Middletown Charm
This week we’re featuring a charming Colonial home in Middletown, RI. As you make your way down Helena Court you are surrounded with green foliage and sunshine all along the drive through out the neighborhood. The setting is beautiful and seemingly perfect to enjoy for all four seasons. As we approach the property, we are presented with a distinctly Colonial Revival style home. What makes the home so apparent in its Colonial influence? Well, for starters there’s the overall rectangular facade with symmetrical forms and steep pointed roof. More specifically, though, there is the central entrance accented with a pediment on supporting columns, the balanced window alignment surrounding the entry point, and the clapboard siding. Colonial style architecture tends to emulate this classic look. The featured home, however, takes these traditional elements and accents them with touches of charm and modernism through out the home. We’ve narrowed it down to the top 5 elements that made us fall in love with this charming Middletown Colonial.
1. The Character
Design is in the details. At least for designers it is, anyways. The millwork detailing is what, in our opinion, gives this home that beautiful charming character. Simply looking at these detail shots, you may imagine the home being hidden away on the country side somewhere or maybe even situated on the sand of a beach. The painted white wooden elements give off that coastal or modern farmhouse aesthetic which has us immersed in a peaceful and cozy environment.
2. The Contrast
The aesthetic isn’t purely white or filled with a light colored palette, however. The traditional design elements are still present. There is no style dominating the other. Having consistency in the design doesn’t always work, and so this home does a beautiful job of portraying this complimentary contrast amongst the spaces. For example, in the stairwell the contrasting use of dark stained versus white painted wood gives the space an airy ambience. Where as, if it were all dark-stained wood it would feel really heavy… and then the same goes for the contrary, where if it were all white it may give off a purely contemporary and ultra-clean aesthetic that may not be what the home entails. We’re also presented with that visually pleasing contrast in the family room where we have this accented section of rich cabinetry. We wonder if the next homeowner will embrace this detail and furnish the family room with traditional style decor or if they’ll decide to carry on with a white color scheme and furnish this room with a coastal vibe.
3. The Fluid Concept
A lot of times, people tend to make “open concept” a top priority when looking for a home. There are, however, people who don’t necessarily like having that open environment. This home provides a happy medium. The common spaces aren’t completely isolated from one another…they have their “designated” areas but there is a nice, fluid flow between them that ties back to what makes the open concept so appealing.
4. The Natural Lighting
Not much needs to be described here. A house with natural lighting is always a valuable thing. No amount of artificial lighting can ever truly match the bright ambience that natural sunlight creates, and this home is flooded with it!
5. The Third Spaces
In every home you have the common spaces and you have the private spaces…and then there’s these “third spaces”. These additional areas, like the closets or laundry or mudroom, don’t have to be an after thought. They can just as well be designed with as much detail and thoughtful consideration as the rest of the home. This Middletown Colonial has amazing blank canvases for a beautifully designed “third space” to reflect the particular style of any home owner. Just take a look at the walk-in closet above, for example, and then see below just a few of the possibilities that can take place in it.
If you'd like to learn more about this home please contact Alyssa Mazzacco with the Fitzpatrick Team at Re/Max.
For any interior design and renovation services, please contact Ally Maloney.
Middletown Listing Images credited to the Fitzpatrick Team at Remax Professionals of Newport.