WEST COAST MEETS NORTH SHORE

A FARMHOUSE IN BEVERLY GETS A COASTAL MAKEOVER THAT MARRIES NEW ENGLAND CHARM WITH CALIFORNIA COOL.

- Alexandra Pecci

COASTAL VIBES ARE NOTHING NEW FOR HOMES HERE on the North Shore, but Erin and Jason Russell wanted to do things a little differently with their farmhouse fixer-upper in Beverly. Instead of sticking to a classic New England coastal design, the couple wanted to incorporate an easy, breezy California style, too.

They had their work cut out for them, though. The house, which was built in the 1970s and had been unlived in for a while, was stuck in a bit of a rundown time warp. Nowhere was that more evident than the kitchen, where outdated appliances, yellow countertops, linoleum floor, and dark cabinets made the room feel cramped and uninviting. A wall separating the kitchen from the dining room didn’t help matters, either.

“It was a very compartmentalized house. There was a full partition between the kitchen and the dining space with almost no flow between them,” says Essex-based designer, Kristina Crestin of Kristina Crestin Design. The Russells wanted a more open and inviting space for themselves and their children.

“Like all young families, they wanted to be able to see what was happening, have the kids at the dining table, be able to converse, and have room for a kitchen island,” Crestin says.