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FOR SALE: KITCHEN WITH A VIEW
Former Residence of Beloved American Culinary Icon Gets a New Look
(and Kitchen!) and Heads to Market

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., February 12, 2003 -- Renovating historical homes is a delicate task to undertake. Handling renovations and designing a new kitchen for the former residence of culinary icon, Julia Child, might be particularly daunting. However, this was a project that new owners, Concord, Massachusetts-based development team Hall & Bramson approached with significant expertise, as well as anticipation and respect, as they readied the house for sale.

In addition to being the former address of Julia and Paul Child, 103 Irving Street has a noteworthy history. The house, located in an area of Cambridge near Harvard University known as "Professor's Row", was originally built in 1889 for Josiah Royce, Harvard professor of philosophy who counted among his students Gertrude Stein. The Childs were only the fourth owners of this historical house when they bought it in 1958. Mrs. Child spent over forty years living, entertaining and cooking at this Cambridge address.

After purchasing the 5,800 square-foot home last year from Smith College, Mrs. Child's alma mater, William Hall and Ferle Bramson quickly assembled their project team comprised of architect Shelly Ziegelman, contractor Don Foote and landscape architect Laura Rutledge to thoughtfully plan and begin renovations to the gracious home.

The first challenge faced by the Hall & Bramson team was the installation of a new kitchen. Julia Child donated her famously televised kitchen to the Smithsonian upon selling the house, leaving behind a vacant space that was once the vibrant heart of this house. Architect Ziegelman and her team designed an open space filled with light and warmth, creating an innovative preparation and cooking space with a dining/family area and featuring nine foot high windows overlooking the garden. To complete the kitchen details, they turned to the internationally acclaimed Italian kitchen design firm Arclinea, known for their streamlined, beautifully functional and contemporary kitchen designs.

Together with the Hall & Bramson team, Arclinea selected sleek, state-of-the-art cabinets and appliances that complemented the warmth and modernity of the space.

"This is a kitchen where a passionate chef would be delighted to work, but also where a family has space to gather and spend time together," said Ferle Bramson, partner of Hall & Bramson. " We tried to honor Julia's "joie de vivre" and capacity for living in the moment by designing a kitchen that speaks to serious cooking, is beautifully functional, and lives in the 21st century."

The remainder of the house has been completely renovated with new custom designed woodwork and built-ins which showcase the gracious elegance of the house's Colonial Revival architecture. While the basic floor plan of the house was left intact, changes were made to enhance the flow of the space and light in the house overall.

"This was a particularly exciting project for us," stated architect Shelly Ziegelman. "The house had great history and bones, but was actually quite simple in detail. This allowed us to reshape and redefine flow and space - creating a coherent and consistent design style, palette and approach, with subtle motif/theme variation from room to room and floor to floor."

In addition to the new kitchen, a new master bedroom suite and modern bathrooms were installed to highlight the contemporary feel of the house. The home includes spacious well-proportioned formal, living and family rooms on three floors - nearly all containing a working fireplace. The residence is set in a tranquil setting with mature plantings, carefully planned and designed by landscape architect Laura Rutledge.

About Hall & Bramson and Associates
William Hall and Ferle Bramson joined forces in 2000 to pursue a shared passion: the buying and renovating of historic houses to prepare for the market. They bring to their work extensive combined experience in the fields of real estate law, high-end residential development, and sales and marketing. With an established team of design and landscape architects and contractors, they have successfully completed numerous large-scale renovations.

Shelly Wood Ziegelman Architects (SWZ) specializes in innovative and thoughtful residential additions, renovations and new construction. The firm brings creative design solutions that adhere to specific programmatic needs, priorities, budgets, and aspirations.

Don Foote Contracting is a full-service residential contracting business specializing in high-end remodeling, custom cabinetry, and fine carpentry.

Laura S. Rutledge has over fifteen years of experience in Landscape Architectural offices in the Boston area and has been responsible for project management, design and construction administration for several large waterfront projects, as well as smaller-scale urban open space projects.

For further details, please contact Arclinea Boston by e-mail at info@arclineaboston.com or by phone at (617) 357-9777.