A formal center-hall Colonial gets a homey makeover

Adding skylights to the kitchen brings sunlight streaming in, creating an inviting space in this Canton home.

Lee Jofa wallpaper panels by Aerin lend a romantic garden feel to the wife’s office.jared kuzia

How to create a light, airy, and casual feel in a formal center-hall Colonial home for a couple whose tastes run traditional? That was the challenge that mother-daughter interior designers Susan Hayward and Jillian Hayward Schaible faced in refreshing their clients’ longtime Canton home.

The builder ensured that the kitchen at the back of the house was light and bright by adding skylights as part of the renovation. Hayward and Schaible focused on fixtures and finishes to warm up the all-white kitchen the clients requested. “We used nickel gap and walnut beams to break up the long stretch of ceiling in this large space with lots of cabinetry,” Hayward says.

Warm white paint — Benjamin Moore Cotton Balls — established a creamy base for oil-rubbed bronze accents and a hammered copper sink. “The bronze hardware has gold undertones that peek through,” Hayward says. A custom walnut top on the dining island lends rich relief from quartzite on the perimeter and prep island.

Widening the opening between the kitchen and breakfast nook let in more light and strengthened the connection between the spaces. “Sunlight streams straight through the kitchen, pulling you back there,” Hayward says of the nook, which the designers wrapped in a textural wallpaper with oversize leaves.

A curved banquette capitalizes on the light and woodsy view. It also circumvented an issue with the furniture layout. “Their table and chairs didn’t fit in the center of the room,” Hayward explains. “Pushing them into a corner with a banquette made it a cozy gathering spot.”

At the front of the house, the design duo turned an office with new, traditional walnut millwork into a retreat with a feminine feel. “We started by shopping for the perfect wallpaper,” Hayward says. “The client immediately fell in love with the old European sensibility of these panels.” From there, the designers added a subdued neutral rug, a velvety blue chair, and a distressed iron chandelier with glass crystals.

“The clients didn’t want the house to seem as though it was just redone,” Schaible says. “Everything looks like it’s always been here, like it belongs.”

RESOURCES

Interior design: Susan Hayward Interiors, susanhaywardinteriors.com

Carpenter: D.J. deMello Custom Building and Woodworking, 781-298-5686

MORE PHOTOGRAPHS

In the kitchen, Visual Comfort pendants from Light New England hang over the island.jared kuzia

The Thibaut wallpaper inspired the breakfast room design.jared kuzia

Above the kitchen sink, the GP & J Baker roman shade fabric honors the client’s grandmother who loved butterflies.jared kuzia

February 17: Due to incorrect information provided to the Globe, this file has been updated to correct the phone number for the project’s carpenter. We regret the error.