You know the saying—that you can have the most inviting living room but by mid-party everyone ends up in the kitchen? So it goes in this 1805 Federalist cookspace in Newburyport, Massachusetts, which was recently refitted with period details and reconfigured for the lively social life of a few British expats.

Kate Dasklakis of KSD Designs took the couple’s brief of “a little of London, some countryside charm” and embarked on a renovation that included replacing knob-and-tube wiring, restoring a crumbling chimney, and more. Throughout the home, and particularly in the kitchen, the designer “wanted to lean into the idea of a Town & Country feel with British undercurrents.” 

Ahead, see how the New England residence got its antique groove back with a fresh coat of paint, original beams and brick, and a sitting room-mudroom hybrid suited for daily use (and yes—there’s teatime.) 

The previous owners had built columns between the kitchen and sitting area, chopping it into two separate spaces. Dasklakis immediately set about removing them—they weren’t original—and created a counter-overhang that offers a spot to perch on a pair of modern Windsor stools. “When we removed the columns and drop ceiling, we found beautiful beams to expose,” explains Daskalakis of restoring the original bones of the space. “It was a very exciting day.”