Business & Tech

Hingham Designer Has Front Seat to Changes in Interior Decorating

Hingham designer Sandra J. Tuthill has been designing home interiors for 25 years.

Sandra Tuthill recently took a phone call from a former client asking about her family room. Relatives were no longer staying regularly in an adjacent bedroom and the client suggested it may be time for a change.

The family room was vintage Brady Bunch: dark and small with a low ceiling. An expansion and overhaul of the space was vital to keeping up with the housing market, Tuthill told her client.

That project – still in the planning stages – is one of many Tuthill is working on that demonstrate a long-term transformation of the interior decorating industry.

Spacious kitchens and family rooms have replaced a focus on elegant dining and formal living rooms, and "casual elegance" is the driving force behind much of Tuthill's new construction and renovation work, especially in second homes down Cape Cod and golf course residences.

Tuthill has been designing homes from Boston to the Cape and Florida for 25 years. She lives with her husband Bruce in Hingham, where they raised four daughters.

Over the years, Tuthill has been featured in magazines and on HGTV, and one of her largest projects is in the current issue of Southern New England Home.

The 10,000-square-foot Cape house overlooks the ocean and features an open kitchen, dining and living area, two-story library and blue color theme. Tuthill worked with Colony Rug Company to fill the newly-constructed home, built by the MacKenzie Brothers Corp.

Along with an extensive collection of African and Floridian art, the home has a "gentlemen's club" with a bar, fireplace, pool table and stage. The idea of a high-end "man cave" is not new, Tuthill said, but is certainly a trend she has seen develop over the years.

At another Cape home she is designing, a 15,000-square-foot house that is her largest yet, Tuthill has placed a golf simulator next to a 90-inch flat screen television and 2,500-bottle wine room.

She has also worked with her client over the last two years to preserve paintings, tiled murals and lighting fixtures from the old house, giving the new project a sense of history.

"It's a glorious house," Tuthill said.

Tuthill started working in interior design 25 years ago, after earning a degree from Chamberlain Junior College, now part of Mount Ida College. She had been a teacher after earning a degree in education and history, but wanted a fresh start after raising her girls.

"Being in business for myself was very appealing," Tuthill said. "I didn't expect it to be as challenging as it was."

Over the years, Tuhill has seen a shift from East-coast designers focusing their discoveries primarily on design centers in Boston, New York and Florida to the Internet opening up a broad range of ideas from all over the country and the world.

She has done some commercial work, for doctor's offices mainly, but prefers to use her energy gelling with a client and letting them guide her designs with objective input based on her years of experience.

Though the look of homes, and the demands of homeowners, have changed since Tuthill earned her first contracts out of college, she remains the occasional referee, focused on taking a client's imagination and transforming it into a livable, beautiful home.

"The bottom line is you're looking for harmony in the space," Tuthill said.

Visit http://www.tuthilldesign.com for more information.


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