NKBA National Design Competition
Honorable Mention

Enjoy these photos and check back soon for all the details!

Boston Junior League Show House 2002

Architect Sally Weston of Weston Hewitson Architects (Hingham, MA) and Cameron Snyder of Kitchen Concepts (Norwell, MA) have collaborated on several South Shore homes, but their most recent project will probably be seen by more visitors than any other. Weston and Snyder recently designed the Butler's Pantry, Kitchen, Breakfast Room and Mud Room for this year's Junior League of Boston's Show House, located at 665 Clapboard Tree Street in Westwood, MA.  The Show House is open to the public through May 23rd.

Having worked on a kitchen for the Junior League a few years ago in Charlestown, Weston was approached in November by the Junior League to discuss whether there was anything she could do with the home's kitchen spaces, even before the selection of the house was finalized. Weston, who has extensive historic renovation expertise and is Chairwoman of the Hingham Historic District Commission, rose to the challenge.

"It was a great opportunity for us and a wonderful chance to showcase the talents of many professionals from the South Shore," said Weston. "A project like this is never done by one person. It is a collaboration of many talented and responsible people."

When the initial architectural layout of the rooms was completed, Weston turned to the expertise of Cameron Snyder, certified kitchen designer and past president of the National Kitchen and Bath Association.

Their collaborative design concept was to return this magnificent home to its original splendor, while giving the homeowner all of the newest conveniences available today, including a full line of Viking appliances. In the end, the design returned the rooms to the exact position and layout as were found in the original home design in 1904, proving once again that classic design never goes out of style.

At the outset of the project, the kitchen in this home had been squeezed into the space that was the original butler's pantry, adjacent to the diningroom. The original kitchen had been converted at some point into a breakfast room. Weston's plan returned the butler's pantry to its rightful place beside the new formal dining room and expanded the kitchen back into its original location in the house.

The new butler's pantry was designed to reflect the finishes of a by-gone era with mahogany countertops, painted cabinets, drawers for linens, and leaded glass doors, as well as state-of-the-art appliances from Viking.

While Weston was expanding the back of the house to accommodate a much-needed breakfast nook, Snyder was fine-tuning the layout and details of the cabinetry for the kitchen and pantry. Weston and Snyder chose details to resemble authentic turn-of-the-century style, while providing more modern conveniences. In the kitchen, Weston and Snyder chose honed Jet Mist granite to simulate slate, new brushed nickel faucets that replicate antiques and an island that is crafted to look like an antique baker's table.

"This might be the first time a room has ever been built onto a Junior League Showhouse," said Weston. "I just felt that it was the answer to opening up the space and providing the gracious breakfast area that this home deserved."

"It was a huge endeavor with a very short time line," agree Weston and Snyder. "It couldn't have been accomplished without the help of so many other professionals."

Laura Glen of Laura Glen Design (Wellesley, MA) provided her touch with wonderful interior decorating, along with stylizing by Nan Walsh of La Petite Maison (Hingham, MA), and painting by Lisa Plimpton and Tracy Read of Rooms for Improvement (Hingham, MA). Karen Lee of Floral Persuasions has kept the rooms fresh with her beautiful and creative floral arrangements. Exceptional draperies and pillows came from the work room of Christine Collins Frazier of Concepts (Hingham, MA).

Weston and Snyder insist that the final beauty of these rooms is largely due to the talents of many South Shore businesses who provided their time, products and their expertise:

Art Work - Jack Hobbs, South Street Gallery, Hingham
Linens, China and Antiques - Nan Walsh, La Petite Maison, Hingham
Painting - Lisa Plimpton and Tracy Read, Rooms for Improvement, Hingham
Draperies & Pillows - Christine Collins Frazier, Concepts, Hingham
Kitchen Island - Built by White Magdelena House, Hingham
Antique Clock - Dan Haff, Time Weavers, Hingham
Floral Arrangements - Karen Lee and Sherry Zahner, Floral Persuasions, Quincy
Honed Jet Mist Granite - Ed Buonato, Buonato Granite, Stoughton
Sinks and Faucets - Yale Electric, Dorchester
Leaded Glass - Designed in Collaboration with Jane at Coastal Art Glass, Weymouth
Breakfast Nook Table & Chairs - Lilac House, Cohasset
Sconces & Chandeliers - Flemings, Cohasset

In addition to the suite of rooms designed by Weston's team, visitors to the Junior League Show House will enjoy Madeline's Room on the third floor. This enchanting child's bedroom was the result of another South Shore talent, Kate Dickerson of Kate Dickerson Arts & Interiors in Hingham, MA. Dickerson, well known for her hand-painted murals, furniture and accessories, was instrumental in creating this space.

National Design Idea Center 2000

"At the end of a busy day, couples and families in the new Millennium will want bathrooms that feel like spas, kitchens that are inviting and living spaces that provide ample built-in storage for simplicity of life."
                                           Cameron Snyder, CKD

In 2000, Kitchen Concepts' President Cameron Snyder was selected from a stellar field of kitchen and bath designers nationwide to create the Design Idea Center, which was unveiled in Chicago at the National Kitchen and Bath Industry Show, and covered extensively by Woman's Day magazine. Here Snyder developed concepts for the living space of the future, showing that today's hectic pace will lead to a desire for greater simplicity and a home environment that feels more like a vacation getaway.

Focus On Lighting

It was summertime, but the living wasn't easy in Linda and Daniel Coifman's vacation-house kitchen.  The lack of light, small dimensions, and poor traffic flow created congestion instead of camaraderie.  Norwell, Massachusetts, interior designer Beverly Rivkind, who was already at work helping the Coifmans with an overall renovation of their dwelling, suggested that they hire Cameron Snyder, a Certified Kitchen Designer with Kitchen Concepts, also in Norwell, to do an update.  Annexing space from an adjoining laundry room, Snyder enlarged the kitchen by 260 sq. ft. and devised a workable, sociable layout that allows guests to lend a hand during meal preparation -- or cleanup -- or just linger companionably at the island.  Working closely with Snyder, Rivkind chose finishes and materials and created the lighting scheme, using recessed ceiling fixtures for general brightness and powerful task lights to illuminate counters.  Even the range hood over the cooktop is lit from underneath!