Portfolio

When we arrived at this property in Carlisle we found a 1700’s Colonial farm house married to a 1990’s modern addition. The client loved the setting and the juxtaposition but the addition was simply too modern. If you can imagine, there was a freestanding steel staircase leading from the family room directly into the master bedroom where the granite fireplace now stands. We worked closely with the client and architect, Semasko & Verbridge, to mold the house into something everyone loved.

The new focal point fireplace in the living room was styled after the stone work in the Gloucester Fisherman’s memorial, a favorite of the client. The kitchen and breakfast room are beyond the fireplace and their cabinets were custom built in our cabinet shop in Groton center. The kitchen footprint was expanded to allow for a walk around island and was outfitted with both cherry and painted cabinetry, granite countertops, a butcher block cherry island top, and wide plank, long length quarter sawn oak flooring over radiant floor heat. The master suite is accessed via a new staircase and now includes dual dressing rooms, a private laundry, and an exquisite master bathroom with radiant floor heat under the marble.

Nestled in the center of historic Concord, Massachusetts this renovation consisted of two discrete projects. Friends of the clients recommended us; during our first meeting, the clients explained how they wanted to open up the wall between the kitchen and dining room. We immediately responded that they could not do that … they explained that the architects had figured out the beam size and knew it would carry the load. We then shared with them that there were four heat pipes and two drain lines in the wall and we knew this because we had put them there ourselves 15 years before. The clients were thrilled to know this in advance and we were thrilled to have a repeat-house to add to our long list of repeat-clients!

The first project was to expand the kitchen, breakfast room and family room of the existing Victorian. We supported the second floor bay, which housed a marble surround and Jacuzzi, while we built the new space beneath it. We fitted out a new custom pantry and expanded the original kitchen cabinetry which was still in excellent shape after 15 years. As you can see, the new breakfast room provides an improved view of and connection to the back yard.

The second project was to demolish their existing one car garage and replace it with a two car carriage house that complements the architecture of the main house while providing much needed storage space on the second floor. The steep front gable and the cupola provide an excellent focal point as one looks down the driveway past the house.

This home was originally built in 1916 as the carriage house for the adjacent mansion and acreage. In 1950 the property was split and the structure was converted to a residence. There were subsequent renovations and additions which included a hexagonal “football” shaped room. When our client purchased the property in 2008 it was too small for the needs of their family and the prior renovation looked very tired. Working closely with Lilley/Dadagian Architects who recommended us to the clients, we removed and enlarged the rear wing of the home and added a two floor connector and garage. We installed new state of the art mechanical systems throughout the house and yet kept the character of the original structure. The combination of radiant heat, hydro-air heating and cooling, and heat recovery ventilators provides superior comfort and indoor air quality.

You will notice as you look closely at the photos that the house incorporates “universal design” which allows wheelchair access seamlessly inside and out. We installed a three stop elevator in the garage connector to provide easy access to all the floors. Almost every room of the house is filled with custom Platt cabinetry which allowed us to continue the focus on beauty, functionality and universal design.

This 1930’s farmhouse in a lovely Lexington neighborhood was in dire need of more space. Lilley/Dadagian Architects designed the new addition and we worked closely with the architect and client through multiple rounds of pricing to achieve the desired balance between space, cost, and details. Once we settled on a program we did the necessary demolition and then added space to both the side and rear of the home. The house now has a large kitchen, family room, a first floor powder room, and the ever necessary New England mudroom. We also constructed two additional bedrooms, bathrooms, and a second floor laundry.

At the last minute the client switched from semi-custom kitchen cabinetry to Platt custom cabinetry and to this day can’t stop rejoicing in her decision. The added features, custom sizing, and the care that we were able to bring to the kitchen make it a joyous place to live and work. The client selected Paperstone counters for the perimeter cabinetry surfaces and just loves them. They look clean, they go with the style of the house, and they feel warm to the touch unlike granite. Despite all of this, everyone agrees that the pièce de résistance of the project was the expanded front porch. We saved the original fluted columns, made new beadboard for the ceiling and matched the original flooring while we doubled the porch square footage. The front porch and new stairs are truly welcoming and make the addition indistinguishable from the original structure.

A new cherry wainscot transforms this dramatic vaulted space with its human-scale contrast. The 4’×12’ kitchen island serves as a gathering element, negotiating between the various functions of the space. The custom Platt-built cabinetry in the kitchen, unique powder room vanity design, soapstone-clad fireplace, custom designed and fabricated steel handrails, lighting and furnishing selections all enrich the renovation, further exemplifying the principles of the newly designed space.

Contending with a space formed from the leftovers of the house's other rooms and crowded by the bulk of its existing features, our designers reshaped the relationship of this master bathroom's parts to its whole. Preserving the locations of its primary elements, the new bathroom is organized by the horizontal wainscot that enlarges the perception of the space by passing behind the custom bamboo vanities and Agape soaking tub. Painted mahogany wood around the bath changes to concrete panels of the same shape inside the shower. The serenity achieved is enhanced by Platt's ability to control every element in the room including the selection of the materials, fixtures and colors; the design of every detail and relationship; and the skillful execution that makes all those elements a reality. We completed this entire master suite renovation in 39 days while the clients were away on their summer vacation to the Vineyard.

By 2004 the road skirting this 1735 center-hall saltbox had become a high-traffic shortcut for the Boston-bound commuters building homes nearby. Our designers developed a solution that preserved the existing home's historic forms while shifting its primary focus from road to landscape with an addition that includes 1000 sf of new space accommodating an open kitchen, breakfast room and part of the remodeled master suite. Composed as a balance and book-end to the original saltbox form, our addition's volumes and vocabulary seek to express the organic growth typical of a New England farmhouse passed through successive generations.