Photos By Dan Derby ©2004 |
Yankee Magazine - 2004 A Yankee's Ingenuity Turn-of-the-Century New Hampshire Home with Creativity You Can Use! Michael Toppan never doubted he had a challenge when he found his small Arts & Crafts flavored house in Hampton Falls. Its real estate ad had a telling description," Updated completely . . . in 1941". However it had been beautifully kept and while a bit nondescript in front, the back had a stunning view and lots of personality.. He and his partner, David Kenefick, closed the purchase on St. Patrick's day six years ago, Michael remembers fondly. Short on cash and with a twelve year old son, Michael made the only choice he could, it would be a do-it-yourself project. He quit working and invested himself full time to making the house livable. This was no small task since the turn-of-the-century New England sea coast cottage had started life as a fish camp. Clearly it would take more than just sweat equity to pull off its transformation. Compact and close cropped, Michael is boundlessly energetic and "always looking for a project." Early in life Michael had been a carpenter, wallpaper hanger, painter and a showroom designer. Homasote walls and ceilings were painted, wallpapered or replaced. He enlarged the 7' X 10" galley kitchen to allow more than one person to be in it at once. All that work transformed the basics of the little cottage but it was Michael's knack for the ingenious that make the home sparkle. He insists it wasn't hard but by the end of the refurbishment he had lost almost forty pounds. When the fundamentals were completed, Michael started fine tuning the home. Inventive decorative touches seem spill out of him uncontrollably. He painted sun bursts on the dining room ceiling and applied intricate wallpaper patterns to the foyer. To keep costs down the kitchen floor was redone in linoleum. As usual, Michael couldn't leave well enough alone and cut out pieces to add clever highlights. Counter space was expanded on the radiators with plate glass shelves sitting on billiard balls. Michael's inventiveness partially flows from his involvement with art (he has an Art degree from UNH) but he's also a relentless re-arranger. He confesses to "not being able to walk through a store without straightening and rearranging things". His son, Tucker, stills comes home from Exeter Academy, "just to see what's changed". In a way, each corner of the house has been transformed into a small showroom. African headrests, giant golden pears and Russian paintings all have tiny galleries around the house . Paintings are a passion for both Michael and David and they are everywhere. In fact, there are so many that they have begun to pop up in surprising places. One graces the back of a bathroom door and several hang in windows where the view is unappealing. Michael was taken special pains to light them dramatically something most home owners don't do. Michael's New England family heritage is also on display throughout the house. Christopher Toppan, third mayor of Portsmouth, overlooks meals in the dining room with a charitable expression. His more serious wife, Mary, greets guests in the foyer. These "public" living and dining spaces mix lovely family portraits, bold crown molding and other unusual decorative touches to create a comfortable and stylish environment. And they do it on a minimal budget. In the more "private" spaces of the house, Michael's natural mischievousness peeks out. His bedroom is a wry sixties throwback complete with a dramatic orange & chocolate brown color scheme. In Tucker's bedroom, over-the-top electric blue and a clever display of baseball artifacts create a personal, teenage atmosphere. Most recently, the family splurged on a new bathroom but had to work around what Michael calls a "tiny, hard to visualize space". In spite of the luxury of contractor help, it was still a challenge. Nothing was square", Michael signs,. Finally completed, it's see-through glass shower keeps the feel spacious in an almost Japanese style. This is a real pleasure for a family who spent the first four years with a pink tile tub and a shower in the basement. All along, this home's challenges have been met by Michael with energy and a tool kit of talent and useful experience. But his classical yet whimsical take on decorating coupled with his love of visual drama has really made all the difference. Michael observes that most people try to impose some external standard on a home but feels that "a house tells you what it needs." Maybe so but it helps to be able to hear what it's saying and work with it ingeniously as Michael has.
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SIDE BAR There were bushel of creative things going on in this home. Here are a few simple and fun ideas from Michael's irrepressible ingenuity for Yankee readers:
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