Youthful Energy

A historic 200-year-old row house gets a makeover with bright colors and patterns.

-  VICTORIA VAN VLEAR

In the 1820s, the Colonial town of Salem, Massachusetts, experienced a shipping boom. Wealthy shipping magnates began building a neighborhood of high-end row houses, and in 1828 this house joined the row. Two hundred years later, it is now the home of a young family with two kids who wanted to preserve the historic charm of the structure while updating the feel to be younger and more vibrant.

“The house was very traditional and it looked a little tired,” says interior designer Colleen Simonds of Colleen Simonds Interior Design. “It has beautiful bones and the architecture was in place, but this is a young couple with two little ones. They wanted it lighter and brighter, less serious.” The result is a perfect blend of old house and youthful vibes.

BRIDGE OF BLUE. The dining room sits next to the living room, and given that Colleen had already designed the living room, she needed to make the two spaces connect. So she painted the trim a navy blue and added other shades of blue as well. “This is their kitchen table for all meals,” she says. They added a set of vintage Windsor chairs and had them painted a bright shade for a youthful feel. “I didn’t want to match everything, so I wanted another shade of blue that would be bold and bright, and would look good with the navy.”

PROJECT EXPANSION