going to happen. We had to improvise. Luckily we had a great contractor and between FaceTime walk-throughs and lots of pictures back and forth, we were able to make it work,” Jody says.
Final bill: “It was about what we expected, though the clients did end up spending some extra money on upgrades like replacing all of the old single-pane windows with energy-efficient wood-clad aluminum, a new HVAC system, and new LED lighting. These had a high upfront cost, but long-term benefits,” Jody says.
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