COLOR CHARGED

Evocative coastal hues elevate this beachside home in Swampscott

- JENNIFER SPERRY

I LIKE COLOR three words every designer longs to hear. When Jayme Kennerknecht and Jessica Rogers of Kennerknecht Design Group met with a client about her family home in Swampscott, they discovered she gravitated toward jewel tones. As a result, the designers knew right away they could use this preference to their advantage in updating its interior aesthetic.

After living in the house for two years, the client embraced its positive traits. She appreciated its origins as part of a 19th-century farm (the land was eventually subdivided). It boasted plenty of square footage for the couple’s teenage kids and 90-pound bernedoodle. Most of all, she loved its location on the end of a quiet street, with a backdrop of beach and ocean views.

What she didn’t like, however, was the kitchen. It was narrow and felt dark with cherry cabinets, black granite countertops, and a peninsula instead of an island. “We are kitchen people,” she explains, “and we found ourselves lingering in this long galley arrangement. It was not user-friendly at all.”

In addition, she found the home’s large foyer— “almost the size of a whole room,” she notes— challenging to optimize and decorate. Meanwhile, a formal living room, situated to the left of the front entry on the opposite end from the kitchen and family room epicenters, was hardly ever used.