Sedgwick Farms Colonial pulls off traditional or mid-century modern decor

There's the old debate as to whether one can teach an old dog new tricks, but what about old homes?

Can a stately Colonial Revival home, built more than a century ago, find new life with mid-century modern furnishings and fixtures, including an original Sputnik chandelier illuminating its otherwise traditional front-to-back foyer?

Steven Kern and Josephine Nieuwenhuis believe it can, and that's how they've decorated their six-bedroom, 3 1/2-bath home at 226 Brattle Road in Sedgwick Farms, on the market for $320,000.

"This house can accommodate anything, because the space is so big," said Kern, who is executive director of the Everson Museum. "It can accommodate open-floor plan mid-century, even though it's not."

During the couple's four-year residence, the 4,165-square-foot home -- one of the first homes built in Sedgwick Farms -- has been the setting for many dinner parties, sometimes for as many as 60 guests. Visitors are treated to a dramatic entrance through the original solid timber front door, bordered by a leaded-glass fanlight and sidelights.

The nearly 30-foot by 9-foot foyer, with its original oak floors and graceful staircase, has doorways on either side offering wide views of the dining room and living room. A walk-in coat closet and powder room are close at hand, as is a door to the back garden.

The square dining room offers plenty of elbow room as well as natural light. A swinging service door gives way to a butler's pantry with original cabinetry reaching to the 9-foot ceiling. There are ceramic-tile counters, and set beneath a window, the original stainless steel sink spans the pantry's depth.

Nieuwenhuis, a chef, food consultant and writer originally from the Netherlands, uses the kitchen to develop new recipes. She uses the breakfast nook as her office. The nook's windows overlook the back garden, and a door opens to the patio and detached two-car garage.

The kitchen has raised-panel maple cabinets topped with crown molding, and solid surface counters with an integrated sink. There is a ceramic tile backsplash, five-burner gas range, dishwasher and an auxiliary staircase to the second floor. Another door opens to the cellar, which has 8-foot ceilings and several rooms the couple use as a root cellar, a wine cellar and a laundry room. Plumbing is in place for another bathroom, and Nieuwenhuis uses the original stone sinks to wash and dye wool and silk for her textile projects.

The front-to-back living room, which measures 30 feet by 16 feet, has a wood-burning fireplace flanked by double French doors. Beyond the French doors is a Florida room with original terra cotta floor tiles, windows and storms. The Florida room's heat supply is separate from the rest of the home, so it can be turned on and off as needed. Nieuwenhuis said they enjoy having coffee out there when it's snowing. Kern likes the view the room affords of the surrounding neighborhood.

"You see this curve of Brattle Road -- that is just beautiful geometry," Kern said. "That makes for a special urban view, because it's not on a grid."

A spider web transom above a triple window adorns the main staircase landing. There are four large bedrooms on the second floor, including the master, which has an en suite full bath as well as an adjoining wood-paneled library, divided from the bedroom by glass doors. The couple decided against resurrecting a capped corner fireplace in the library, but the option remains for new owners.

The walk-up attic, which once housed servants, has two more bedrooms and a full bath with a clawfoot tub. The attic also has three cedar closets as well as some unfinished storage space.