Arts and Crafts bungalows are known for their rich wood details—and the dark interiors that go along with them. Leon Irish and Karla Simon's 1910 Craftsman home was no exception. So when the eastern Maryland couple decided to update their kitchen and dining room—which had last been renovated in the 1960s—they knew the rooms had to stylistically reflect the rest of their vintage home, but they longed for lighter, brighter spaces with a contemporary feel. "A modern approach to Craftsman," says Leon.
They found the perfect person to interpret their vision in local architect Shorieh Talaat. "We had admired Shorieh's work on a friend's contemporary house," says Leon. Although Talaat's distinctly modern sensibility may have seemed an odd choice for a nearly century-old house, his appreciation for fine woodwork details, colors drawn from nature, and visible structural elements is definitely in sync with the Craftsman ideal. "In these old houses you see the mark of the hand and revel in the natural qualities of the materials and their assembly," says Talaat. "I simply set out to reinterpret a period style."
