Since moving to downtown Marblehead seven years ago, Sarah Golombek and Bryan Laskowski have been renovating their 3,900-square-foot antique home. Throughout the process, the couple carefully ensured that the house reflects their personality and serves their young family. "We don't want to wait until our children grow up to have beautiful things," Golombek said.

Children aged 5 and 8 are in control of this place. Literally. "The new layout is very suitable for hide and seek," Golombek said. "It makes full use of space in a way I can't even imagine myself."

Golombek believes that Carly Blackmore, the founder of Habitat Design, has carefully designed the floor plan. About five years ago, Golombek first received help from a designer in an unexpectedly transformed project. Two years ago, they met in their daughter's dance class. "Carly understands my scientific thinking and my whimsical personality," Golombek said.

In order to make a statement from the inside out, the couple asked Blackmore to design a color scheme for the exterior of the house. Blackmore used the internal color palette as a starting point, combined with Golombek's favorite wardrobe color, and painted the front and side doors with an unexpected yellow-green. The color brought cheers to the entrance hall, and the antique brass lobster knocker that Blackmore hung on the front door of her house. Dash & Albert indoor/outdoor carpets use vivid graphic patterns, inspired by a palace in India, extending the colors to the stairs. 

On the right is the formal living room. "The children have been playing here," Golombek said. "There are toys everywhere in the room, you just can't see them." Blackmore made sure of this, placing a lacquered straw cloth cabinet with food feet next to the fireplace to elegantly contain the clutter.  

In terms of aesthetics, Blackmore drew inspiration from the hazy gray/blue walls. "We keep the coastal location in mind, but not in a typical way," Blackmore said. "Sarah has an evil sense of humor; I hope the colors and textiles reflect this." Sparrows2 of Kravet Couture spoke to the host immediately. Blackmore used it on an armchair, and then added a pair of Chinese Chippendale chairs, painted in robin egg blue, with apricot jacquard cushions. Sofas and carpets are kept neutral to make accents pop.

To fix the flow or lack of flow in the room, the team broke the wall at the other end of the fireplace. The new opening leads to the mud room the couple added on the side of the house. Blackmore also stuffed a closet in the opening. "This used to be a dead end," the designer said. "Now you can stroll to the mud room, enter the family room and kitchen."

Blackmore equipped the mud room with radiant floors, bead panels and built-in plug-ins, as well as accessories connected to the living room. The cushions are made of modern magical fabrics with Asian flavors of persimmon, mustard and blues and are placed on the bench. The mud room is the main entrance to the family, and it is also a lifeguard with two young children. "There wasn't even a closet on the first floor before," Golombek said. 

The biggest change is the narrow, dysfunctional kitchen, where there is a weird sloping peninsula with a bulky hood that separates the cooking space from the breakfast area, which in turn hinders access to the deck. The newly set quartz counter extends along the side and back walls, and surrounds a hydrangea blue central island with four Serena & Lily stools. "I like the dinner party as a public event, we prepare food together," Golombek said. "With this layout, I can place meat pieces within the area looking out from the window, or use two mixers to bake a large group of gingerbread cookies."

The space is light, bright, airy and not too serious. The slender subway tiles with herringbone patterns extend all the way to the ceiling, and the unpainted brass hardware exudes a soft light. "It's clean, classic, and it brings texture," Blackmore said of the tailgate. "The herringbone pattern provides a great impact without increasing the budget."

Blackmore also widened and reconfigured the passage connecting the main part of the kitchen to the butler storage room. It is remarkably streamlined—previously, there were cabinets on both sides, as well as a bulky refrigerator and double-wall oven. Now, the refrigerator is placed in an alcove, all functions are on one side, and the stylish pantry is located on both sides of the coffee/smooth station, where Golombek starts every day.

The kitchen also looks lovely from the entrance, which is a consideration in Blackmore's design. "You can see the end of the island from the front door, and the white glass spherical pendant attracts your attention," she said. 

The openness of the house attracted the couple when they bought it. This aspect will only get better. "The layout of the first floor used to be a loop, but Carly's changes gave us infinite layouts," Golombek said. "This is our forever home."

Interior design: Habitat Design, habitat.design

Builder: Paul Haggett & Co., haggettcompany.com