We loved creating this Harvard Square pied a terre...
When we first started this project in early Summer of 2018, one of the clients’ children was preparing to attend university in Cambridge. They wanted their son to have a dorm life respite, as well as a place to stay for themselves when they visited for sporting events.
The apartment hadn't been updated since the 80’s, with terracotta ceramic floors throughout, a dark "rabbit hole" staircase, and a dated kitchen with no access to daylight. We loved being presented with the challenge of really opening up the floorplan to expose the first level to more natural light and modernizing this space.
Having already worked in the building on a previous construction project, we knew removing the walls around the staircase would be a key element to the success of the renovation.
We were very pleased to have an amazing "co-pilot" for this project, Seadar Construction. They had the same mindset as KPI, knowing what delivering on a tight schedule would mean. I joked throughout the project that Sam, our project manager, would call me each day with questions before even Harry, my sheepdog, awoke - usually around 5:30am.
The clients invested in updating the kitchen with new appliances and custom cabinetry to create an open galley kitchen which really made the space feel bigger. As discussed, we removed the wall enclosing the stairs and created a custom floating staircase with glass panels and led lights in the treads...an even better design outcome than we could have hoped!
The second-floor layout was reconfigured to create en suite bedrooms and a second-floor rec room - with a contemporary ventless fireplace, a custom Gold painted ping pong table, a massive sectional sofa, and a table for poker nights. Although the interiors were well considered, nothing was too precious to handle what may come from an energetic ping pong game…
Even though our clients' opinions were always taken into account, and they were very much part of the decision-making process, they trusted our design expertise and the contractor’s suggestions on where best to invest in the infrastructure and gave us the freedom to get on with it and do our thing. In doing so, it allowed us to stay within budget, as well as make their deadline happen. No change orders, no delays in decision making, a truly seamless process!
To see more from this project, click here.