In April 2019—a year after designer Jason VanWarren, founder of Ellsworth Home, and his husband, Keith, completed a two-year renovation of their vintage center-hall Colonial in Lakeville—he discovered a listing for a simple cottage in Sharon. The house wasn’t anything special, it was the setting that caught his attention. On a whim, he and Keith went with their realtor to investigate. One look and they were sold.
“It was a rainy spring day, and everything had just turned green,” VanWarren recalls. “We drove through this big field and landed in front of a cute, but also sad looking, house that was under these big umbrellas of mature trees. The whole setting was very bucolic, very serene.”
The couple loved their Lakeville property but they still had jobs in the city and were challenged by the upkeep. They wanted to simplify their lives, be surrounded by nature and have more privacy. They closed on the new property in August (and subsequently sold the Colonial) and began what would turn out to be a two-phase renovation. “The house was essentially a warren of small, disconnected rooms that didn’t make sense or work for how we wanted to live,” says VanWarren, who hired his longtime contractor, Roger Hedman, co-owner of Riga Construction to help manage the project.
First VanWarren reconfigured and updated the existing space, modernized the kitchen and added a new living room with a vaulted ceiling. Then Covid hit, and the couple moved to Sharon fulltime. After a couple of years, they realized they needed more elbow room. VanWarren designed another addition and gained a proper primary bedroom suite and—best of all—a screened porch. “It really allowed us to be outside more,” he says. “It was a huge turning point for us about how we lived in and used the house.”
The house—wrapped in James Hardie plank siding in Shou Sugi Ban color—blends into the landscape. Two additions flank both sides of the original structure.
In the living room, a pair of vintage chairs from Chairish were reupholstered in Schumacher’s Pyne Hollyhock. A custom sofa through Interiors by George & Martha sports a Donghia mohair, and the coffee table is from Room & Board.
Custom cabinets are painted in Farrow & Ball’s Down Pipe, while the center island features brass leg caps and leather wrapped hardware. The island pendant is from Schoolhouse, and the runner is from Annie Selke.
A Visual Comfort pendant centers above a Saarinen dining table through Design Within Reach. The vintage dining chairs are a Chairish find.
In the primary bedroom, the headboard, bed skirt, bench and lamps are from Ballard Designs.
In the primary bathroom, the tub and faucet are from Vintage Tub & Bath, and the garden stool is through Ballard Designs.
Outdoor living is easy on the screened porch with Sunbrella cushions on the Sunset West lounge chairs.
For the exterior, the designer chose a monochromatic color palette so the house would disappear into the landscape. “I love a white Colonial,” he says. “But this house didn’t want to be big and showy, it wanted to be quiet.” Inside, was a different story. “It needed a level of finish that didn’t feel like we were living in a Shaker museum,” he says. “I like things to be playful and fun—not in a shocking way but more unexpected.”
Working with a neutral palette of creams and browns—with hits of black—VanWarren incorporated color through fabrics, paint finishes, natural materials and artwork. In the living room, the oversized windows draw attention to the views. A custom sofa is covered in a luxurious mohair, a pair of vintage chairs is dressed in a Schumacher chintz designed by Albert Hadley in the sixties. “The print is neutral but striking. I loved it because it really felt contemporary,” the designer explains. The Mark Liebergall painting above the gas fireplace introduces a splash of color.
In the dining room, VanWarren created a space that serves dual purposes. A sofa in front of the window acts as a banquette. “During the pandemic, people came over and just gravitated to the couch. It’s an unexpected element in a dining room,” he says. As are the four traditional green leather and wood dining chairs paired with a mid-century Saarinen table.
One of the goals was to make the kitchen feel like a room instead of a utility space. The center island, done in rift white oak, has brass caps on its legs and leather wrapped hardware pulls, “all furniture-like details,” says the designer. As are the blue and white lamp on the counter, a surface mounted pendant above the sink, and a Karen Lesage painting that takes up one wall. “It feels like a slightly old-fashioned room as opposed to something that’s too modern,” says VanWarren. “And just like in any house, this is where everyone ends up.”
