A Massachusetts homeowner transforms a dilapidated bungalow into an elegant Craftsman’s cottage with tasteful surroundings.

WRITTEN AND PHOTOGRAPHED BY JOANNE COLETTI

SECOND TIME AROUND. The living room is an eclectic mix of French, Swedish and farmhouse décor. “Most of the furnishings here were repurposed pieces that I found secondhand and even for free on the side of the road,” says Ellen. “A few of my favorites are the doors that hide our television, the Swedish clock, the deconstructed upholstery pieces and the painted vintage furnishings.”

CURB APPEAL. The charming exterior celebrates a Craftsman gabled entrance, a stone chimney and manicured shrubs and perennials that add rich character to this New England cottage.

“Good taste is as necessary as good manners,” declared Elsie de Wolfe, the “first lady” of American interior design. De Wolfe pioneered the now-celebrated “light, airy and minimalist” approach to making a home beautiful, useful and livable. This core principle informs the design of Ellen Sharpe from Stoneham, Massachusetts, who embodies elegance, style and impeccable good taste.

Ellen resides with her husband, John, and their daughter, Kenna, in a picturesque cottage with abounding character, a house just a few doors down from where Ellen grew up. “My husband and I bought a small fixer-upper just a stone’s throw away from where I lived as a young girl,” says Ellen. “From the moment I set foot in that rickety, dilapidated bungalow from the 1920s, I was compelled to bring her back to life.”