C.W. Wolff Photography by David Petty

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A wall of windows provides tremendous light—and an expansive view of lawn, apple orchard and gardens—in the kitchen of Beth Welch and Charles Christensen’s home in Newbury, Mass.

“I think Andy’s use of windows is the greatest thing about the house,” says Christensen, referring to Andrew Sidford, the architect who remodeled the old Queen Anne Victorian mansion that Welch and Christensen bought several years ago.

The windows tie together the kitchen and a back parlor in the open-concept addition that Sidford designed. Above the kitchen is a master bedroom with a view of Plum Island, and below the kitchen is Christensen’s favorite room—a library for the couple’s 8,000-plus books.

The back parlor, a few steps down from the kitchen, maintains its own identity without breaking the flow of open space.

Light from the windows, as well as elaborate recessed lighting, glints off a delicate, curved steel pan rack, designed

The back parlor, a few steps down from the kitchen, maintains its own identity without breaking the flow of open space.
by Sidford to hang over the kitchen’s center island, which also hosts the kitchen’s sink.

Despite the modern touches, the kitchen has a lot of what Sidford calls “conversations with the past,” such as white wainscoting and period ceiling trim.

The sunken parlor is separated from the kitchen by a few steps and a low bank of shelves, allowing it have its own identity and yet share a strong sense of space and light with the kitchen. “The key,” says Sidford, “is to make the space work for both small and large gatherings.”

And apparently it does. Visitors, including 200 guests at an annual open house, “inevitably comment,” according to Christensen, “that as big as the house is, it doesn’t feel big; it just feels comfortable.”

C.W. Wolff is a freelance writer living in Kittery, Maine. She can be reached at ForesideCommunications@yahoo.com.

David A. Petty provides clients with creative advertising illustration through digital photography and video. dpidp2.com.