CO—G’s Hingham House establishes calmness through repetition

Exhale

How to create a serene, modern cocoon within an existing Colonial-style home? That was the question that powered CO—G’s work on a residence southeast of Boston for a family of four. In response, principal Elle Gerdeman prepared a subtle, contemporary treatment that transformed the dark interior into a warm, welcoming expanse.

(Tony Luong)

Gerdeman opened the main floorplan to create more flow between rooms and enlarged windows in existing locations. The kitchen is a primary hub of family life, and its island, finished in a custom terrazzo countertop from Concrete Collaborative and lined with HAY stools, is the command center. Here, parents cook, children complete homework, and friends are entertained. The same terrazzo specified for the island is also used to line the shower in the second-floor bathroom. The kitchen counter, set under a long window, uses black soapstone accompanied by black Brizo kitchen plumbing fixtures, which can also be found in the bathrooms, set above Kast concrete sinks.

Circular wooden handles from Auburn Woodturning complement the gridded expanses of cabinetry. (Tony Luong)

(Tony Luong)

Other repeated details further tie the rooms together. Throughout, oversized wooden circular pulls fabricated by Auburn Woodturning offer a playful moment. They are split both horizontally and vertically to allow access to drawers and cabinets, respectively, and are solid in locations where they open single compartments. Located at varying heights within the kitchen and living room, the pulls form a constellation across the residence. The circle is repeated in the Artemide globe lights overhead. Above the dining table, a Verner Panton VP1 Flowerpot pendant—two nested spheres—adds a warm-red accent.

Finishing colors are repeated between the bathroom and kitchen, establishing visual connections across programmatic functions. (Tony Luong)

Color was a major component of the home’s calming effects: The interior is wrapped in a soft, muted green throughout. “This kind of color is actually historically accurate; it was a popular color from the era when this house was built,” Gerdeman told AN Interior on a recent visit. CO—G tried “to keep the color tones extremely close” between surfaces. The same soft green used for the walls is replicated in the kitchen, which includes lined cabinets from Semihandmade. The light vertical banding in the cabinet fronts is picked up in the stair guard and room divider, which opens above a fireplace clad in stacked white tile. These adjustments unite the interior through subtle and geometric relationships; their arrangements are easy on the eyes and offer the home a distinctive design that can be admired—and lived in—for years to come.